NBA Swing: Making the Case for Every MVP Contender

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With the 2025–26 NBA season down to its final week, awards season is around the corner. While many have said that the Most Valuable Player award has already been decided, multiple players have made their case for MVP. Over the last stretch of the season, there have mainly been four names locked into the MVP conversation: Oklahoma City Thunder guard and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, Denver Nuggets center and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. These four have each made their own case for MVP and have made the MVP race a lot closer than many predicted it would be.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The reigning MVP and a member of the reigning and defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, continued his path of dominance from last season. SGA has now played the 65 games required to be eligible for awards. While some have seen his play as controversial, the stats speak for themselves. Across those 65 games, Alexander has averaged 31.6 PPG (2nd in the league), 6.5 APG, and 4.4 RPG on shooting splits of 55% from the field, 38% from three, and 88% from the free throw line. Alexander has shown why he is one of the best players in the world, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s long-standing streak of 126 consecutive 20+ point games.

SGA has led his team to the best record in the NBA, with the Thunder being 52–12 when he plays. He would also lead OKC to back-to-back 60+ win seasons. With the Thunder also having a league-best 10.9 net rating (the only double-digit net rating in the league this season), OKC has proven to be a tier above the rest of the league. If SGA wins MVP again, he will become the 38th player in league history to win back-to-back MVPs. DraftKings currently has Alexander with the best odds to win MVP at -360.

Luka Doncic

For most of the season, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been around the MVP conversation, but not near the top until recently. Doncic has established himself as the number one option for the Lakers in his first full season with the team, averaging 33.8 PPG (1st in the NBA), 8.3 APG (3rd in the NBA), and 7.8 RPG in 63 games at the time of this writing. Over the last month, Doncic has taken his game to another level, instantly shooting his name toward the top of the MVP conversation. In 16 games across March 2026, Doncic averaged 37.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 8.3 APG. Luka had seven 40+ point games in March, including a 51-point and a 60-point performance.

Doncic has been the key to the Lakers’ 50–27 record. The team has gone 43–20 in the games he has played, while they’ve barely been able to go .500 in the games he’s missed, posting a 7–7 record. With L.A. currently third in the West, Doncic has made a strong case for MVP through both his individual work and the success he’s led his team to. If Luka’s late-season surge were to land him his first MVP award, he would be the first Laker to win the award since Kobe Bryant in 2008. DraftKings currently gives Doncic the third-best odds to win MVP at +1600.

Nikola Jokic

No player has been as consistently involved in MVP conversations over the course of the 2020s as Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP has arguably been one of, if not the best, player in the league over the first half of the decade, continuing his unbelievable run of dominance from the center position. Across 62 games so far and just one game from being disqualified for awards contention, Jokic has averaged 27.9 PPG, 12.9 RPG (1st in the league), and 10.9 APG (1st in the league) and will finish the 2025–26 season averaging a triple-double for the second season in a row. He will be only the second player to accomplish this feat, with the only other player being Russell Westbrook.

Jokic’s case for MVP goes beyond just his individual stats. With a 50–28 record, Denver is among the best teams in the West. However, Denver has been two different teams when Jokic has and hasn’t played. When Jokic plays, the Nuggets have a 124.2 offensive rating. That drops dramatically to 114.9 without him. Denver holds a 6.4 net rating when Jokic plays, and that drops dramatically to -1.6 without him. While Jokic has both voter fatigue and the 65-game rule working against him, he is, without a doubt, having another MVP-caliber season. If Jokic were to win MVP this season, he would further establish himself alongside elite company, becoming the fifth player to win four or more MVP awards. Jokic currently has the fourth-best odds to win MVP, via DraftKings, at +7000.

Victor Wembanyama

In just his third year in the league, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has already established himself as a top-five player in the league on both ends of the floor. Having missed 14 games so far this season, Wembanyama is nearing the 18 games needed to become ineligible for awards. In the 62 games he’s played so far, Wembanyama has averaged 24.9 PPG, 11.6 RPG (5th in the league), and 3.1 BPG (1st in the league). Wembanyama is the only player this season to average 2.0 BPG. While he is scoring the least among MVP contenders, his play on both sides of the court is what makes him worthy of winning his first MVP.

Wembanyama is one of, if not the best, player in the league on the defensive end, currently having the best odds to win Defensive Player of the Year, via BetMGM, at -5000. He has led the team to the third-best defense in the league alongside the fourth-best offense. With the Spurs currently sitting at 59–19, they will finish with one of the two best records in the league this season. Only two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, they have put themselves in the top tier of the league alongside OKC. While he is still only 22 years old, he has proven to be one of the most valuable players on both sides of the court.

If Wembanyama were to win MVP, he would make history and have the chance to make even more. Winning MVP would make Wembanyama the youngest MVP in history, surpassing Derrick Rose. Currently having the best odds at winning DPOY and the second-best odds to win MVP at +280, he could become only the fourth player to win MVP and DPOY in the same year. He would join elite company, including Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.