In the NBA, the MVP race has been in talks for weeks, who will win, and who is THE best player in the NBA. Now there are plenty of answers to this question based on who you ask and where their loyalty lies. Since many opinions are biased, we have to use cold hard facts to determine the best NBA players in the 2025-2026 season. Heavy contenders for MVP are Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson and plenty of others. Let’s go over the top 10 candidates for MVP. You may not agree with the picks, but in the end, these predictions might lead to some answers about this year’s MVP candidates. 

Honorable Mention: Steph Curry

Now hear me out, I know this is going to seem crazy, but I promise you, Steph Curry is still a top 10-11 player. I also know he’s not playing currently, but this is just to say that he would be here if he was healthy. First off, Curry is still a versatile 3-level scorer, which we saw before his injury. Now granted, his shooting percentage isn’t the best. In fact, it’s not even good. He’s only shooting about 46.8% from the field, which is not only historically low for Curry, but low in general. However, this is because Curry has to take basically every shot with Jimmy Butler injured. Curry can’t pass to the team’s other scorer, so I think we can give him a pass for shooting so low, especially since he’s still capable of scoring form anywhere on the floor, which is demonstrated by his impressive 3-point percentage of 39.1%. Add on his incredible 93.1% shooting from the free throw, and you have yourself a truly versatile scorer, who was averaging 27.2 points. Straying away from his scoring, Steph Curry is also an elite level passer. When he was healthy, he was delivering the ball to his teammates consistently, averaging 4.8 assists a game, and is a consensus Top 10 passer of all time. As always though, Steph Curry had one glaring issue, which is his defense. I’m sure I don’t need to talk about this, as it’s a tale as old as time. Steph Curry has never been a great defender; however, his offensive ability makes up for it. Add to his ability, arguably one of the top 5 handles of all time, and you have a threat from anywhere on the floor.

# 10: Jalen Duren

Now some of you may be surprised to see Jalen Duren in MVP conversations already given that he’s so young. However, I believe he’s earned the right to be called a top 10 player in the league. He’s been averaging 18.5 rebounds per game and grabbing 10.7 rebounds per game, and he’s been a historically good rebounder. This year, he has also been cooking up offenses and putting up nearly 20 pts. per game. Jalen Duren is a physical forward, standing at 6’10, 250 pounds and is able to match almost anybody in the paint. He’s fairly consistent, shooting 62.7% from the field goal, and 72.7% from the free throw line. However, Duren does have some flaws; Now these could be due to his young age (he’s only 22), but nevertheless, the problems are still there. For starters, he isn’t a particularly great defender. He’s stiff, missing the lateral quickness to effectively block other players from getting to the rim. He’s also not a great rim protector. He can get blocks and stops when it matters, but he isn’t very consistent in the paint. He has some games where he puts up 3 blocks, but others where he puts up 0, and the back and forth can’t be fully relied upon. His second main issue is his lack of passing. Some of the best scoring power forwards in history like Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, and even Larry Bird were exceptional passers, and Duren just doesn’t have the kind of movement with the ball, averaging less than 2 assists a game. Now I’m not saying he’s a bad passer, but it definitely could use some work. All in all though, if you want a physical finisher and a noticeable offensive threat in the paint, Jalen Duren might be your guy, and I will bet money that in 2-3 years, he will be winning MVP’s like candy. 

#9:  Kawhi Leonard

This may be the craziest placement on the list, but in my opinion, Kawhi Leonard belongs here. Let’s get his issues out of the way first, because despite being 34, there aren’t many flaws to go around. I would argue that his talent is simply his health issues, as he can seemingly never stay healthy on the court for prolonged periods of time. Other than that though, Kawhi has practically no weaknesses. Offensively, he’s averaging 27.9 points on 49.7% shooting from the field, 37.2% from the 3 ball, and 90.4% from the free throw. He’s a complete offensive scorer, and is carrying his team offensively. Straying away from scoring, Kawhi is also an excellent rebounder, putting up 6.4 rebounds a game. Lastly for the offensive side of the ball, he dominates in passing. Kawhi is also a great passer, giving simple, and effective passes out to his team to score, averaging 3.7 rebounds per game. Now here’s where it gets insane. Not only is Kawhi an amazing and key offensive piece, but he is arguably the best perimeter defender in the league, and has been for a while. Although not being a great interior defender, he is an excellent, fundamental perimeter defender. What makes him so scary to go against is his strength. Watching people go against him is fun because you can’t get past him if he’s locked onto the ball, so average his offensive stats and 2 steals a game, making him a total package player, and a freak athlete capable of keeping up with almost anybody in the league. 

