Seven different champions in the last seven years suggests parity reigns in the NBA, but the MVP race tells a different story.
Repeat winners are the norm when it comes to the league’s highest individual honor, and top-five finishers tend to hold onto that status for years on end.
Here, we’ll highlight five players poised to make their debuts among the top five in MVP voting. That’ll naturally disqualify past winners like Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it’ll also exclude the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson, all of whom have earned top-five recognition from voters in the past.
Let’s see who’s ready to crack the top five—and maybe even win the whole thing—for the first time.
