NBA fans saw MVP-worthy seasons from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić a year ago. The problem is, only one player can receive the honor each year.
Although Jokić wildly averaged a triple-double, Gilgeous-Alexander took home the first MVP award of his career after he led the NBA with 32.7 points per game for the league-best 68-14 Thunder. Both superstars had a strong case for MVP honors, but Gilgeous-Alexander's incredible season for the eventual NBA champions understandably won out.
The good news is they are both right back at it when the 2025-26 season tips off Tuesday as the Thunder are built for long-term success while the Nuggets reworked their roster to provide Jokić with potentially his best supporting cast yet. Although they are the early frontrunners for this year's award, there are plenty of other candidates who could hear their names in MVP conversations.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is still putting up 30 points a night for the Bucks, while we have Luka Dončić's first full season as a Laker upon us. Plus, the NBA's youngest stars continue to improve toward their eventual takeover of the league. Victor Wembanyama is back after a shortened year two, y'all.
Without further ado, here's a list of potential NBA MVP candidates heading into the season, tiered in groupings from top to bottom:
The frontrunners: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić
Gilgeous-Alexander 2024-25 season stats: 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 37.5% from three.
Honors: NBA MVP, NBA Champion, Finals MVP, All-NBA First Team, All-Star (third appearance)
Where else to start but last year's MVP and the league's top bucket-getter?
Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 30 or more points a night in each of his past three seasons and hit another level last year over the Thunder's dominant season that resulted in an NBA title. He was the league's scoring leader last year, recording four 50-point games when no other player had more than two. Oklahoma City locked down his co-stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren over the offseason as the Thunder seem primed to make another run at the title. Gilgeous-Alexander's sky-high scoring is nearly a given, which makes him undoubtedly a top MVP candidate heading into the new season.
Jokić 2024-25 season stats: 29.6 points, 12.7 assists and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 41.7% from three.
Honors: All-NBA First Team, All-Star (seventh appearance)
Jokić averaging a triple-double and not winning the MVP speaks volumes to the type of season he had last year, and maybe even more about Gilgeous-Alexander's big year. Jokić finished second in MVP voting and was the only player to receive first-place votes besides Gilgeous-Alexander. The incredible big man put up career highs in points, rebounds and three-point percentage with the highest volume of attempts over his 10-year career. With an even better roster around him coming out of Denver's offseason, Jokić is a perennial MVP candidate as he continues to put up silly numbers to power the Nuggets as a title contender.