The NBA will reveal this season’s Most Valuable Player on Sunday, the report says, one day before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
Amazon Prime Video announced it will unveil the winner during its pregame show, which starts at 7:30 p.m. ET, per the report. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, is one of the three finalists, along with Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the report says.
No matter who wins, it would mark the eighth consecutive season an internationally born player takes home the MVP trophy, the report says. The streak began with Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2019 and 2020, continued with Jokic in 2021 and 2022, Joel Embiid in 2023, Jokic in 2024 and Gilgeous-Alexander last year, per the report.
The report notes Wembanyama would be the first French player to win MVP. Jokic is seeking a fourth MVP, a total reached only by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain (four) and LeBron James (four), the report says.
An international winner this season would represent the 12th overall MVP awarded to a player born outside the United States, the report says, listing earlier international winners such as Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994, Steve Nash in 2005 and 2006, and Dirk Nowitzki in 2007.
The scheduling of the announcement could be a hint toward Gilgeous-Alexander, the report says, noting that in 2025 he was announced as the winner on May 21 and was formally presented with the trophy before Game 2 of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City on May 22. This year’s reveal comes a day before the Thunder host Game 1 on Monday night, per the report.
