Victor Wembanyama became the first casualty due to injury, hurting his chances of winning the NBA MVP award. Nikola Jokic then missed 16 games, putting him on the verge of exceeding the 65-game minimum. Now Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is struggling with injury, which could end his hopes of winning MVP for the second consecutive time.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star has missed seven consecutive games after suffering an abdominal injury suffered on Feb. 3 against the Orlando Magic. When the Thunder announced this injury, it was said that their MVP award would be reevaluated after the All-Star break.
Initially, there was hope that Gilgeous-Alexander would be cleared to return for the team's first few games after the All-Star break, but nothing has been said. With five of their next six games remaining, will SGA return from his injury during the Thunder's upcoming road trip?
Since suffering this injury, the Thunder have gone 4-3, and got a much-needed key win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. The game was Gilgeous-Alexander's seventh consecutive missed game and his ninth overall absence this season.
This means Gilgeous-Alexander can only miss a maximum of eight more games to remain eligible for end-of-season honors and awards. Although he is still in good shape, the situation could change quickly if the reigning MVP is unable to return to the court this upcoming week.
This year's race for the NBA MVP award hinges heavily on who can stay healthy, as almost all players in the top five of these rankings are close to the maximum of 17 allowed absences to remain eligible.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | week 1
Previous ranking: #1
2025-26 season stats: 42 games, 28.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 1.4 steals, 58.4 FG%, 42.1 3P%
In his three appearances since the All-Star break, Jokic has averaged 29.7 points, 15.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range. These are MVP-like numbers for the three-time MVP, despite the Denver Nuggets losing two of those games.
The argument for the MVP award right now seems to center on availability, as Jokic has played 42 games compared to Gilgeous-Alexander's 49 games. Has Jokic performed enough in his short appearances to justify winning the MVP award over Gilgeous-Alexander, whose team is still the best in the NBA?
This is definitely a big debate that many don't have an answer to at this point, and that's the main reason why Gilgeous-Alexander's injury return is so important to the MVP race.
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Oklahoma City Thunder
Previous ranking: #2
2025-26 season stats: 49 games, 31.8 points, 6.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 55.4 FG%, 39.0 3P%
There is still no update on when Gilgeous-Alexander can return to the court. Until then, the MVP race is in a holding pattern of sorts, as four or five more missed games would put him on par with Jokic in terms of missed time.
Nonetheless, Gilgeous-Alexander still ranks second in the league in scoring, and the Thunder (44–14) have the best record in the NBA. He may be No. 2 in the NBA MVP rankings right now, but it's really a 1A and 1B situation between him and Jokic.
With seven weeks left in the regular season, no player is a wrong answer for MVP.
Previous ranking: #3
2025-26 season stats: 49 games, 25.5 points, 9.8 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 46.3 FG%, 33.8 3P%
What Cade Cunningham has accomplished for the Detroit Pistons this season is remarkable. Not only do the Pistons have the best winning percentage in the league at the moment, but Cunningham leads the league in total assists, and the only player with more assists per game is Jokic.
In his first game after the All-Star break, Cunningham had a stellar performance against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Pistons' All-Star recorded 42 points for his third 40-point performance of the season, and he also added 13 assists and eight rebounds to his name.
Since the All-Star break, Cunningham has had back-to-back double-doubles with 13 assists. He is firmly holding the No. 3 spot in these MVP rankings.
4. Victor Wembanyama - San Antonio Spurs*
Previous ranking: #5
2025-26 season stats: 42 games, 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 51.1 FG%, 35.7 3P%
Wembanyama has overtaken Luka Doncic to take the No. 4 spot in the NBA MVP rankings for a few reasons. In addition to the San Antonio Spurs catching the Thunder for the best record in the NBA, Wembley has been on a hot streak recently.
Since his impressive 40-point, 12-rebound double-double against the Los Angeles Lakers before the All-Star break, Wembanyama has averaged 23.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor in his last three games.
Spurs are undefeated in this region, and Wembanyama has led his team to eight consecutive wins. This is the longest active winning streak in the NBA.
5. Luka Doncic - Los Angeles Lakers*
Previous ranking: #4
2025-26 season stats: 44 games, 32.8 points, 8.5 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 47.1 FG%, 35.5 3P%
There's no denying that this has been the second-best season of Luka Doncic's career after finishing third in MVP voting during the 2023-24 season. Doncic is not only leading the league in scoring, but he is also leading the league in 3-pointers made and attempted per game, as well as free throws made and attempted per game.
Offensively, Doncic is off right now, and the only word to describe his game right now is dominant.
However, Doncic's ceiling has largely been set in the NBA MVP race this season. He can't overtake Jokic or Gilgeous-Alexander as long as their teams lead the West standings, and Cunningham has himself locked into the No. 3 spot for now.
Between Wembanyama and Doncic, the Spurs star has the upper hand in both head-to-head and overall impact on his team's championship aspirations this season. Doncic has missed 12 games this year, meaning he will need to stay healthy this year to qualify for awards and honors.
just missing the cut
6. Jaylen Brown - Boston Celtics [Ranked No. 6 last week]
7. Donovan Mitchell - Cleveland Cavaliers [Ranked No. 8 last week]
8. Anthony Edwards - Minnesota Timberwolves [Ranked No. 7 last week]
9. Jalen Brunson - New York Knicks [Ranked No. 9 last week]
10. Kevin Durant - Houston Rockets [Unranked last week]
*Signals players are in danger of meeting the 65-game minimum threshold for awards/accolades.
