NBA MVP rankings: Luka Dončić is rising, but can anyone take the trophy from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

We have examined the NBA’s MVP race in greatdetail over the last few weeks, but now it is high time for another look at this year’s candidates.

The list is not so dissimilar to our top candidates since the regular season’s one-third mark, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Jalen Brunson, Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama — in that order — were our leading candidates. It is just a bit jumbled now, and with Cade Cunningham in Brunson’s stead as the Eastern Conference’s sole representative on this ballot. His Detroit Pistons, who hold a four-game lead for the No. 1 seed, earned him that right.

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It is weird now how the MVP ballot reflects a position-less All-NBA First Team. Will any of the 100 voters’ top-five MVP candidates look different from their All-NBA First Team? I suppose it is possible. It would not be here, if I had a vote, because of course the five most valuable players should make up your position-less All-NBA First Team.

That is, of course, if they qualify for the NBA’s 65-game rule, which requires players to participate in that many games in order to be considered for end-of-season awards.

(Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

Kawhi Leonard can miss only one more game before he is disqualified. He may not appear on anyone’s MVP ballot, since his Los Angeles Clippers are below .500, but his production should absolutely be in play for a spot on the All-NBA Second Team.

Cunningham’s MVP case is the one that is in most danger. He has missed nine games, and he is expected to miss at least the next six with a collapsed lung. To rush him back from that injury, just to qualify for end-of-year awards, might be a mistake.

Cunningham’s absence could leave the door open for Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown to make his way onto a ballot. Before we reveal too much, our MVP rankings …

Honorable mentions: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics; Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves; Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dončić has played his way into this conversation over the Lakers’ nine-game winning streak. Over that span, he has averaged a 40-8-7 on a 63.6 true shooting percentage.

On the season, Dončić is now averaging a 33-8-8 on better than 60% true shooting. Nobody attempts more shots (22.7), 3-pointers (10.8) or free throws (10.3) a night. His usage rate (37.9%), obviously, leads the league. The Lakers score 119.1 points per 100 possessions, similar to the league’s second-best offense, when he is on the court.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles also allows 115.5 points per 100 possessions — a number that approaches the NBA’s bottom-10 defensive ratings — when he takes the floor. That figure is far better (110.1 points allowed per 100 possessions) over the past nine games, where Dončić has also improved on that end. If he can sustain that effort over the course of a full season, the 27-year-old may yet one day get his MVP.

Recency bias may suggest that Dončić belongs higher on this list, but remember: The Pistons perform like one of the league’s few title favorites, along with Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder and Wembanyama’s Spurs, when Cunningham is in the lineup.

Detroit is 44-17 when the former No. 1 overall pick takes the court, a 59-win pace. Cunningham is not the team’s best defender, though he is one piece of an outfit that rates as the league’s second-best defense. He is also the sole creator for an offense that scores 119.7 points per 100 possessions (a top-two figure) when he’s on the floor.

Cunningham’s 24.5 points per game rank 13th in the NBA on decent efficiency (56.7 true shooting percentage). He could improve in that regard. But his 9.9 assists a night have generated more points (1,548) than anyone else, including Jokić, even as Detroit starts two defense-first non-shooters (Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson).

Jokić is enjoying a typical Jokić season, which is to say: The numbers are off the charts. He is averaging a triple-double, leading the league in both rebounds (12.6) and assists (10.6) per game. Needless to say, nobody has ever done that, especially not while averaging 28 points per game on league-leading efficiency (67.6 TS%).

There is little doubt he is the game’s most impactful offensive player. The Nuggets own the NBA’s best offensive rating (120.2), and they are even better, scoring 125.1 points per 100 possessions, when Jokić is on the floor. That is just insane efficiency.

It is on the defensive end of the floor where Jokić’s MVP argument suffers. He is the anchor of the league’s 21st-rated defense, though it is a little bit better, allowing 114.7 points per 100 possessions (a middling figure), when he is actually on the court.

It does not help that his Nuggets have essentially played .500 ball since Christmas. Even as an injury-plagued roster has regained some of its health, Denver remains an inconsistent team, despite its superior offense, and that comes with porous defense.

The Spurs have climbed within three games of the Thunder for the West’s No. 1 seed, and that is Wembanyama’s key to moving into the top spot on these rankings. If San Antonio can catch Oklahoma City, there is a legitimate case to be made for Wemby.

After all, he is the NBA’s most dominant defensive force. He is as impactful on that end as anyone is on offense. The Spurs allow 103.7 points per 100 possessions, more than two points better than OKC’s league-leading defense, when Wembanyama is on the court. San Antonio is a middling defensive outfit when Wemby is on the bench.

