NBA MVP rankings: Luka aims to join Jokic, SGA tier
With the 2025-26 NBA campaign less than a week away, here's a look at the top 10 candidates to win the league's most coveted individual award.
🏀 A full list of MVP odds can be found on ESPN BET and theScore Bet here
Statistics listed are from the 2024-25 season.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 24.5 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 44.8 | 39.7 | 93.3 |
Even as Steph Curry enters the twilight stage of his career, the 37-year-old is still one of the NBA's most impactful players. Trading for Jimmy Butler boosted Curry's MVP chance and extended the Warriors' championship window. Golden State went 23-7 with Butler in the lineup. Before the trade, Curry averaged nearly 23 points on 43% shooting and 39% from beyond the arc. After Butler arrived, Curry's averages jumped to 27 points on 47% shooting and 41% from deep.
Butler adds another creator to a lineup desperate for a secondary option, and provides Curry with the opportunity to play away from the ball, where he excels by constantly moving. The greatest shooter ever can still be the best player on a contender.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 25.9 | 7.5 | 4.8 | 45.2 | 32.0 | 72.7 |
Injuries derailed Paolo Banchero's once-promising third season, but he's entering his prime and is playing on the best and deepest team he's been a part of since he was drafted. As a point-forward, he efficiently glides to his spots, is a tenacious downhill driver, and sets his teammates up consistently. The Magic could emerge as a top seed in the East, and Banchero will rightfully receive the credit as one of the league's best players.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 26.6 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 52.7 | 43.0 | 83.9 |
Kevin Durant doesn't have to be a leader or establish a new culture in Houston. All the two-time champion must do is be the Rockets' go-to scorer and help close the gap between the league's best offenses and the Rockets' league-average unit.
Durant is still one of the NBA's most efficient scorers. With Fred VanVleet out for the season, the Rockets are without a true point guard. Durant will assume more ball-handling and playmaking responsibilities than he anticipated, leading to greater production for the 37-year-old.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 26.0 | 2.9 | 7.3 | 48.8 | 38.3 | 82.1 |
Jalen Brunson has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting the last two seasons. He's more responsible than anyone for the Knicks' turnaround from irrelevant laughing stock to respectable championship contender. Mike Brown's system will stray from the heliocentric approach the Knicks deployed under Tom Thibodeau, meaning Brunson will play off the ball more and have fewer touches, dribbles, and a lower usage rate.
That might sound like Brunson won't post raw numbers as remarkable as before with many mouths to feed on a talented team, but it could actually have the opposite effect. The eighth-year vet will have more scoring opportunities in a spot-up role and expend less energy meandering the ball up the floor. And don't worry, the 2024-25 Clutch Player of the Year winner will still have the ball in the biggest moments.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 27.6 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 44.7 | 39.5 | 83.7 |
It's scary to consider that Anthony Edwards hasn't reached his peak. He's one of the NBA's top players and has improved a different element of his game every year. Last season, he emerged as a lethal 3-point shooter, increasing his attempts per game from 6.7 to 10.3, and boosting his 3-point percentage from 35.7 to 39.5. He led the league in threes made.
Edwards, who has the best chance to break the international MVP streak and become the first American to win since James Harden in 2018, dedicated this past offseason to elevating his mid-range scoring. The league's about to find out how much higher Edwards' ceiling is in his sixth season.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 24.3 | 11.0 | 3.7 | 47.6 | 35.2 | 83.6 |
Twenty-one of the last 25 MVPs were on either the No. 1 or 2 seed in either conference. There have been exceptions where a player's individual season became impossible to ignore, but the MVP is typically the best player on one of the best teams.
The Spurs don't project to finish close to a top seed, but Wembanyama could be an exception. The French phenom appears to have bulked up, and his playmaking leap should lead to a career high in assists. His defensive impact is already otherworldly, and he's a significant favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. Wembanyama's offensive arsenal should develop with a better supporting cast, as he emphasizes driving to the rim and creating shots instead of settling for long-distance jumpers.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 30.4 | 11.9 | 6.5 | 60.1 | 22.2 | 61.7 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo's team failing to reach an arbitrary win requirement could doom his candidacy. This is the worst roster he's played with in Milwaukee in the last decade. However, that could also help his MVP chances. All of the praise will go to Antetokounmpo if the Bucks earn a top seed in a weakened East. The two-time MVP must do more for his team to be successful than any other player.
The Greek Freak completely abandoned shooting threes last season, averaging his fewest 3-point attempts per game since his second season back in 2014-15. He committed to attacking gaps and being a sheer force, driving to the rim and creating scoring chances for himself and his teammates.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 28.2 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 45.0 | 36.8 | 78.2 |
Speaking of players who must shoulder a significant portion of the offensive responsibility for their team to contend, Luka Doncic just completed his first offseason with the Lakers and expectations are sky-high. Doncic presumably used his trade from Dallas as motivation, committing himself to his weight and conditioning - factors that led to the Mavericks making the shocking move.
With LeBron James starting the season injured and visibly declining due to his age, the Lakers' success will depend on Doncic's heroics, especially considering the Lakers aren't particularly deep. He's carried teams before as one of the league's most unstoppable forces, and might do it again donning the purple and gold.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 32.7 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 51.9 | 37.5 | 89.8 |
It's fair to assume a player had a historic season if their statistical outputs can only be compared to Michael Jordan. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the first player to average at least 30 points on 50% shooting, five rebounds, five assists, 1.5 steals, and 1 block per game since Jordan. He was also the first player to win the scoring title, regular season MVP, and Finals MVP since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000. Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only other two players who accomplished the feat.
Gilgeous-Alexander was also the best player on a team that won 68 games and had the second-best net rating in NBA history. Oklahoma City's slithering superstar is 27 and in the midst of his prime, but he'll need similar individual and team success to win back-to-back MVPs.
| GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 29.6 | 12.7 | 10.2 | 57.6 | 41.7 | 80.0 |
Nikola Jokic is the Nuggets' sun, as all surrounding parts flourish because of his existence. As the best and most valuable player over the last half-decade, Jokic led the league in practically every advanced statistic - PER (player efficiency rating), VORP (value over replacement player), BPM (box plus-minus), and OWS (offensive win shares). He already has three MVPs. The only two times he didn't win this decade were when Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander embarked on historic seasons of their own.
The one knock against Jokic's MVP candidacy over the years has been his team's underwhelming regular-season success (relative to other recent award winners). But now Jokic is alongside the deepest and most talented roster he's ever played with. Denver should finish with a top-two seed in the West.
Sam Oshtry is a sports writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more basketball coverage.
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