The NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint, and we still have more than four months of action before the playoffs. But we’re six weeks into the 2025-2026 season, just past the one-quarter mark, and it’s a good time to recognize the standout players.
Here’s a look at the award winners so far.MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
The most prominent of the NBA awards also has the closest race between the two favorites. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is aiming to be the 14th back-to-back MVP winner, while Denver’s Nikola Jokic is looking to become just the sixth four-time winner. While Jokic is somehow having the best year of his career, averaging a triple-double and leading the league in both assists and rebounds, SGA gets the edge as the best player on the league’s best team.Oklahoma City’s 21-1 start—most of it coming without Jalen Williams—somewhat overshadows the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander is also having his best season yet. He’s increased his scoring average, assists, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage, despite playing fewer minutes than a year ago. SGA has also cut down his turnovers, leading to an increase in overall efficiency. This is the 80th season in NBA history, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s PER through 22 games (33.13) is higher than what any player in any of the previous 79 NBA seasons has ever finished the year with.