#8: Jalen Brunson

A player that I really don’t like, but can’t deny his abilities on the court, is Jalen Brunson. Now Brunson isn’t necessarily great at one specific thing; instead he’s more similar to Kawhi or Jalen Duren in that he can more or less do everything on the floor at once, offensively. Scoring wise, he’s very consistent, averaging 26.2 points per game, but the reason I put him on this list is because of his raw scoring ability. He’s had a few down games here and there, but it’s more than likely that if you tune into a Knicks game, Brunson will be scoring 20-30 points fairly easily. He’s shooting 46.4% from the field, 37.8% from the 3 ball, and 84% from the free throw. He’s also a very good playmaker, facilitating the offense and constantly getting offensive runs going for his whole team. As usual though, Brunson is lacking a few key things, for starters, and probably most obvious, his defense is often lacking. He can’t really get past screens and often finds himself giving up easy points he could have stopped. He lacks speed laterally and can’t stay locked onto his match up similar to Luka Doncic or Steph Curry. Another issue with his play is simply that sometimes he scores too much. Despite being a good passer, he can sometimes ball-hog and doesn’t always pass the ball even if he should. This of course takes a lot of his energy. In other words, he’s essentially too focused on scoring and limits himself in the process. Despite his defensive problems however, Brunson is still a good offensive player who can run an offensive and can score consistently, throwing off defenders with his balance.

#7: Kevin Durant

I don’t think I even have to explain this one, but just in case anybody doubts me, here’s my take. For starters, remember that Kevin Durant is 37. Still, I’ll just say it- Kevin Durant is a top 3 pure scorer in the league right now. He’s basically a cheat code, as a 6’11 forward with a 7’5 wingspan who has dribbles like a guard and score form anywhere on the floor. He’s averaging 26.1 points per game on efficient shooting, putting up 51% from the field, 40.2% from the 3, and 88.9% from the free throw. He’s an offensive minded player who is a consistent scorer and uses his height to get to a bucket whenever he feels like it. Aside from scoring, for his size, he is an excellent passer, capable of passing from almost anywhere on the floor, averaging 4.5 assists per game, and despite being skinny, he is also a good rebounder, as he is capable of grabbing 5.5 rebounds a game. Still, what makes him so good isn’t just his offensive; he’s also an elite defender. Because of his frame, he can contest shots from basically anywhere, and he’s also fast for his size, so he can stay in front of a lot of players he has to guard. Kevin Durant is a complete player, and he is probably the most balanced player in the league. He has basically no weakness, aside from the occasional double team, which he can struggle to get past. 

#6: Jaylen Brown

Honestly, it feels disrespectful not putting Brown in the top 5, but the five players ahead of him deserve to be there, and now we’re getting to the territory where any of these players could realistically win MVP. Brown is an offensive scoring machine, and somehow defensive menace as well. He’s putting up an average of 28.7 points a game, shooting 48% from the field, 34.8% from the 3, and 78% from the free throw. He’s shifted his game into a balanced player who can give passes to anyone on the floor, and is an above average passer now, averaging 5.1 assists a game. He’s a high-effort, physical rebounder, grabbing 7.2 a game. Like Kawhi, he’s also a good, versatile defender, who can use his physicality and surprising speed to keep up with the ball and constantly get stops, able to guard basically every position. However, he does have one big weakness, and it’s a big one. His reliance on his right hand. He almost never goes left, and isn’t consistent with dribbling or finishing with his left. He can also turn the ball over due to poor decision making and can sometimes lack off-ball awareness. Despite his weakness though, his ups massively out weigh his downs, and he is a top 10 player no doubt. 

#5: Luka Doncic

Another player I can’t stand is Luka Doncic, so we’re going to start with his weaknesses. Luka’s first weakness is his defense, which is very bad. Luka is a garbage defender due to his lack of physicality. He just can’t stay in front of his defenders and allows easy buckets. His second big issue is his turnovers, averaging 4 per game. He can’t take care of the ball, and lacks handles. He also lacks stamina and conditions and gets gassed a lot on the court. Lastly, he’s simply just a foul baiter. But the downsides are once again outweighed, because what he lacks in defense, he makes up for in being the best offensive player in the league currently. He’s averaging a mind-boggling 32.5 points a game, on 47.4% from the field, 36% from the 3, and 77.3% for the free throw. Not to mention that despite his limited physical play, he’s still able to average 7.8 rebounds a game, since he’s an excellent rebounder, especially for a guard. Lastly, he’s able to facilitate an offense constantly, being an elite level passer able to average 8.4 assists a game. Despite hating him, I also have to give him credit where it’s due, because despite having no help, Luka can run a consistent offense, but he is lacking in certain aspects on the court. 

