Who do you think wins MVP this season? (2025-26 NBA MVP Discussion Thread)

[Mavrelous]

This podcast is Allie Clifton, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins.

Perk's apparent current MVP ladder (I'm not endorsing this, just relaying the information):

SGA
Jokic
Cade
Luka

I think Perk list is right, and I can't believe I typed these words.
I personally would bump Cade to 2 and strongly consider give it to him if Pistons get ~60 wins and win the east.

[HotRocks34]

Maybe the craziest statistical season for MVP voting was 1962. The league average pace was 126 and stats were through the roof. Here's the MVP vote order and stats.

1. Russell (BOS 60-20).....18/23/4
2. Wilt (PHW 49-31)..........50/25/2....(100 pt gm)
3. Oscar (CIN 43-37).........30/12/11

Baylor (38/18/4) and West (30/7/5) were 4th and 5th for the 54-26 Lakers.

Russell had already won 4 rings by then which may have given him an edge over the others. Players voted for the MVP.

This year isn't as ridiculous as 1962 but the stats are looking pretty strong for the top players nonetheless.

[hagredionis]

Maybe the craziest statistical season for MVP voting was 1962. The league average pace was 126 and stats were through the roof. Here's the MVP vote order and stats.

1. Russell (BOS 60-20).....18/23/4
2. Wilt (PHW 49-31)..........50/25/2....(100 pt gm)
3. Oscar (CIN 43-37).........30/12/11

Baylor (38/18/4) and West (30/7/5) were 4th and 5th for the 54-26 Lakers.

Russell had already won 4 rings by then which may have given him an edge over the others. Players voted for the MVP.

This year isn't as ridiculous as 1962 but the stats are looking pretty strong for the top players nonetheless.

Wilt was robbed.

[CobraCommander]

More detail on RAPTOR/LAKER

Maxey out here asking WTF do I have to do to get an option on the poll

[CobraCommander]

The third man here would be Giannis, and it looks like record and injuries are going to make that irrelevant.

EPM has SGA at 10.7, Jokic at 10.5, Giannis at 8.5, and Luka is hanging with Donovan Mitchell and Curry at 6.4.

Luka is further away on EPM from Shai and Jokic than guys like OG, Quickley, and LaMelo are from Luka.

its simply Jokic IF he wins enough games...SGA only wins if OKC wins a record number of games or is 10+ games ahead of Denver....

if OKC gets to 74 wins...SGA wins period...

or if OKC gets to 70 and Denver gets to 55 ...SGA wins...most likely but it's not absolute.

but if Denver gets to 61 and OKC is at 70....Jokic wins most likely.

Disagree,I think SGA wins it if they win 70 as well. He’s in the lead right now tbh.

if they get to 70 and Denver is on their heels there is a chance jokic wins because his stats are that much better. but it goes either way...its a two man race.

[Archx]

Apart from SGA and Jokic, i feel like some of these advance stats are all over the place right now. There are a lot of players i wouldn't expect to be that high or that low based on how they're playing and their team result.

[jokeboy86]

Think Jokic is destined(again) to probably have one of the greatest seasons ever for a runner-up. I don't think any team is going to keep up with OKC's win pace and Shai's got the stats to go with it. Plus there's kind of been a precedent set when a MVP/defending champs basically start the season where they left off and maintain it the whole year especially if it's a first time champion. I think the only question at this point is whether or not OKC tries to make a run at 70 wins. I'd actually be shocked if Shai's voting share is lower than last year's (913pts won out of 1000 maxpts)

[MarcusBrody]

Tonight's game was an example of why Jokic might not end up MVP, but why he has developed such a following. He seemed like he basically didn't want to shoot. Which seems to happen a lot against teams he thinks the Nuggets should beat. But he still had multiple moments which just made you go "Whoa" and shake your head. He's probably my favorite player to watch.

