The New Jersey Devils will have the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Tuesday’s lottery showed no movement for New Jersey, which entered with the 12th-worst record among non-playoff teams.

His slim chances of climbing into the top ten never materialised.

Instead, chaos reigned at the top of the board. The Toronto Maple Leafs, with only 8.5% odds and the fifth-worst record, moved from outside the top tier to first overall.

The San Jose Sharks moved up to second place, about a 5% difference from mid-lottery position (ninth-worst). Both jumps were highly improbable and expectations for the 2026 NHL Draft class were reshuffled.

For the Devils, it’s another year of lottery neutrality. Like 2024, they’re stuck in a spot that reflects their season: competitive enough to miss the playoffs but not lottery-friendly. That year he landed a big shot at Russian defenceman, Anton Silayev.

The top-tier talent headlined by prospects like Gavin McKenna now looks to Toronto and San Jose as teams looking to capitalize on long-term fortunes.

Yet 12th overall remains valuable.

What the Devils do with their first round pick remains to be seen. New GM Sunny Mehta reported that he believes New Jersey is on the verge of becoming a perennial playoff performer.

Thus, it’s fair to wonder if Mehta will settle for his core needs and package a first-round pick for more immediate help.

Otherwise, the Devils lack chances going forward. The 2026 NHL Draft is loaded with forward talent, and New Jersey will certainly look to improve their crop of forwards in the pipeline.

The 2026 NHL Draft is just less than two months away. Thus, Mehta and his team will have ample time to assess the best course of action with the 12 overall selections on June 26.

However, if the new regime is truly something that is going to change the culture in New Jersey, their first round pick should – without question – be used as a trade chip to eventually make Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt a proper left winger.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

There are plenty of stories heading into the final few weeks of the 2025-26 NBA season, but none bigger than the Los Angeles Lakers’ lead in the Western Conference. More importantly, all the talk in Hollywood has focused on Luka Doncic and his MVP campaign that has skyrocketed over the past few weeks.

Can Luka really overtake Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the favorite for MVP heading into the final three weeks of the season?

It seems like the Oklahoma City Thunder star has already been labeled as the MVP favorite since before the All-Star break, and Nikola Jokic was the obvious second choice. But then Jokic suffered a knee injury and the Denver Nuggets took a step back.

Sure, Victor Wembanyama and his success with the San Antonio Spurs have solidified his place in the MVP rankings, but no other player is doing what Doncic is doing right now.

Since the beginning of March, Doncic has averaged 36.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 12 games, while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from 3-point range. Over that span, Luka ranks first in points (442), shots made (150), shots attempted (350), 3-pointers attempted (62), 3-pointers attempted (157), and 30-point games (9).

In addition to all of these individual stats, Luka’s video-game-like numbers have directly led to success for the Lakers, who are 11-1 since the beginning of March and have won nine straight games. The last time the Lakers went on a nine-game winning streak, they captured their 17th championship.

Could history repeat itself with Doncic leading this version of the franchise?

Only time will tell on the championship front, but as far as MVP is concerned, Doncic has put himself firmly back in the mix. The only question is whether it’s too late in the season for the Lakers’ superstar to sway voters.

Well, I’m not voting for MVP this year, but as we approach the final week of ClutchPoints’ MVP rankings, Doncic has firmly put himself back in the top 3 and is being talked about in this year’s race.

Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 | 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

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder*

Previous ranking: #1

2025-26 season stats: 50 games, 31.6 points, 6.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 55.3 FG%, 39.0 3P%

*Can only miss a maximum of 5 more games to remain eligible.

Since breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive games with 20-plus points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has twice had a scare of scoring exactly 20 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets. In between those games are two 40-point games.

The Thunder have won 11 consecutive games, the longest active winning streak in the league, and they now lead the Spurs by three games for the top spot in the NBA. Gilgeous-Alexander has left his mark on the Thunder’s success this season, especially given all of his injury concerns.

Despite missing some time before and after the All-Star break, Shai led the Thunder to another remarkable season in the absence of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren on the court consistently. This is another major reason why he will win MVP awards consecutively.

2. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs*

Previous ranking: #3

2025-26 season stats: 56 games, 24.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.0 blocks, 50.4 FG%, 35.6 3P%

*Can only miss a maximum of 3 more games to remain eligible.