Offensively, the Spurs score 119.9 points per 100 possessions, something like the league’s second-best unit, whenever Wembanyama is on the floor. He is the NBA’s 13th-most impactful player offensively, according to Dunks and Threes’ Estimated Plus-Minus, trailing only Jokić, Gilgeous-Alexander, Dončić and 10 other dynamos.

There is a real case to be made that a 22-year-old 7-foot-5 (7-foot-7?) phenom is already the NBA’s best player, depending on how much you weigh defense against offense, though the standings do not reflect it. Yet. The Spurs are 43-13 when Wemby is in the lineup, a 63-win pace. You have to be better than that to catch the Thunder.

Someone has to take the MVP trophy from Gilgeous-Alexander, who edged Jokić for the regular-season award last season, and then added a Finals MVP honor to his collection en route to his first-ever championship.

Nobody has taken it from him. Not yet.

The Thunder once again own the league’s best record — by three full games over Wembanyama’s Spurs. They operate better than the NBA’s best offense, scoring 120.4 points per 100 possessions, and better than its best defense, allowing 106 points per 100 possessions, when Gilgeous-Alexander is on the court for them.

When SGA is off the floor, Oklahoma City still performs like a 54-win team, owning the NBA’s top defense, allowing 105.2 points per 100 possessions, but its offense drops to one of the league’s worst outfits, scoring 110 points per 100 possessions.

That could be a strike against Gilgeous-Alexander in the right argument. But we should measure him against what the Thunder look like with him on the court, not how good they are when he is not playing, and they look like a juggernaut with him.

Besides, SGA is averaging 31.6 points per game on 66.5% true shooting. Only one other guard has ever scored 30-plus points a night on better shooting efficiency: Stephen Curry in his unanimous MVP campaign for the 73-win Warriors in 2016.

In other words, Gilgeous-Alexander is enjoying one of the best offensive seasons ever for a guard, while serving as a cog on the league’s best defense, for the NBA’s best team. Until someone can match those credentials, the award is SGA’s to lose.

Bobby Witt Jr. talks MLB The Show 26, which predicted a wild World Series winner this season

On the field, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has it all. He’s a rare breed, a true five-tool player who excels at arguably the toughest defensive position. Over his young career, Witt has already established himself as one of the game’s biggest names and a perennial MVP candidate.

But if Witt could inhabit the body of any other major-league player, he would choose one that allowed him to turn the sliders — to put it in video-game terms — all the way up.

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“I think there’s an obvious answer of Aaron Judge just because of how big he is … his style of play,” Witt told Yahoo Sports. “But I would also want to have the speed. So a player like Elly De La Cruz would be kinda cool just because he’s got it all.”

That concept is pretty familiar to Witt, who grew up playing MLB The Show like most other baseball fans. Before Witt became the MLB icon he is today, he spent his childhood playing countless games of MLB The Show at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field — some of his favorite ballparks. And taking Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout into the Home Run Derby.

When it did come time to fire up a game, though, Witt wasn’t taking any prisoners.

“I always like to win in a video game,” Witt said. “So I always turn up the sliders, put it on rookie level and just dominate teams.”

Now, of course, Witt doesn’t have to play video games to have that power fantasy. He’s played real-life games at Fenway and Wrigley, and he’s become actual friends with Trout.

It’s been quite a surreal experience.

“It’s pretty cool to like go full circle with playing the game as a kid and then growing up and getting to meet the guys and then playing against them in my job and everything,” Witt said. “And then getting to know them, building relationships. And now playing as myself in the video game, it’s a really cool full-circle moment.”

Witt is about to begin yet another MLB season, one in which his Royals face heightened expectations. After getting his feet wet in the World Baseball Classic, Witt will gear up for a grueling 162-game schedule that he hopes will involve a lot of winning and the hoisting of a World Series trophy.

But if you’re not Bobby Witt Jr., you could always try and replicate that experience in MLB The Show 26. Yahoo Sports did just that, simulating the entire 2026 MLB season in the video game.

Some of its predictions, including its World Series winner, were shocking.

Bobby Witt Jr. can make every play in MLB The Show 26. (Image via San Diego Studio)
San Diego Studio

2026 World Series winner: Cincinnati Reds over the New York Yankees
World Series MVP: Tyler Stephenson

Congrats, Reds fans, because your team is going to win it all in 2026. While the Reds made the playoffs last season, this would be unexpected, especially considering they got in thanks to the final wild-card spot.

But Cincinnati emerged in the season-long projection. They didn’t win the National League Central, though. That honor belonged to the 97-win Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pitching wound up leading the way for Cincinnati, with Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and Chase Burns leading the way. That proved to also be the case in the World Series, as Stephenson won MVP after hitting .437 with one home run and two RBI.

