As the 2025-26 NBA season draws to a close, the MVP race is only heating up with multiple names in consideration.
In a recent appearance on ‘Run It Back,’ Pistons legend Isiah Thomas became the latest to speak on the subject, making the case against Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Instead, he favored Jaylen Brown and Victor Wembanyama, who have been leading their teams to the top of their respective conferences.
“We always look at ‘Who’s the most valuable to their team?’ and we say, ‘If we take this guy away, where would the team be?’ It’s never been who’s the best player award; it’s always been who’s the most valuable to their team,” said Thomas. “To me, right now, there are only two guys that you can say are the most valuable to their team this year, and in terms of where they are now. That’s Wemby and Jaylen Brown. To me, it’s a two-man race. SGA has done his thing, and they’re winning, but they’re loaded. “
The MVP isn’t just about rewarding the best player on the best team. If that’s the case, guys like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant would be much more stacked in the trophy department. What it’s really about is recognizing the player who is most important to their team, meaning the one who impacts winning the most.
“When Tatum went down, we thought for sure, like, the Celtics would be in the lottery. And then Jaylen Brown is averaging 30,” said Thomas. “And if you take Wemby away from San Antonio, how good are they?
Besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic have been heavily mentioned as MVP candidates, but they both only play one side of the floor. That’s why more and more voters are trending toward guys like Wemby and Brown.
In the case of Jaylen, his argument is strong. Without Jayson Tatum for the vast majority of the season, he’s carried the Celtics to the second seed in the East (48-24) while averaging 28.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on 47.7% shooting and 34.2% shooting from three. At the same time, he also plays elite defense on the wing, often accepting assignments on the other team’s best players.
Victor Wembanyama is arguably right behind Jaylen, even though he’s played in seven fewer games. At just 22 years old, he’s become one of the best two-way players in the game with averages of 24.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game on 50.5% shooting and 35.1% shooting from three. He’s been a steady hand for the Spurs all season, proving his status as an elite superstar.
Overall, the biggest difference between Victor and Jaylen compared to SGA is that they are doing more with much less. Neither the Spurs nor the Celtics is as stacked as the Thunder are, and it makes you wonder what they could do with the kind of support Shai has right now.
Either way, with the season nearly complete, these next few weeks will be key in determining the MVP winner. Whichever player has a better run down the stretch is more likely to secure the honor, and it’s likely to be a very close call with so many worthy candidates to consider.
