The 2025-2026 NBA season will feature a thrilling NBA MVP race. There are several candidates who will look to take over the race, from previous winners of the award to players who are looking to earn the trophy for themselves for the very first time. Here, we look at the favorites to win the award, along with some deserving longshot candidates.
2025-26 NBA MVP Odds
| Player | NBA MVP Odds |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | -375 |
| Victor Wembanyama | +290 |
| Luka Doncic | +1800 |
| Nikola Jokic | +4000 |
| Jaylen Brown | +20000 |
| All Others | +100000 or more |
Odds current as of April 1, 2026
NBA MVP Award Favorites
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his first career NBA MVP award last season and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship. SGA is the favorite to be named MVP again this season and it would take a huge close to this season for anyone to unseat the reigning winner of the award. SGA is one of the best scorers in the NBA and is great at causing havoc on the defensive end of the floor as well. While his style of play might not always be fun to watch, there is no denying that there’s nobody better than SGA in the NBA right now.
There was a bit of a scare with SGA’s eligibility for this award, as he missed some time due to injury. But it doesn’t look like SGA will miss enough games to be ruled ineligible for postseason awards, as the point guard of the Thunder should get a second consecutive MVP.
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Victor Wembanyama is the other top contender to win this year’s MVP award. Wemby has led the Spurs near the top of the Western Conference standings. And while it looks like the Spurs will fall just short of OKC in the race for the top spot in the West, the play of Wembanyama certainly makes him a deserving candidate to win the award.
Wembanyama impacts the game on both ends of the floor, though in a different way from SGA. While Gilgeous-Alexander is great at getting into passing lanes and creating turnovers, Wembanyama is a gifted rebounder and shot blocker thanks to his size. The all-around ability of both MVP candidates will make future MVP races about both offense and defense for years to come.
Other NBA MVP Candidates
At this point in time, nobody besides Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander are thought to have a realistic shot of winning this award. But there are a couple of interesting names worth mentioning for the seasons they’ve had.
Nikola Jokic missed a lot of time this season for the Denver Nuggets, to the point that he was almost made ineligible to win MVP. But Jokic has maintained his eligibility and has had another huge year, even if he is going to fall short of winning yet another MVP award.
Luka Doncic is scoring at a superhuman pace for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. He has been the one constant for LA while Austin Reaves has battled injuries and LeBron James has battled Father Time. If the Lakers make a run up the Western Conference standings, Luka will be a big reason for that.
I’d also like to give Jaylen Brown some credit as a player who is somewhat deserving of this award. The Boston Celtics haven’t had Jayson Tatum for the bulk of this season after he suffered an Achilles injury in last year’s playoffs. But Brown has picked up the slack in his place and deserves some votes for MVP, as he helped the Celtics remain a title contender while waiting for Tatum to return.
2025-26 NBA MVP Prediction
Our top pick for the NBA MVP award this season is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. SGA is leading the best team in the NBA and doing so while putting up absolutely incredible individual numbers. While Jokic might be the better all-around basketball player, and Wembanyama will win several MVPs in the future, I don’t think that anyone is going to take SGA’s second straight MVP away from him.
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