The National Basketball Association plans to unveil its Most Valuable Player award winner this Sunday, scheduled for the evening before the Western Conference finals tip off between Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who claimed last season’s MVP honor, stands among three candidates vying for this year’s recognition alongside San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama and Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Amazon Prime Video will broadcast the winner announcement during its pregame programming Sunday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Regardless of the outcome, this marks the eighth straight year that a player born beyond American borders will claim the MVP honor.
This streak of international MVP winners began with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (born in Greece, of Nigerian descent) in 2019 and 2020, then Denver’s Nikola Jokic (Serbia) in 2021 and 2022, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (born in Cameroon but has since become a U.S. citizen) in 2023, Jokic again in 2024 and Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) last year.
Should Wembanyama claim victory, he would become the first French player to earn MVP recognition, while Jokic pursues a fourth MVP title — an achievement reached only by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain (four) and LeBron James (four).
This would represent the 12th MVP recognition for an international player overall. Prior to the current streak, Nigeria’s Hakeem Olajuwon won in 1994, Canada’s Steve Nash won in 2005 and 2006, and Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki won in 2007.
The timing of Sunday’s announcement could suggest Gilgeous-Alexander might claim the award, mirroring last year’s announcement timeline. In 2025, Gilgeous-Alexander was announced as the winner May 21, and he was formally presented with the trophy before Game 2 of the West finals in Oklahoma City on May 22.
This season, Sunday’s reveal precedes the Thunder hosting Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Monday evening.
A summary of awards the NBA has already distributed this season:
— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.
— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.
— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.
— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.
— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.
— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.
— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.
— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.
— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.
The league’s Coach of the Year award (San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson, Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla) has yet to be announced, as have the All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.