Home Run Derby winner: Ketel Marte over Kyle Schwarber
All-Star Game starters: Garrett Crochet and Paul Skenes
All-Star Game result: NL defeats AL 5-1, Francisco Lindor is the player of the game
Futures Game: NL wins 2-0

It wound up being the year of Ketel Marte in the simulation and this was the first major sign that would be the case, as he triumphed over Kyle Schwarber to be the Home Run Derby champion. Schwarber hit just eight home runs in the final round, leading to Marte winning with nine. Do virtual baseball players get tired? Cause it sure looked like that was the case here.

NL MVP: Ketel Marte, who hit .329 with 48 home runs and 119 RBI
AL MVP: Kerry Carpenter, who hit .247 with 46 home runs and 118 RBI
NL Cy Young: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who went 20-4
AL Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
NL batting title: Ketel Marte
AL batting title: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who led baseball with a .349 average
NL reliever award: Dennis Santana
AL reliever award: Jhoan Duran, who was traded to the Athletics
AL ROY: Munetaka Murakami, who hit .275 with 26 home runs
NL ROY: Nolan McLean, who beat out Konnor Griffin

Marte got some surprising company for the MVP award. Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter clubbed 46 home runs en route to the AL MVP. He beat out Vladimir Guerrero, who hit an astounding .349 on the season.

Despite posting the lowest ERA among starters, Pirates ace Paul Skenes lost out on the NL Cy Young award to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who went 20-4 for the 110-win Los Angeles Dodgers.

Strikeouts weren’t a major issue for Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami, who hit .275 and won the Rookie of the Year award in the AL. Over in the NL, New York Mets prospect Nolan McLean claimed the award over Konnor Griffin.

Oh, and you’ll notice Jhoan Duran won the AL reliever year. About that …

• The Tampa Bay Rays sent Drew Rasmussen to the San Francisco Giants
• The Texas Rangers dealt ace Jacob deGrom to the Chicago Cubs
• The Baltimore Orioles engaged in a fire sale, sending Taylor Ward and Ryan Helsley to the Kansas City Royals
• The Orioles then sent Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish to the Athletics
• The Houston Astros shipped Josh Hader to the Cincinnati Reds
• The Philadelphia Phillies sent Jhoan Duran, Aaron Nola and J.T. Realmuto to the A’s

The Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles surprisingly sold at the trade deadline. The O’s flipped Kyle Bradish, Ryan Helsley, Trevor Rogers and Taylor Ward in two separate deals. They did not make the playoffs.

The Phillies included Duran, Aaron Nola and J.T. Realmuto in a single deal to the Athletics, who also acquired Rogers and Bradish. Those acquisitions paid off, as the A’s claimed the final wild-card spot in the American League before losing in the playoffs.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 23: Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds smiles as he waits for a pitch to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)
Jess Rapfogel via Getty Images

The Phillies’ weird give-up trade is up there, as Philadelphia enters the 2026 MLB season as one of the top NL contenders for the World Series title.

The Pirates’ 97-win season is also up there. Skenes was as good as expected, but the team’s offense performed much better than you might think. Marcell Ozuna, in particular, proved to have one more great season left in his bat. And the bullpen was lights out, as Dennis Santana took home the NL reliever award. Griffin didn’t play that well in his rookie season and the team still earned the No. 2 seed in the NL.

And then there’s the Reds winning it all. It wouldn’t be the most unlikely thing to happen during the 2026 MLB season, but it would be unexpected. While the Reds have plenty of talent, especially in the rotation, the team is projected to win just 77.2 games, per Baseball Prospectus.

Projections aren’t everything, of course, but they do provide a nice snapshot of how teams are viewed coming into the year. If the Reds exceed all expectations and make a shocking World Series run in 2026, remember that “MLB The Show 26” believed in them first.

(Yahoo Sports received an advanced copy of MLB The Show 26)

2026 Fantasy Baseball: Here are the players we’re buying and selling based on spring training

Closely following spring training is a double-edged sword for fantasy baseball managers. While it’s good to know the latest developments around the league, getting carried away with small sample sizes that were partially generated against minor leaguers can lead a manager to poor draft decisions. Here are the spring developments that have caused me to make major adjustments to my rankings.

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It’s full steam ahead for Messick, who beat out Logan Allen for the final rotation spot in Cleveland. The lefty showed his immense potential when he logged a 38:6 K:BB ratio across seven starts down the stretch last season, but I still worried that his lack of experience would cause Cleveland’s brain trust to take the easy route and have him open the season in Triple-A. Fortunately, Messick’s skills were too good to ignore. His current 13% Yahoo roster rate will quadruple in the next three weeks.

Perhaps the Cardinals will still throw us a curveball, but at this time I don’t see any reason that Wetherholt will return to the Minors. This spring, he has produced a .386 OBP while hitting two homers and stealing two bases. He even has more walks (9) than strikeouts (7). He’s ready. As we deal with a weak group of third basemen, Wetherholt is draftable in all leagues.

