2025-26 NBA MVP Ladder Week 11: Injuries Ruining Historic Race

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Victor Wembanyama looked like a true MVP candidate for the first month of the season before suffering a calf strain. Giannis Antetokounmpo was fifth on the first edition of The Lead’s MVP Ladder, then he suffered a calf strain. Now, Nikola Jokic will miss at least the next four weeks with a hyperextended knee.

Those are three players who were all top-five MVP candidates early on, with Jokic being the favorite, before going down with an injury. Most, if not all of them, won’t be eligible to be awarded for their great seasons. Injuries were the storyline in the playoffs last season, and now they are the storyline over the first half of this season.

Tier One: The MVP

No. 1 – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 32.2 PPG/ 4.8 RPG/ 6.4 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 2

With the injury to Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the clear MVP favorite. This shouldn’t mean this award should come with an asterisk, though. SGA is the most consistent and efficient volume scorer in the NBA. He’s also the best player on the best team and the reigning MVP.

Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player to score 1,000 points this season; no player except Jokic is within 100 points of him. SGA is also on track to beat Wilt’s consecutive 20-point scoring streak.

Although a 70-win season seems unlikely now for the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander is having an MVP-level season and is clearly the best player in the NBA with Jokic hurt.

Tier Two: Injury Movers

No. 2 – Luka Doncic, 33.7 PPG/ 8.3 RPG/ 8.6 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 3

Luka Doncic, who was previously the outcast of the top three, moves to second on the ladder due to Jokic’s Injury. Doncic is the league leader in points per game, and added a 45-point triple-double since the last ladder. Doncic is the only person besides Jokic who can have a 45-point triple-double, and it’s not talked about because of how common the Serbian makes it.

The issue for Doncic is his comparison to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Doncic isn’t on as strong of a team, leads the league in turnovers, and, despite averaging over 30 points per game, isn’t as efficient as Gilgeous-Alexander. For those reasons, Doncic remains firmly in second place.

No. 3 – Nikola Jokic, 29.6 PPG/ 12.2 RPG/ 11.0APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 1

Nikola Jokic was the MVP favorite before his injury. He had a 56-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist triple-double on Christmas, followed by a 34-point and 21-rebound triple-double the day after. It was his second straight season averaging a triple-double, the only center to do that, and he has a true shooting percentage of 71.3%, higher than SGA.

But this will probably be the last time he is on the ladder because Shams Charania announced that he will miss at least four weeks with a hyperextended knee. Assuming he misses all of January, he will be ineligible for the MVP because he won’t hit the 65-game mark.

Tier Three: Eastern Conference Superstars

No. 4 – Jalen Brunson, 29.4 PPG/ 3.3 RPG/ 6.6 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 6

Jalen Brunson and the Knicks keep on rising. Brunson was ranked No. 14 on the first MVP Ladder. Since then, he won the NBA Cup MVP and brought the Knicks one game behind Detroit for the top spot in the East. He scored 34 points on Christmas, including a 13-point fourth quarter in a comeback win against the Cavaliers.

Out of the last 12 games Brunson has played, the Knicks have won 11 of them. The Knicks have been the best team in basketball in December and Brunson is the reason.

No. 5 – Jaylen Brown, 29.5 PPG/ 6.3 RPG/ 5.0 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 5

A player like Jaylen Brown is a reason this list is tiered. Brown is probably No. 4B to Brunson’s No. 4A, with Brunson only having the edge due to team success.

Brown has the Celtics sitting at third place in the East and has scored under 30-points once in December. He was tied with Larry Bird for the longest streak of 30-point games in Celtic history.

Brown isn’t just having a great season compared to the NBA, but one of the best scoring months in the history of the most historic NBA franchise.

No. 6 – Cade Cunningham, 26.5 PPG/ 6.3 RPG/ 9.6 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 4

Cade Cunningham falls two spots, not because he is in a slump, but because other players have had a better last two weeks than him. The things that put Cunningham at the top of this tier still apply.

The Pistons are still the No. 1 seed in the East and with Jokic hurt, Cunningham has a great chance to lead the league in total assists this season. Since the last Ladder, he has a triple-double and a 29-point game with 17 assists.

All of the players in this tier have a case to be at the top, but the Knicks are closing in on the Pistons in the East, and Brown is averaging the most points per game this month.

Tier Four: Young Franchise Cornerstones

No. 7 – Victor Wembanyama, 24.0 PPG/ 11.7 RPG/ 3.5 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 8

Victor Wembanyama is still on a minutes restriction but is already back at the top of this tier. Wembanyama has a strict restriction of 28 minutes per game — less than his season average — yet is continuing to dominate with counting stats. He has had two double-doubles and a 32-point, five-block performance in his last three games.

