San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama dominated in his first-ever playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Victor Wembanyama has been named a finalist for the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the first time, alongside Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the league announced Sunday.
The finalists were revealed during the broadcast of the playoff opener between the Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons on NBC, alongside nominees for other major 2025–26 season awards.
Wembanyama, also in contention for Defensive Player of the Year, delivered a standout season—averaging a career-high 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and leading the league with 3.1 blocks per game. At just 22, he could become the youngest MVP in NBA history, surpassing Derrick Rose’s record from the 2010–11 season.
To do so, he’ll have to beat out the last two league MVPs in Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1 ppg, 6.6 assists per game, 4.3 rpg), who won his first MVP last season, and Jokic (27.7 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 10.7 apg), who won his third in 2023-24.
Detroit’s Ausar Thompson and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren are the other two finalists for DPOY, which Wembanyama is heavily favored to win.
Three of the first four picks in last year’s draft are the finalists for Rookie of the Year. No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg of Dallas (21.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.2 steals per game), No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe of Philadelphia (16.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.4 spg) and No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel of Charlotte (18.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, league-high 273 made 3-pointers) earned the recognition.
Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Portland’s Deni Avdija and Detroit’s Jalen Duren are the three finalists for Most Improved Player. In his first season in Atlanta, Alexander-Walker averaged 20.8 points — 9.8 more than in any of his first six seasons. Avdija averaged a career-high 24.2 points, and Duren — like Avdija a first-time All-Star — averaged 19.5 points, far exceeding the 11.8 he averaged last season.
The Nuggets’ Tim Hardaway Jr., Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson are the finalists for Sixth Man of the Year.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray and Gilgeous-Alexander are finalists for Clutch Player of the Year. Any of them would be a first-time winner of the award, which will be given out for the fourth time this year.
Three coaches of top-two seeded teams were named finalists for Coach of the Year in Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson and Boston’s Joe Mazzulla. Whoever wins will be a first-time COTY.
The award winners will start being announced this coming week during playoff broadcasts, starting Monday with Defensive Player of the Year, Clutch Player on Tuesday, Sixth Man on Wednesday and Most Improved Player on Friday.
NBA award finalists
Most Valuable Player
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)
Nikola Jokic (Denver)
Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio)
Rookie of the Year
VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia)
Cooper Flagg (Dallas)
Kon Knueppel (Charlotte)
Defensive Player of the Year
Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City)
Ausar Thompson (Detroit)
Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio)
Most Improved Player
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Atlanta)
Deni Avdija (Portland)
Jalen Duren (Detroit)
Sixth Man of the Year
Tim Hardaway Jr. (Denver)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami)
Keldon Johnson (San Antonio)
Clutch Player of the Year
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)
Jamal Murray (Denver)
Coach of the Year
J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit)
Mitch Johnson (San Antonio)
Joe Mazzulla (Boston)
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