The NBA MVP race always finds a way to feel dramatic, unpredictable, and full of unnecessary chaos, but this year? It feels like we’re watching a season long tug of war with no signs of slowing down. One week Shai Gilgeous Alexander is sitting on the throne looking untouchable, and the next, Nikola Jokic quietly walks in like a king returning from vacation, grabs the crown without saying a word, and resumes his usual place at No. 1. That’s exactly what happened on November 14, 2025, when Jokic overtook SGA in the latest MVP ladder, reminding the league that the Nuggets’ engine doesn’t fade he recalibrates.
Jokic has been on one of those stretches that don’t even feel surprising anymore. Triple-doubles feel like part of his daily warm up routine. Efficiency numbers look like they’re taken from a video game. And that 50 point historical performance while chasing Wilt? That alone shifted the entire conversation. Meanwhile, SGA has been the definition of a modern superstar smooth, surgical, and defensively disruptive keeping the Thunder right in striking distance. But for the moment, Jokic has the slight edge, and honestly, everybody could see it coming.
The thing about Jokic is that he never forces his case. He just plays basketball to its purest, most logical form, and dominance becomes the natural consequence. His start to the 2025–26 season feels like a masterclass in control. He dictates tempo, turns every possession into a mismatched puzzle for defenders, and racks up stats like he’s checking boxes on a grocery list. That consistency is why voters gravitate toward him he makes excellence feel routine.
On the flip side, SGA’s rise hasn’t slowed at all. He’s still dropping 30 point nights without even looking like he’s trying. The midrange bag is still poetry. The defense still bites. And the Thunder’s early season success gives him every chance to reclaim the top spot. But this week, the crown shifted, and as tight as the race is, it also feels like the story is just getting started.
Behind these two, the chaos gets even thicker. Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing like a demolition machine again, bulldozing through painted areas and putting up early scoring stretches that look like déjà vu from his MVP seasons. He’s rebounding, facilitating, and running like a one man tornado, and the Bucks feed off that energy. If Milwaukee gets hot, Giannis can jump the ladder without warning. He always lurks just one momentum swing away from taking over the entire narrative.
Luka Doncic, meanwhile, is crafting another one of his slow burn masterpieces, the kind where he starts the season quietly but then suddenly you look up and he’s averaging 30, almost 10 assists, and controlling every possession like a seasoned conductor. His numbers look heavy, but his style looks effortless. And as the Mavs stabilize, Luka’s case strengthens by default. Everyone knows how this arc goes: once he gets hot, he stays hot.
And then there’s Victor Wembanyama the 7’4” alien who plays basketball like someone downloaded every athletic skill into one body and forgot to balance the settings. His rim protection is terrifying, his shot blocking numbers bend scouting reports, and his offense rises in violent bursts. The Spurs may not be a top tier contender yet, but the impact is so massive that even voters are paying attention. Offensively, he’s still growing, but defensively, he’s already warping the league landscape. Second-year players aren’t usually in MVP talks unicorns are.
But regardless of who’s climbing or falling, Jokic’s return to No. 1 has settled the race for now. His stat line reads like a glitch: 28.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 10.9 assists. Triple doubles pile up on triple doubles. His clutch efficiency is unfair. His reads are instantaneous. It’s vintage Jokic, but somehow even smoother, like someone updated his software over the summer.
When you watch him, there’s this bizarre sense of calm. It doesn’t matter if Denver is down, tied, or up by fifteen. Jokic plays with the emotional stability of someone sipping tea at home. He speeds up only when necessary, slows down when he feels like it, and punishes every random defensive gamble. That level of control is what separates him. It’s why the MVP ladder shifted. It’s why the Nuggets remain a problem for the rest of the league.
Of course, it’s still early November. Nobody wins MVP in autumn. Narratives crumble by Christmas. Health shifts the board. Teams go on runs. Somebody will go cold. Somebody else will erupt. We’ve seen enough weird MVP races to know that nothing is safe until the final two weeks. And with stars like Giannis, Luka, SGA, and Wemby playing like they’ve all got something to prove, the drama is far from finished.
The beauty of this year is that every main contender brings something different to the table. Jokic brings orchestral brilliance, the basketball version of controlled chaos. SGA brings surgical precision and defensive bite. Giannis brings brute force and relentlessness. Luka brings genius level manipulation of pace and spacing. Wemby brings pure shock value and defensive art. Together, they form one of the most unpredictable early season MVP landscapes we’ve seen in years.
Fans love it. Analysts obsess over it. Teams fear it. Every night feels like a new chapter in a long, messy, cinematic race that will stretch all the way until April. The only thing we know for sure right now, at least is that Nikola Jokic has nudged his way back to the top, and he has the numbers, film, and momentum to justify it. But that throne? It’s shaky. It’s rotating. And it’s getting crowded.
By the time spring arrives, this ladder could flip upside down. But in the present moment, Jokic is the king again, and the NBA world is buzzing with that familiar mix of excitement, frustration, and anticipation, waiting to see who makes the next big move.
