Nba Awards: 3 MVP Finalists and the International Streak That Could Hit 8
The Nba Awards race has narrowed to a familiar and revealing three-man frame: Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Beyond the names, the shortlist signals something larger about where the league’s highest honor now lives. If the pattern holds, this will be the eighth straight season with an international MVP, a stretch that says as much about talent distribution as it does about the changing center of gravity in the league.
Why the Nba Awards MVP race matters now
Victor Wembanyama joined former winners Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic as finalists for the season’s Most Valuable Player award, with the league announcing the three finalists on Sunday night ET. The timing matters because the finalists were released alongside the rest of the major individual award races, setting up a week in which the Nba Awards will define the season’s biggest individual storylines.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, is trying to repeat after averaging 31. 1 points and 6. 6 assists while shooting 55%. Wembanyama’s case rests on 25 points and 11. 5 rebounds in 29. 2 minutes, while Jokic enters as a three-time MVP after producing 27. 7 points, 12. 9 rebounds and 10. 7 assists. He also became the first player to lead the NBA in assists and rebounds in the same season.
What sits beneath the headline
The MVP race is only part of the picture. Wembanyama is also a finalist — and the favorite — for Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NBA in blocked shots per game for the third straight season. The other finalists are Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Detroit’s Ausar Thompson, who led the league in steals. That overlap matters because it places Wembanyama at the center of two different award conversations at once, a rare kind of visibility in the Nba Awards cycle.
There is also a clear rule-based backdrop. Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham fell short of the 65-game minimum for most regular-season accolades, but both reached the ballot after appealing under the league’s “extraordinary circumstances” clause. Neither finished in the top three for MVP, though both are in line for All-NBA honors. That distinction underscores how the league’s award structure can shape not just winners, but the field itself.
International reach and award structure
The broader trend is hard to miss: for the eighth consecutive year, the MVP is set to be international. The run began in 2019 and 2020 with Giannis Antetokounmpo, followed by Jokic in 2021, 2022 and 2024, Joel Embiid in 2023, and Gilgeous-Alexander last year. That sequence gives this season’s Nba Awards a historical frame that goes beyond one trophy and into the league’s competitive identity.
In practical terms, the finalists reflect how the league’s top individual honor has become a global contest rather than a domestic one. Jokic’s resume, Gilgeous-Alexander’s repeat push and Wembanyama’s rapid rise all fit inside that pattern. The international streak is not just a trivia point; it is a sign that the MVP conversation has been reshaped by a wider talent base and by players whose production now drives the league’s most visible debates.
Other finalists and the week ahead
The league also named finalists in six other award categories. Gilgeous-Alexander is a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year with Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray. Edwards made the list even though he fell short of the 65-game minimum, because coaches selected the nominees for that award. Jalen Duren, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Deni Avdija are the Most Improved Player finalists, while Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and VJ Edgecombe are up for Rookie of the Year. J. B. Bickerstaff, Mitch Johnson and Joe Mazzulla are the Coach of the Year finalists, and Tim Hardaway Jr., Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Keldon Johnson are the Sixth Man finalists.
The winners will begin being announced this week, with the Defensive Player award set to come out on Monday ET. For now, the key question is not only who wins the MVP, but whether the Nba Awards will confirm another international chapter in the league’s history. If it does, the streak will deepen an already unmistakable pattern: the best player in the league may no longer be an exception to geography, but its latest expression.