I'm not sure he's more MVP worthy than Shai. SGA has been so good and I think people underrate how much he lifts the Thunder offense and how that allows them to be one of the top teams ever. He shows up every single night and puts that pressure out there. He's already solidly a top 10 guard all time for me, and with an outside case for top 5 which is only going to get stronger. Just a great player. But he just doesn't have the same "I can't believe that just happened" impact that Jokic has, so I just don't enjoy watching him play as much (I do think him breaking down guys off the dribble is pretty amazing to watch), even if he I fully recognize that he is a fully legitimate MVP and playing like one again. Jokic is just weirder to watch play, and I like that as a viewer, even if it sometimes leads to suboptimal outcomes.

[mtron929]

Tonight's game was an example of why Jokic might not end up MVP, but why he has developed such a following. He seemed like he basically didn't want to shoot. Which seems to happen a lot against teams he thinks the Nuggets should beat. But he still had multiple moments which just made you go "Whoa" and shake your head. He's probably my favorite player to watch.

I'm not sure he's more MVP worthy than Shai. SGA has been so good and I think people underrate how much he lifts the Thunder offense and how that allows them to be one of the top teams ever. He shows up every single night and puts that pressure out there. He's already solidly a top 10 guard all time for me, and with an outside case for top 5 which is only going to get stronger. Just a great player. But he just doesn't have the same "I can't believe that just happened" impact that Jokic has, so I just don't enjoy watching him play as much (I do think him breaking down guys off the dribble is pretty amazing to watch), even if he I fully recognize that he is a fully legitimate MVP and playing like one again. Jokic is just weirder to watch play, and I like that as a viewer, even if it sometimes leads to suboptimal outcomes.

I think Jokic probably is looking at the long game and recognizing that the OKC are so good that he needs more help to beat them. So he needs to get guys like Cam Johnson, Peyton Watson going and getting their confidence up. He could score 30-40 points if he wants but in the longer run, it is better if guys like Johnson and Watson get their confidence up and reps in if they are going to beat OKC.

[Manimal]

The main problem I have with SGA (as amazing as he is) is that the Thunder are still a 60 win team without him. You could put him on the Blazers and let him carry that team to 50 wins and it'd look incredible. But making an already dominant team slightly more dominant just doesnt feel as special, at least to me.

[RB34]

This podcast is Allie Clifton, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins.

Perk's apparent current MVP ladder (I'm not endorsing this, just relaying the information):

SGA
Jokic
Cade
Luka

I think Perk list is right, and I can't believe I typed these words.
I personally would bump Cade to 2 and strongly consider give it to him if Pistons get ~60 wins and win the east.

I’m curious to know what you argument for Cade at 2 is?

Further to that, Perks takes have heavy racial undertones and by that I mean he is a racist.

[Mavrelous]

This podcast is Allie Clifton, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins.

Perk's apparent current MVP ladder (I'm not endorsing this, just relaying the information):

SGA
Jokic
Cade
Luka

I think Perk list is right, and I can't believe I typed these words.
I personally would bump Cade to 2 and strongly consider give it to him if Pistons get ~60 wins and win the east.

I’m curious to know what you argument for Cade at 2 is?

Further to that, Perks takes have heavy racial undertones and by that I mean he is a racist.

2nd best team in the league and vastly exceeding expectations, he's the MVP of the team.
I don't really care what's the motivation behind Perk comments, they are usually stupid.

[CobraCommander]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/pRXBQCckes

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/gUB1jEgg6O

Which one is more mvp
Worthy

[Infinite Llamas]

I think Perk list is right, and I can't believe I typed these words.
I personally would bump Cade to 2 and strongly consider give it to him if Pistons get ~60 wins and win the east.

I’m curious to know what you argument for Cade at 2 is?

Further to that, Perks takes have heavy racial undertones and by that I mean he is a racist.

2nd best team in the league and vastly exceeding expectations, he's the MVP of the team.
I don't really care what's the motivation behind Perk comments, they are usually stupid.

Duren has been just as impressive as Cade.

[mademan]

The main problem I have with SGA (as amazing as he is) is that the Thunder are still a 60 win team without him. You could put him on the Blazers and let him carry that team to 50 wins and it'd look incredible. But making an already dominant team slightly more dominant just doesnt feel as special, at least to me.

