Where is the NBA MVP race headed? We surveyed 100 league insiders
Luka has the numbers. Tatum has the wins. And Giannis has been, well, Giannis. So who has the inside track for MVP? Early returns are in.
www.espn.comHere’s the latest widely reported snapshot on NBA MVP voting as of now.
- The most recent, widely cited official-like results reference the 2023-24 season, where Nikola Jokić won the MVP with a large share of first-place votes. This has been repeatedly reported by outlets detailing the full ballots for MVP and other awards for that season.[1]
- For the 2024-25 season and beyond, various outlets publish ongoing media polls or straw polls that estimate votes from insiders, but these are not the official NBA vote. For example, media polls in 2025-26 have highlighted players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others in the MVP conversations, with outlets providing voting tallies or point totals from hypothetical or media-derived ballots.[3][5]
- Recent coverage in late 2025 and early 2026 continued to frame the MVP race around a small group of top candidates (e.g., SGA, Jokic, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo) in speculative or poll formats, rather than definitive final results, since the actual NBA MVP is awarded after the regular season ends and is publicly announced by the league.[5][8]
If you want, I can pull the latest, most precise official results as soon as they’re released and share the exact final ballot breakdown (first-place votes, points, and voting by media outlets). I can also set up a quick summary of how the voting has trended across the last few seasons and include a simple chart. Would you like me to do that?
Citations:
- Official or widely-cited results for 2023-24 MVP and full ballots:[1]
- 2026 media polls and voting summaries illustrating current MVP race discussions:[3]
- 2025-26 MVP rumor/poll coverage showing top candidates and voting formats:[5]