NBA announces 2026 award finalists, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, Wembanyama lead MVP race

The NBA’s 2025-26 award finalists put the league’s power shift in plain view. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama head the MVP race, a three-man frame that says as much about the league’s future as it does about this season’s numbers.

The league announced the finalists on April 19 and said winners will roll out during the week of April 20, starting with Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. Clutch Player of the Year will follow Tuesday, Sixth Man Award on Wednesday, Sportsmanship Award on Thursday, and Most Improved Player on Friday. The league also said All-NBA Teams, All-Defensive Teams, Executive of the Year, Social Justice Champion, the Hustle Award and the J. Walker Kennedy Citizenship Award will come later in the postseason.

The MVP race remains the headline because it pits a reigning standard against two different kinds of challengers. Jokić is still the reference point for offensive control. Gilgeous-Alexander arrived with a cleaner, more relentless case, including 127 straight games with 20 or more points, a number that underscores both his consistency and Oklahoma City’s rise. Wembanyama has pushed the conversation into new territory, because he is not just an MVP finalist. He is also in the Defensive Player of the Year group, a rare double appearance that reflects how quickly his impact has expanded beyond highlight blocks and into the center of the league’s best debates.

That tension runs through the rest of the slate. The Rookie of the Year finalists are VJ Edgecombe, Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, a class that already carries franchise-weight expectations in Philadelphia, Dallas and Charlotte. Defensive Player of the Year includes Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson and Wembanyama. Most Improved Player features Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Deni Avdija and Jalen Duren. Sixth Man of the Year goes to Tim Hardaway Jr., Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Keldon Johnson. Clutch Player of the Year is Anthony Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray. Coach of the Year includes J.B. Bickerstaff, Mitch Johnson and Joe Mazzulla.

The league’s broader context matters too. On April 16, the NBA and NBPA said Cade Cunningham and Luka Dončić were eligible for all annual awards, even though neither made the finalist list. Two days later, the National Basketball Coaches Association named Bickerstaff its Coach of the Year after Detroit finished 60-22, the East’s best record and the NBA’s second-best overall mark.

The awards are voted on by a global panel of 100 media members, and the league later published the 2024-25 voting results. That process gives this finalist list real institutional weight. It also reveals the shape of the next era: Jokić still anchors the conversation, but Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama are forcing the league to define greatness in broader, more demanding terms.