The Kia MVP race has quietly split into two worlds.

At the top sits the league’s elite penthouse, Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić. Three superstars playing at historic levels, three engines carrying contenders, and three players who, barring chaos, will decide the 2025-26 MVP among themselves.

Below them is the grind floor. Still elite. Still special. But separated by availability, injuries, and circumstance.

That divide in the MVP has never felt clearer than right now.

The Penthouse: A Locked Trio

Nikola Jokić continues to make the extraordinary look routine. He’s averaging 29.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.9 assists on 61.2% shooting, leading the league in both rebounds and assists while sitting top-five in scoring. It’s not just a triple-double average, it’s a surgical dismantling of modern basketball logic. Jokić bends defences without forcing action, and when Denver needs him to score, he drops 40 in a one-point win like it’s a contingency plan.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might be the smoothest scorer alive right now. 32.8 points per game, elite efficiency, and the emotional backbone of the league’s best team. Oklahoma City isn’t just winning, they’re rolling, and Shai is doing it without drama, volume-chasing, or wasted possessions. With an Emirates NBA Cup title now within reach, the only thing missing from his résumé is silverware.

Luka Dončić is doing Luka Dončić things, only louder. The league’s leading scorer at 35.0 points per game, nearly a triple-double every night, and tasked with carrying one of the NBA’s most scrutinized franchises. Yes, the three-point shot has been shaky (33% from deep) and the turnovers come with usage, but eight straight 30-point games tell the real story. He’s unavoidable.

There’s daylight after these three. A real gap.

Availability Changes Everything

That’s where the conversation turns uncomfortable.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama both belong in MVP conversations on talent alone. But availability is now the gatekeeper. With the 65-game threshold looming, time missed becomes time lost. MVP candidacy isn’t about potential, it’s about presence.

And when stars slip, others rise.

The Climbers: Cade and Jaylen

Cade Cunningham has turned Detroit into one of the league’s most surprising stories. 27.5 points, 9.3 assists, second in the NBA in playmaking, and the clear driver behind a Pistons team sitting atop the East. This isn’t empty production, it’s leadership translating to wins. If Detroit holds position, Cade won’t move down this ladder easily.

Jaylen Brown is this week’s rocket ship. From No. 10 to No. 5, powered by the best stretch of basketball of his career. Over the last six games, he’s averaging 32 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists, while Boston has won seven of nine. With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Brown hasn’t filled in, he’s taken over.

That matters.

The Stakes Going Forward

This ladder will shift. Injuries heal. Hot streaks cool. New names emerge. Anthony Edwards is already knocking, with seven 30-point games in his last ten and five 40-point performances this season.

But the structure feels set.

There is the upper class, Jokić, Shai, Luka, and then everyone else trying to climb the stairs before the season runs out.

The suspense isn’t who wins MVP.

It’s who earns the right to be mentioned with them.