Heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, three clear contenders have emerged for the league's Most Valuable Player award.
Luka Doncic, who finished in third in 2024 before leading the Dallas Mavericks to an unexpected Finals run, seemed poised to be the next superstar to break through for his first MVP.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who edged out Doncic for second, entered the season at the helm of an Oklahoma City Thunder team expected to sit atop the Western Conference (and has since Nov. 25).
Nikola Jokic, the MVP winner in three of the past four seasons and arguably the most dominant force in basketball today, was a popular choice to join LeBron James and Bill Russell as the only players in league history to win the award in four out of five seasons.
But, while Doncic has faded in the race -- even before his league-altering trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, he was ineligible because of a calf injury that will keep him well short of the 65-game threshold for postseason honors -- Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic have more than lived up to preseason expectations.
Now, with other candidates around the league failing to match those stars' production and team success, the push for the MVP is looking like a two-player race. According to ESPN's second MVP straw poll of the 2024-25 season, that race has a clear leader heading into the All-Star break.
