The NBA is set to announce the winner of the 2025/26 MVP award on Sunday, the day before the first game of the Western Conference finals between Oklahoma and San Antonio.

The three nominees include current MVP Tatum Dejaleksander, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Vembanjama, and Nikola Jokić, who has won the MVP three times in his career. The announcement will be made during a broadcast that begins at approximately 1:30 AM CET, right before the game.

Regardless of the outcome, this will be the eighth consecutive year that the MVP award goes to a player born outside the United States. The international streak began in 2019 with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who defended his title the following year. Nikola Jokić followed with two consecutive MVP awards (2,021 and 2,022), and Joel Embid won in 2023 before Jokić reclaimed the trophy in 2024. The most recent winner was Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Vembanjama has a chance to become the first French player to win the MVP award, while Jokić aims for a fourth career MVP, a feat only achieved by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (five each), and Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James (four each).

The timing of the announcement has fueled speculation that Gilgeous-Alexander might defend his title, as it closely mirrors last year’s schedule when he was announced the MVP on May 21, with the trophy presented the following day before the second Western Conference final game in Oklahoma City.

This year, the winner will be revealed a day before Oklahoma hosts San Antonio in the first game of the Western Conference finals, set for Monday evening.

(Telegraf.rs)