The Thunder are 100% not a 60 win team without him. Maybe they can make the playoffs if theyre healthy without him, but at most, theyre a above 500 team that can maybe crack 50 wins if everything goes right. How often do you see teams winning 60 games without an A tier offensive half court player? Hawks in a weak east? or Raps in the same east? Cant think of much else

[QPR]

The main problem I have with SGA (as amazing as he is) is that the Thunder are still a 60 win team without him. You could put him on the Blazers and let him carry that team to 50 wins and it'd look incredible. But making an already dominant team slightly more dominant just doesnt feel as special, at least to me.

Given there are maybe 1-2 60 win teams each season, i think this id a bit of hyperbole and really sells SGA's impact short. Who is their second high level shot creator?.

They have a lot of competent offensive players who feed off SGA''s gravity.

[RB34]

I think Perk list is right, and I can't believe I typed these words.
I personally would bump Cade to 2 and strongly consider give it to him if Pistons get ~60 wins and win the east.

I’m curious to know what you argument for Cade at 2 is?

Further to that, Perks takes have heavy racial undertones and by that I mean he is a racist.

2nd best team in the league and vastly exceeding expectations, he's the MVP of the team.
I don't really care what's the motivation behind Perk comments, they are usually stupid.

Considering how much heat the East has received over the last few years for being terrible I don’t think you can concretely call them the second best team in the league. Two more wins but not a single statistical argument over Joker, hard to see Cade at #2.

The Pistons turnaround has been nothing short of impressive though. Best story in the league.

[Mavrelous]

I’m curious to know what you argument for Cade at 2 is?

Further to that, Perks takes have heavy racial undertones and by that I mean he is a racist.

2nd best team in the league and vastly exceeding expectations, he's the MVP of the team.
I don't really care what's the motivation behind Perk comments, they are usually stupid.

Considering how much heat the East has received over the last few years for being terrible I don’t think you can concretely call them the second best team in the league. Two more wins but not a single statistical argument over Joker, hard to see Cade at #2.

The Pistons turnaround has been nothing short of impressive though. Best story in the league.

Right now, west winning % is 52%, the gap isn't as wide as though of before.
I don't have a problem with placing Joker 2nd, I just think what Cade and the Pistons are doing deserves recognition, there isn't a fixed formula for MVP, it relies heavily on narrative.

[Castle Black]

More history for Jokic as he becomes just the 3rd player in NBA history to average 35+ PPG, 12+ RPG, 10+ APG over any 10-game span, and the first ever to do it on 50%+ shooting.

He also became the first player in NBA history to average a 30-point Triple-Double on 80% TS over a 5+ game span (!!).

These numbers are staggering. And the Nuggets are winning despite multiple starters missing games due to injury. Anyone who doesn't think this is the MVP leader (right now) is kidding themselves.

Read on Twitter

[bbms]

The main problem I have with SGA (as amazing as he is) is that the Thunder are still a 60 win team without him. You could put him on the Blazers and let him carry that team to 50 wins and it'd look incredible. But making an already dominant team slightly more dominant just doesnt feel as special, at least to me.

it's nothing slightly more dominant.

it's a lot more dominant. by all impact metrics he's been having all time impact. w/o shai thunder's offense is below league average, which would be way worse than the current top 5 offensive rating and shai do the heavy lifting while keeping it stable with consistency and efficient, with low turnover rate.

again, an offense that doesn't turn the ball over is an offense that is defensively responsible. any bad team in the league in transition after a live ball turnover is efficient like the best offenses in the league. having to defend in transition on average is like having to defend vs the all time greatest offenses (~1.35-1.40 ppp on average). people don't realize how shai's offensive dna is in synch with thunder's dna.

the fact he's one of the rare offensive juggernauts that isn't a weak link on defense is underplayef by your argument. this season the thunder is 108 ortg in non shai minutes, that would be like one of the worst offenses in the nba, would be like a +4 netrtg (considering a stable defensive rating which is not granted) not dominant at all btw considering the same outcome defensively.

you guys are currently tilted too much about raw points rebounds and assist and occssionally some advanced stats like ts% and raw on/off data.

sga volume and efficiency as a high usage scoring is top 3 all time already. and the other guys in his tier ended up as super duper champions too. so what are you missing is probably the most important thing.