The 2025-26 preseason NBA MVP longlist

There are four easy answers to the question "who will be the NBA MVP next season?" and a handful of dark horses. Good morning. Let's basketball.

Tom Ziller

— 6 min read
The 2025-26 preseason NBA MVP longlist
Two Girls as Saint Agnes and Saint Dorothea; Michaelina Wautier; 1650

There are four easy answers to the question "who will be the NBA MVP next season?" and a handful of dark horses. Good morning. Let's basketball.

Training camp begins Monday for every team that didn't get a head start last week due to preseason international travel. Which means that the campaign for the 2025-26 NBA MVP award begins now. A few reminders:

  • Players must log 65 games played
  • No American-born player has won MVP since James Harden in 2018
  • There have been 12 back-to-back MVPs all-time
  • Only five players have won four or more MVPs

We have two categories on this longlist: the obvious options and the dark horses. Let's start with the easy ones.

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