MVP Race Heats Up: NBA Unveils Awards Finalists

The National Basketball Association (NBA) released its list of finalists for the 2025-26 individual awards on April 19, 2026, setting up headline races across the league’s top honors. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) field is led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, and Victor Wembanyama, while the Rookie of the Year (ROY) finalists include Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel as the leading contenders named by the league.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s candidacy is anchored by both production and team results. He averaged 31.1 points and 6.6 assists and guided the Oklahoma City Thunder to a league-best 64-18 record. He is positioned to capture a second straight MVP, and ESPN’s final straw poll showed him receiving 88 first-place votes, a data point that underscored how the race was being viewed late in the season.

The ROY competition highlights two first-year players with distinct statistical profiles and team contexts. Flagg, playing for the Dallas Mavericks, averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 70 games. The league noted he became the youngest player to record both 40-point and 50-point scoring games, milestones that helped define his debut season.

Knueppel, with the Charlotte Hornets, averaged 18.5 points and made 42.5% of his three-point attempts. His season also aligned with a team step forward, as Charlotte finished 44-38, described as the franchise’s best record since 2015-16. The pairing of individual efficiency and team improvement places him firmly in the award conversation.

Beyond MVP and ROY, the NBA’s finalist lists span several categories that often shape how teams and players are evaluated in contract talks, roster planning, and brand value. Defensive Player of the Year finalists are Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, and Ausar Thompson. Sixth Man of the Year finalists are Tim Hardaway Jr., Keldon Johnson, and Jaime Jaquez Jr., while Coach of the Year finalists are J.B. Bickerstaff, Mitch Johnson, and Joe Mazzulla.

The league also addressed eligibility rules tied to participation. It ruled Luka Dončić and Cade Cunningham eligible for awards despite not meeting the 65-game threshold, while noting this is not expected to affect the MVP result. The announcement closes the regular-season phase of the awards process and shifts attention to how voters will weigh performance, availability, and team outcomes when final results are determined.