The International Takeover, Will A Non-American Win The MVP Again This Season?

To the dismay of many North American basketball fans (and players), the NBA hasn’t seen a homegrown MVP since James Harden (Houston Rockets) won the award in 2018. Since 2019, international players have won the award seven consecutive times, with Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) winning in 2019 and 2020, Serbia’s Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) claiming three honors in 2021, 2022, and 2024, Cameroon-born big man Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) upsetting Jokic’s quest for three straight in 2023, and Canadian point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) taking home the 2025 trophy.

Between the time that Bob Pettit won the first award in 1955–56 and Harden hoisted the trophy, only four other non-American players had etched their names on the trophy: Nigeria’s Hakeem Olajuwon (1993–94), Canada’s Steve Nash (2004–06), and Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki (2006–07). The American stars clearly had an era in which they dominated the game. But as the 2025–26 season tips off, the question is, can they once again establish their dominance?

The early odds are not in their favor. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the heavy favorites in a field littered with international talent. The reloaded Nuggets are led by the stat-stuffing Jokic, and Gilgeous-Alexander is the driving force behind the heavily favored Thunder. Antetokounmpo will have the ball in his hands plenty as the Bucks hope to stay competitive in the Eastern Conference, and Luka Doncic is now the face of the LA Lakers, a team looking to return to prominence in the West.

As for American players who may be legitimate contenders, there are only three, as Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton are both sidelined with injuries that will likely keep them out for the season.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards is arguably the top American player in the way-too-early MVP race. At 24 years old, “Ant-Man” is coming off leading the Timberwolves to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. If he can help the Wolves improve their regular-season status, he could be a serious MVP candidate.

The Eastern Conference features a pair of guards who are arguably two of the best in the game. New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has the benefit of playing in the biggest NBA market, and should he lead the Knicks to a top seed in the East for the first time since the 1992–93 season, he could pull in his share of votes. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell is hoping to lead the Cavaliers to the best record in the conference for the second straight season.

When you add San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama to the list of international stars, the odds certainly don’t play in favor of Edwards, Brunson, Mitchell, or any American player to win the MVP award this season. For one of the three to do so, they will have to put together a season that checks all the boxes: elite stats, team success, and a narrative that sways the voters.