We are at the halfway point of the NBA regular season. One week away from the trade deadline and a little over two weeks away from the All-Star game. The NBA MVP is basically set barring injury, but the rest of the list is completely up for grabs. Multiple players on this list are first-time All-Stars and All-Star starters.
Nikola Jokic news: Nikola Jokic’s knee will be re-evaluated in a week. Jokic benefits from the Nuggets and Grizzlies game being postponed, so he doesn’t have to return until February 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The problem is that the Nuggets have a back-to-back after the Thunder game. If Jokic makes his return next month, he will have to play both games of the back-to-back to remain eligible.
With the season nearing its midpoint, standout performances are reshaping the MVP race and shifting NBA season odds on Stake.
NBA MVP Tier 1: THE MVP
No. 1 – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 32.0 PPG/ 4.4 RPG/ 6.2 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 1
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP. He is less than 10 games away from breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s record of most consecutive games scoring 20+ points. He is the epitome of consistency and efficiency. Bad games for SGA are average to good games for other players on this list.
He’s had two “low-scoring” games since the last MVP ladder: 24 in a loss against the Toronto Raptors, where he shot 72.7%, and 20 in a win against the Houston Rockets, where he still shot over 50%. Those are “bad” games for him because he also scored 40 points, shooting 16/19, while having 11 assists and a 47-point game, where again, he shot over 60%.
He’s the best player in the NBA on the best team in the NBA, and one of the most consistent and efficient scorers in NBA history.
NBA MVP Tier 2: The Two Battling for Second
No. 2 – Luka Doncic, 33.6 PPG/ 7.7 RPG/ 8.7 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 2
Luka Doncic has been dominant since the new year. Remember what Jaylen Brown did in December? Imagine if most of those games were also double-doubles and triple-doubles. He is somehow averaging more points in January than his league-leading 33.6 points per game, has three 38+ point triple-doubles, and a hyper-efficient 46-point performance against the Chicago Bulls.
Doncic would be the clear No.2, but even with these performances, the Lakers are only .500 over their last 10 games, and he still leads the league in turnovers.
No. 3 – Jaylen Brown, 29.4 PPG/ 6.8 RPG/ 4.9 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 4
Jaylen Brown continues to be the best player in the Eastern Conference. In a four-game stretch, he scored 41 points, then had back-to-back 30+ point double-doubles and finished it off with his second triple-double of the season. The Boston Celtics were 3-1 in that stretch.
Brown is the driving force of the Celtics, and the only reason they are No. 3 in the East in a “rebuild” year without Jayson Tatum. He was just named an All-Star starter for the first time in his career, and should make his first All-NBA first team of his career.
NBA MVP Tier 3: Recent Movers
No. 4 – Victor Wembanyama, 24.2 PPG/ 11.1 RPG/ 2.8 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 6
Victor Wembanyama is finally off his minutes restriction! In his first game playing 30 minutes since November, he scored 39 points in a duel against Anthony Edwards. In the next game, he only played 26 minutes. Doesn’t matter; he still had a 30-point double-double with seven threes.
In his most recent game, he scored as many points as the Rockets in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama finished the game with 28 points, 16 rebounds and seven stocks (steals and blocks).
This ranking still might be a little premature, but Wemby is guaranteed to have dominant performances in the future. The Spurs are the No. 2 seed in the West and will only get better as Wembanyama plays more.
No. 5 – Cade Cunningham, 25.3 PPG/ 5.7 RPG/ 9.8 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 3
Cade Cunningham is the first faller in this list, dropping down a tier and two spots in the list. Partly because of other players’ performances, but mostly due to a slump. To put it into perspective, Cunningham averaged 26.7 points per game in the last ladder, now he is barely above 25.
He has bounced back in his last two outings, recording two 20-point double-doubles. Plus, the Detroit Pistons are the only team in the Eastern Conference with 30+ wins and are 8-2 in their last 10. Cunningham is still having the best year of his career and is a first-time All-Star starter like Brown.
NBA MVP Tier 4: Elite Scorers
No. 6 – Anthony Edwards, 29.4 PPG/ 5.2 RPG/ 3.7 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 8
Anthony Edwards has only played five games since the last ladder. He averaged 33 points per game in those five games. That average is boosted by a 55-point performance in the aforementioned battle with Wembanyama against the Spurs, where he scored 26 points in the fourth quarter. Edwards scored 38 in the following game. He deserves to be at the top of this tier dedicated to elite scorers.
Edwards is the most clutch player in the NBA, and if he doesn’t win the MVP, he will still end the season with hardware.
No. 7 – Jalen Brunson, 27.6 PPG/ 3.2 RPG/ 6.0 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 5
Jalen Brunson is the second faller of this list, but it is due to an injury, not a slump. In the first game since the last ladder, Brunson sprained his ankle, causing him to miss most of one game and totally miss two others. The New York Knicks lost all three of those games. Still, the New York Knicks are the No. 2 seed in the East and 5-1 in the six games since Brunson’s return.
Brunson hasn’t had any crazy scoring outputs since his return, only scoring 30 points once, but he consistently scores 20 points like Gilgeous-Alexander.
