The NBA MVP discourse never seems to end. During the season, it is a topic each and every day. When the season ends, the discussion shifts to who could win it when the next season begins. After all, the NBA is a star-driven league, and it is a lot of fun to compare the top players to one another.
In this space, the goal is to unearth the next player who could win NBA MVP... for the first time. That removes a bunch of previous winners from the equation, including the consensus top three last year in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. It also takes other past winners including LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and James Harden.
Here is a look at six players who could win the MVP for the first time, led by one of the current betting favorites in Luka Doncic.
Luka Doncic
After a stretch of five consecutive All-NBA selections, Doncic didn't meet the mark a year ago, in part due to his unavailability. Doncic played in only 50 games, making him ineligible for award consideration, but he also slipped when it came to raw production. Of course, Doncic was also traded mid-season, and he enters 2025-26 with a lot to prove. Other than Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, no one is in Doncic's stratosphere when looking at the preseason betting odds, and his 33.9-point, 9.8-assist, 9.2-rebound averages from 2023-24 are a reminder of his lofty ceiling. He'll just need to get back to that level while staying healthy and keeping the Lakers in the playoff mix.
Victor Wembanyama
It was only 46 games, but Wembanyama's 2024-25 baseline would put him at least on the fringe of MVP discussions... without any improvement. He averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game a season ago, earning an All-Star berth along the way. Wembanyama projects as the league's best defender in 2025-26, and if he can up his shooting efficiency, there is a path to MVP respect. It would help if the Spurs overachieved, but Wembanyama has the ability to transcend everything if he really pops.
Anthony Edwards
For the first time in his career, Anthony Edwards finished with superior regular season numbers when compared to his playoff output in 2024-25. His playoff output remained strong, but in general, Edwards' regular season production hasn't quite matched his overall talent level and hype. He will need to build upon his career-best numbers from 2024-25 in order to win the MVP, and it almost goes without saying that the Wolves would need to be a top-four seed in the West to boot.
Cade Cunningham
After a relatively slow start to his career by the standards of a clear No. 1 overall pick, Cunningham broke out a year ago. He earned All-Star and All-NBA nods while averaging 26.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game. Cunningham was also the linchpin of a Pistons team that pleasantly surprised the league with its effectiveness, and Detroit enters the season with real expectations. With that said, Cunningham would need to more than repeat his own individual accolades and lead the Pistons to a 50-win season to have a real chance.
Kawhi Leonard
Honestly, Leonard is on this list out of deference. The reality is that it seems incredibly unlikely that Leonard could play enough to actually win the award. He is the most accomplished active player who does not have an NBA MVP award, and that may not change, but Leonard's ceiling remains so high that he makes the list anyway.
Trae Young
This might be the biggest stretch of the bunch, but there is a world in which Young could put together an MVP-level resume. It would certainly require an upgraded Atlanta Hawks team to win a lot of games, but Young is fully capable of putting up the statistics required to get into legitimate MVP conversation. He led the NBA in assists by a comfortable margin last season, and Young has averaged 26.5 points per game over the last six seasons combined. If the Hawks won 50-plus games and Young averaged 27 and 12? It's at least conceivable... even if there is a reason he is the last player listed here.