McGonigle’s spring line is nearly identical to that of Wetherholt — a great OBP (.423), two homers, two steals and more walks (11) than strikeouts (8). Do the Tigers understand that April wins mean as much as September victories? They should, after narrowly losing the division last year. They’ll put McGonigle on the Opening Day roster and try to build a comfortable lead. I slightly prefer Wetherholt, due to his multi-position eligibility, but both youngsters are fine options.

McLain struggled last season (.643 OPS) in his return from 2024 shoulder surgery but still managed to compile 15 homers and 18 steals. His fantasy-friendly skill set could be on greater display this season, as he has looked great during Cactus League action (1.591 OPS) and has been announced as the team’s two-hole hitter. McLain should jump over at least five second baseman who are currently in front of him in Yahoo ADP.

Admittedly, I might be overreacting to one spring training game. But I was already optimistic on Langeliers, and his three-homer effort on March 14 reminded me of how dominant he was (.328 BA, 19 HR) in the second half of 2025. I have the slugger ranked as my No. 2 catcher, and I believe that he will finish closer to Cal Raleigh than most managers expect.

We entered spring training with a glut of young starters in the range of picks 100-150, which included Misiorowski, Nolan McLean, Trey Yesavage, Chase Burns and Bubba Chandler. A few weeks later, we have April workload concerns for Burns, Yesavage is heading to the IL and Chandler has control issues. Meanwhile, Misiorowski has been tabbed to start on Opening Day, and McLean should be ready to rock after pitching in the World Baseball Classic. I’m now targeting those two hurlers as high-upside arms in that range of the draft.

Yates will benefit from being the last man standing in the Angels bullpen. Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce won’t be ready for Opening Day, which leaves Jordan Romano as Yates’ primary competitor for save chances. Manager Kurt Suzuki has been highly complimentary of Yates, who is now one of the best late-round save sources.

Fantasy managers entered spring training unsure about whether Megill or Abner Uribe would open the season as the Brewers closer. Although the Brewers haven’t tipped their hand, it’s looking more like Megill will slide back into his familiar ninth-inning role. Megill has 35-save potential and a reasonable ADP (166.4). Ryan Walker and Danny Palencia are two other mid-tier closer options who have boosted their stock via solid March performances.

With Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep going down with injuries, the Braves suddenly lack rotation depth. Fortunately, Holmes and Lopez have both looked good, as they return from season-ending injuries. Lopez warrants final-round attention in standard formats, while Holmes is someone to monitor from the waiver wire.

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Injuries to Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage have opened rotation spots for Scherzer and Lauer, who are both appealing in their own way. For Scherzer, the allure is based on spring success that includes 13.2 scoreless innings. And certainly, his Hall of Fame resume helps. Lauer’s appeal comes from his 2025 success when working as a starter, which included a 3.77 ERA and a 9.0 K/9 rate.

This one is for the deep-league crowd. Keep an eye on Rumfield, who is on the verge of locking up the Rockies first base job. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a stellar spring, leading the team in homers (4) and RBI (12) while tallying just one strikeout in 50 at-bats. The former Yankees farmhand posted solid minor-league numbers across the past two seasons and could thrive at Coors Field.

In a deep pool of catchers, Ramírez won’t be my pick to click this year. Prospect Joe Mack is a better defensive catcher than Ramírez and is close to reaching the Majors. Ramírez has respectable offensive skills for a catcher, but repeating his .701 OPS from 2025 would make him a weak option as a DH. Add in the fact that this spring he has gone 2-for-24 with eight strikeouts, and I have enough reason to slide him down my draft board.

Sure, Peña may return from his fractured finger by Opening Day. The shortstop position is incredibly deep this season, and I can find plenty of options who enter the season with perfect health.

I was ready to give Sasaki a fresh start for his second season in MLB, but he needed to cement his draft status by having solid spring outings. With just a few days remaining in Cactus League action, he has been one of the most erratic pitchers on the circuit (13.50 ERA, 2.70 WHIP, 10:9 K:BB ratio). I wouldn’t draft him in an NL-only league.

Although I’m aware of Chandler’s notable prospect status, I need to see more actual production before I consider him at his ADP (146.6). The right-hander entered spring training with control concerns and hasn’t made any progress in that area while walking 11 batters in 11 innings. I see him as a late-round gamble who unfortunately requires a more significant investment.

Rodriguez entered spring training with much to prove after missing all of last season, and unfortunately, he hasn’t proven much. The right-hander has logged an abysmal 12:10 K:BB ratio in Cactus League action, which further cements my opinion that the Orioles knew what they were doing when they traded him for one year of Taylor Ward. He’s firmly off my draft list in any mixed league, especially since he may not be ready for Opening Day.