No one denies that the Spurs are a better team with him on the floor, but the one knock to Wembanyama’s case is that the Spurs were a really good team even when he was hurt. The Spurs beat the Thunder three separate times, with Wembanyma only averaging 23 minutes. As Wemby slowly makes his way back to 30+ minutes per game, he will have near quadruple-doubles and be the only one challenging Doncic for second-place.

No. 8 – Anthony Edwards, 29.1 PPG/ 5.0 RPG/ 3.7 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 11

Anthony Edwards takes over games. He scored 13 points in the fourth, including the game-tying three-pointer, against the Nuggets on Christmas. Then he scored 11 points in four minutes of overtime.

In his most recent game, the Timberwolves were trailing the Bulls in the second quarter. Edwards comes into the game and scores 10 points to give Minnesota the lead at halftime. Then, he scored 12 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach and sat out the entire fourth quarter.

Edwards has stretches where he has a full game’s worth of stats in less than 20 minutes of playing time. He’s one of the best scorers in the NBA and even better in the clutch.

No. 9 – Jalen Johnson, 23.7 PPG/ 10.4 RPG/ 8.4 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 7

Jalen Johnson falls two spots with the return of Trae Young, but Johnson’s stats haven’t regressed. In Young’s first game back, Johnson had 43-points and was one assist away from a triple-double. He has been one assist or rebound shy of a triple-double in four straight games.

The problem is that he is now having those performances in losses instead of in wins. Johnson has completely taken over this team to the point that there are rumors of Young being available in trades.

I thought Johnson would just be in this list until Young returned, but he has proven he will have a season-long spot on the MVP ladder.

No. 10 – Tyrese Maxey, 30.8 PPG/ 4.3 RPG/ 7.1 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 10

Tyrese Maxey is slowly falling to the bottom of this tier, but still deserves to be in it. He is averaging almost 40 minutes per game and is top three in points per game.

The 76ers have escaped the Play-In for now, sitting at the No. 5 seed in the East, and Maxey is never off the court. He isn’t as good of a scorer as Edwards, and doesn’t put up the stat lines of Johnson and Wemby, which is why he’s 10th.

Tier Five: Potential Risers

No. 11 – Alperen Sengun, 22.7 PPG/ 9.4 RPG/ 6.8 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 9

Alperen Sengun almost deserves a tier of his own. He has missed the last two games due to injury and scored only 14 points in his last game, but he’s still having a better season than everyone below him. He’s a walking double-double with triple-double potential in every game.

The Rockets are fourth in the West, but could easily surpass the Nuggets with Jokic missing time. Even while Sengun is in a slump and injured, he still deserves top-10 consideration.

No. 12 – Donovan Mitchell, 29.5 PPG/ 4.5 RPG/ 5.5 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 12

Donovan Mitchell continues to score 30 points while the Cavaliers lose. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games, but luckily, the Hawks are 2-8, so Cleveland sits at the eighth spot in the East.

Mitchell had a superhuman 15-point fourth quarter against the Knicks on Christmas in a 34-point performance. He also quietly leads the NBA in total three-pointers.

He has had two back-to-back games under 20 points, but like Sengun, is still having a better season than everyone else below him on this list.

No. 13 – Stephen Curry, 28.8 PPG/ 4.0 RPG/ 4.3 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 14

Stephen Curry is basically having Donovan Mitchell’s season in the Western Conference.

He’s almost a 30-point-per-game scorer on the No. 8 seed, with no one else on his team averaging over 20 points. Curry has scored under 20-points just once in December, and the Warriors are 4-2 since the last Ladder.

The Cavaliers’ problem is that everyone but Mitchell has been hurt, whereas the Warriors’ problem is that Curry has been hurt. Curry has missed nine of the 17 allowed games, which may be the reason why the Warriors are in eighth.

No. 14 – Deni Avdija, 25.6 PPG/ 7.2 RPG/ 6.9 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: N/A

If Stephen Curry is the Donovan Mitchell of the West, then Deni Avdija is the Jalen Johnson of the West.

Avdija constantly scores 25+ while being only one or two stats shy of a triple-double. Like Atlanta in the East, Portland is sitting in the tenth spot in the West. Jerami Grant suffered an injury since the last Ladder, and Avdija has stepped up in his absence, earning a spot on this list.

If Avdija keeps performing well, he can close the gap between him and Johnson.

No. 15 – Jamal Murray, 25.2 PPG/ 4.4 RPG/ 7.0 APG

Last Ladder Ranking: 15

Jamal Murray is the only healthy starter on the Nuggets. Murray has an amazing opportunity to shoot up the rankings if he keeps the Nuggets afloat over the next month.

Murray has scored 30-points six times in December, including his 52-point performance, where he shot 76%. Murray is shooting 45.4% from three, the highest of any player attempting six or more threes a game, and he’s fourth in three-pointers made.

Murray is having the best season of his career and has become the number one option for an extended period.

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