#4: Cade Cunningham:

Nobody is surprised to see him in the top 5. Not only is Cade a consistently great, top 5 player, but he also led his team to one of the biggest turnaround seasons in NBA history. He is a complete, consistent 2-way player, who’s able to do a bit of everything. On the scoring end, he’s averaging 25.1 points per game, but unlike a lot of guards, he’s not a score-first kind of player. He’s shooting 45.9% from the field, 35% from the 3, and 80.9% from the free throw. But he’s not a “ball-hog” like many other guards could be considered. He can get the ball to anywhere and anybody on the court, and he’s a versatile 3-level player. He averages 9.9 assists a game because of his elite level passing and IQ for the game of basketball. He can also get rebounds well too, and he’s a very versatile rebounder who uses his stature as a big guard to make his way into the paint, averaging 5.7 rebounds a game. Cade is not only an offensive nightmare though. He’s also a very strong and competent perimeter defender. He’s 6’6, but his 7’0 wingspan allows him to guard the majority of the shots taken on the floor, and he’s also fast for his size, as he is able to get stops when it counts. Cade’s biggest flaw is his sometimes inconsistent 3- point shooting, but other than that, he’s an all-around, well-balanced player.

#3: Victor Wembanyama:

Wemby is a literal glitch on the court. He plays like someone’s controlling him in a video game, capable of scoring the ball anywhere, using his 7 ‘4 frame and 8’ 0 wingspan to be practically wide open on any shot he takes. His most glaring issue is just his lack of physical strength, as he’s boxed out by almost every player his size, lacking the physicality a big guy should have. Other than that though, he’s good at everything on the floor. He can score, pass, defend, and rebound because of how tall he is. In terms of scoring, he’s averaging 24.2 points a game, shooting 50.6% from the field, 36% from the 3, and 81.5% from the free throw. Rebound wise, despite lacking physically, Wemby is so tall, he can grab it over anyone, making him an elite rebounder who consistently gets 10 or more rebounds, averaging 11.1 rebounds a game. For his size, Wemby is a very good and consistent passer. His ability to get it around the floor never limits the offense, and that has to be admired. Defensively, Wemby is an elite rim defender, and a defensive plate of the year candidate, and because he’s so lanky, he can also get steals, averaging 3 blocks and 1 steal a game. He is arguably the best defender in the league, and a top 5 offensive player, making him a terrifying matchup for any player.

#2: Nikola Jokic

For the 4th year in a row, Jokic is once again in the top 3 players to nobody’s surprise. Jokic looks like he would be a bench player at best, but he’s somehow averaging a triple double with 30 points a game. He’s shooting 57.3% from the field, 38.9% from the 3, and 83.7% from the free throw.  He’s the best pure scorer in the NBA, and one of the best offensive players in the last 20 years. He’s able to facilitate on offense on multiple levels, and he’s a consistent 3-level scorer, averaging 28.7 points per game. He’s also the greatest passer the center position has ever seen, and a top 3 passer to ever touch the game. His IQ and knowledge on the court is shown as he can view the court and find openings to any teammate he wants. He’s averaging 10.4 assists a game because of the way he can read the floor and doesn’t have to give flashy passes, just perfect on-target assists. Of course because he’s a center, he naturally would be good at rebounding. He uses his physical stature as a very bulky and strong center to get down low into the paint and grab rebounds even over taller defenders because he’s just very burly. Basically, no centers can stay on Jokic because he can simply just push them off because of his dominant physical strength, meaning there is usually nobody in the paint capable of stopping him, so he averages 12.7 rebounds per game. He’s also a good defender. Because of his high IQ, he can read defenders and predict where they may go. He is more of an effective “team defender” though, not necessarily a rim protector or perimeter defender. Jokic’s main weakness would simply have to be his lack of speed, lateral mobility, agility, and vertical capability. Aside from that though, he is a strong and consistent offensive player with a high IQ who can make everyone around him better.

#1: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

As much as I hate to admit it, SGA is more than likely the best player in the NBA currently. SGA is also the most unlikable player in the NBA though, because of his “unethical” style of play. He’s described as a foul baiter, which he is. He flops around with the ball to get free shots, but as much as it stinks to admit, he’s still a good scorer. In fact, he’s one the best and most consistent scorers in the entire league. He consistently averages 30 or more games, shown by his 31.8 points per game, and can get to a jumpshot from anywhere on the court. He’s shooting 55.4% from the field, 38.3% from the 3, and 89.5% from the free throw. He’s a crafty player, using his handles to create space between defenders, and knows how to use his teammates to find opportunities to score with space, and he can also score through 1-on-1 defense. He’s not just a scorer though; he can also dish out passes to his teammates. He doesn’t throw flashy passes, but instead just gets the ball to his teammates to score when he can’t, averaging 6.6 assists per game. He is an ok rebounder, but for his position, it doesn’t really matter. So he’s only averaging 4.4 rebounds a game. Offensively, SGA can control the pace of games, and on defense, he’s an elite perimeter defender. He disputes team plays off the ball and makes it hard to get a bucket on him. He’s very fast and lanky for his position as well, standing tall at 6’6 as a point guard, taller than most in the league. SGA is an all around threat on both sides of the floor and gets points whenever he wants.