Who Is 2026 NBA MVP Favorite? ESPN Straw Poll Reveals Where SGA, Jokic, Luka Rank
Indications through the first quarter of the NBA season have the MVP race shaping up to be a showdown between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić with everyone else vying for third place.
In the first MVP straw poll for the 2025-26 season of 100 media members conducted by ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way with 57 first-place votes and 865 total points.
Jokić is in second place with 42 first-place votes and 822 total points, followed by Luka Dončić in a distant third (one first-place vote, 432 points). Cade Cunningham (271 points) and Jalen Brunson (106 points) round out the top five.
The battle between Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić has been going on since the start of last season.
Jokić led the first straw poll last year before Gilgeous-Alexander passed him on a revisit in February and maintained his grip on the top spot en route to capturing the first MVP award of his career.
Both Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić have been arguably better so far this season than they were a year ago. The reigning MVP's scoring average is slightly down to 32.4 points per game (32.7 last season), but he is on pace to set career-highs in field-goal percentage (55.9) and three-point percentage (43.2). He has also cut his turnover rate down from 2.4 in 2024-25 to 1.9 per game.
Jokić is on pace to average a triple-double for the second consecutive season. He is currently putting up 29.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game in 26 starts.
The Denver Nuggets superstar continues to improve his shooting touch, connecting on a career-high 42.6 percent of his three-pointers on 5.0 attempts per contest.
Since it's splitting hairs between the two of them as individual performers, Oklahoma City's dominance with Gilgeous-Alexander as the best player could be helping to separate him from Jokić.
Even though the Nuggets are off to a strong 20-6 start and are on pace to have a top-25 net rating all-time (plus-9.5), it pales in comparison to what the Thunder have done. They are 25-2 overall and are on pace to have the best net rating in NBA history (plus-16.6) by more than three points over the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (plus-13.4).
Dončić, who leads the league in scoring average (35.2 points per game), received the lone first-place vote that didn't go to Gilgeous-Alexander or Jokić for leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 19-7 start.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić were the only players in the poll named on all 100 ballots. Dončić and Cunningham both appeared on more than 90 ballots.
Notable players who also received votes but missed the top five include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Maxey and Victor Wembanyama. Maxey actually received more total votes than Antetokounmpo, but Antetokounmpo was one spot ahead of him thanks to getting more fourth-place votes.
Wembanyama was named on eight ballots despite missing 12 of the San Antonio Spurs' 26 games due to a calf injury. He returned for the NBA Cup semifinal, recording 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 111-109 win over Oklahoma City.