No. 8 – Tyrese Maxey, 29.2 PPG/ 4.2 RPG/ 6.8 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 7
Tyrese Maxey has had a similar last two weeks to Brunson and has also dropped down the list. Maxey has cooled off a little bit after a hot start to 2026, and I don’t blame him. He is still the No. 1 option, but not relied on as heavily with Joel Embiid consistently in the lineup.
Maxey has only scored 30 points once in his last eight games, which is the same number of games under 10 points. Maxey may continue to fall with Embiid taking a bigger slice of the offensive pie.
No. 9 – Donovan Mitchell, 29.4 PPG/ 4.8 RPG/ 5.8 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 12
The Cleveland Cavaliers are finally winning games. Donovan Mitchell has been a 30-point-per-game scorer on a play-in team the entire season. Now the Cavs are the No. 5 seed and 8-2 in their last 10.
Team success is not the only reason Mitchell rises three spots; he has had the best week of any player in the NBA. He is averaging 32.6 points over his last five games, including one 45 point performace to cap off three straight games of 30 points.
Mitchell is back in the top 10 in a career-best year, like many others on the list.
NBA MVP Tier 5: New No. 1 Options
No. 10 – Jalen Johnson, 22.9 PPG/ 10.5 RPG/ 7.9 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 9
Jalen Johnson had a slow start to the post-Trae Young part of his career, but he has recently found his rhythm again. He had three straight games of 20+ points, 15+ rebounds and 5+ assists. Johnson is arguably a top-five rebounder in the NBA at only 6’8″, quietly averaging more per game than Alperen Sengun, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mitchell Robinson.
The Hawks have won four straight games, and Johnson might jump up a tier as he gets more comfortable being the first player on the scouting report.
Last night’s game against the Celtics was Johnson’s 24th game this season with 15/10/5. Nobody else has more than 20, according to StatMuse.
No. 11 – Kevin Durant, 26.4 PPG/ 5.5 RPG/ 4.5 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 14
Kevin Durant has taken over the Houston Rockets. He took Alperen Sengun’s spot on this list and his spot as the No.1 option. Durant has scored 30 points four times since the last ladder, including three straight games of 30+ points. His combined field goal percentage in those games is 56.1%. That is efficiency only matched by Gilgeous-Alexander.
Durant is also third in the NBA in minutes per game. If Durant gets his free-throw percentage up, he will have his third season in the 50/40/90 club.
No. 12 – Jamal Murray, 25.9 PPG/ 4.4 RPG/ 7.4 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: N/A
The Denver Nuggets are 9-6 in games without Nikola Jokic this season. Jamal Murray has thrived as the next man up, averaging 28.5 points and 8.8 assists on 50.5% shooting during 2026. Like Mitchell, Murray capped off three straight games of 30+ points with a 40-point performance. Murray set his career high in assists with 16 on January 4; he broke it with 17 assists in his next game.
Murray is setting career highs during a career-best stretch as the No. 1 option, plus he will make his first All-Star game.
NBA MVP Tier 6: Underrated Stars
No. 13 – Kawhi Leonard, 27.9 PPG/ 6.2 RPG/ 3.5 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 11
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have been the NBA’s best since mid-December. They won six of their first 27 games. They have lost three of their last 19. Leonard has averaged 31.1 points on 50/40/90 shooting during their 16-3 stretch, and is a half of a percent away from joining the 50/40/90 club on the season.
Leonard was primed to rise up this list on the condition that he stayed healthy, but he picked up a couple of injuries that caused him to miss three games. He has now missed 13 of the 17 allowed games, but the Clippers are surging, and he is the main reason why; LA is 16-3 in their last 19 games.
No. 14 – Stephen Curry, 27.3 PPG/ 3.6 RPG/ 4.9 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: 10
Stephen Curry has more on his shoulders than any other player on this list, and possibly in the NBA. He already didn’t have a teammate averaging over 20 points per game, and now Jimmy Butler is out for the season. The Golden State Warriors were streaking alongside the Clippers since December 20th, going 12-4 in 16 games before Butler’s injury.
Curry has scored 26+ in three straight without Butler, and will have to put up superhuman scoring efforts at 37 years old to give his team a chance. If the Warriors make the play-in, Curry will have an argument for being the most VALUABLE player. As of writing, Curry is tied for the most games this season with 25 or more points on 50/40/90 percent shooting splits.
No. 15 – Scottie Barnes, 19.4 PPG/ 8.3 RPG/ 5.6 APG
Last Ladder Ranking: N/A
Scottie Barnes is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, while playing for one of the league’s most underrated teams. Barnes is leading the Raptors to the No. 4 seed in the East. He is also leading the NBA in stocks and should be the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year if Wembanyama doesn’t meet the game requirements.
Barnes is close to averaging a 20-point double-double as well. Wembanyama is fourth on this list because his defense sets him apart from players like Cunningham and Edwards, while Barnes is on this list because his defense sets him apart from the rest of the NBA. Barnes is currently making a case for himself to be the Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league in total Stocks and recording eight clutch-time blocks.
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