Victor Vembanyama is on a mission right now. If you don’t believe me, just listen to the guy:

“Right now, I’m taking great care of my body because I want to win MVP and DPOY as well,” Wembley recently said about the remainder of the season. “So, I’m just trying to press the gas from now until the end of the season. Really take care of my treatment, take care of my sleep, take care of my routine and perform for my team.”

Well, there you have it. Vembanayama wants to win the MVP award, and he’s putting together a compelling case right now, just like Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic.

In addition to recording at least 20 points and eight rebounds in four of his last five games, Wembanyama has also recorded at least four blocks in three of his last five games. The Spurs star looks like the best two-way player in the league right now, and San Antonio is still just behind Oklahoma City in the West standings, which is enough for Wembley to be No. 2 in the MVP rankings.

3. Luka Doncic – Los Angeles Lakers*

Previous ranking: #5

2025-26 season stats: 55 games, 32.8 points, 8.5 assists, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 47.3 FG%, 36.5 3P%

*Can only miss a maximum of 5 more games to remain eligible.

There are no other words to describe what Luka Doncic is doing right now sensory.

He hasn’t scored below 30 points in nine straight games, and over that span, Doncic has four games with at least 40 points, two games with at least 50 points, and one 60-point performance.

At this point, we can see Doncic getting closer to Bam Adebayo when he scored 83 points against the Washington Wizards. Funnily enough, Luka and the Lakers will see the Wizards on March 30, so who knows?

The Lakers are winning games, Doncic is putting up Wilt-like scoring numbers, and perhaps the most unrecognized area of ​​development for him over the past few weeks what the stats won’t tell you is that Luka has really increased his intensity and physicality on defense.

Doncic has been named Western Conference Player of the Week for several consecutive weeks, and he leads the league with four Player of the Week awards this year. It wouldn’t take long for Luka to win the Western Conference Player of the Month award once March ended.

4. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets*

Previous ranking: #2

2025-26 season stats: 56 games, 28.0 points, 12.6 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 57.3 FG%, 38.5 3P%

*A maximum of 1 more game can be missed to remain eligible.

Nikola Jokic has put together a great season. No matter which statistic you look at, he’s tops in the league, and averaging a triple-double for the year is no small feat.

Unfortunately, amid the Denver Nuggets’ struggles as a result of his untimely knee injury and injuries across the board, his MVP stock took a big hit entering the All-Star break and coming out of it for the final stretch run of the season.

While MVP is an individual award and we’ve seen Jokic be a one-man team player at certain times during his career, his turnover rate and overall efficiency have declined over the past month compared to SGA, Wembley and Doncic. Jokic committed 10 turnovers on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, and he is averaging 4.8 turnovers per game in March.

This is not the perfect recipe for winning MVP, and neither is your team significantly below the teams of all three players above you in the MVP rankings.

Previous ranking: #6

2025-26 season stats: 64 games, 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 47.7 FG%, 34.3 3P%

Jayson Tatum may be getting all the attention now that he’s back on the court for the Boston Celtics, but Jaylen Brown is having his best season in the NBA. In all honesty, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the best two-way wing in basketball right now.

Brown has led the Celtics to a top team in the Eastern Conference in what many thought would be a gap year, and he has averaged career highs in nearly every major statistical category. Lately, Brown has been the main reason for Boston’s success.

Over his last four games, where the Celtics have gone 3-1, Brown has averaged 33.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, while shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 35.0 percent from 3-point range. He scored 41 points on March 16 against the Phoenix Suns, his sixth 40-point game of the season.

Brown has moved ahead of Cade Cunningham in the MVP rankings after finishing sixth last week as the Detroit Pistons star suffered a collapsed lung and is expected to miss a significant amount of time, making him ineligible for the award.

just missing the cut

6. Cade Cunningham – Detroit Pistons [Ranked No. 4 last week]*

7. Jalen Johnson – Atlanta Hawks [Ranked No. 10 last week]

8. Kevin Durant – Houston Rockets [Ranked No. 8 last week]

9. Kawhi Leonard – Los Angeles Clippers [Ranked No. 9 last week]

10. Anthony Edwards – Minnesota Timberwolves [Ranked No. 7 last week]

*Signals players are in danger of meeting the 65-game minimum threshold for awards/accolades.