The NBA Finals 2026 have delivered everything basketball fans could hope for—drama, intensity, elite performances, and unforgettable moments. As the championship series continues, both teams are fighting for basketball’s ultimate prize: the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the 2025-26 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced Sunday evening. After a hotly debated race featuring a rotating cast of candidates throughout the season, the Thunder star and defending winner retained his crown after a historically efficient offensive season. Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs finished second and third, respectively, and were the other two finalists.
Flagg and Knueppel traded places as betting favorites during the season, but Flagg’s 96-point outburst over two games on the second-to-last weekend might have tipped the scales. Flagg was the favorite going into the announcement.
The first of those games was Flagg’s 51-point showing against Orlando, the first time a teenager has scored 50 in the NBA. He broke his own record for a teenager of 49 from earlier in the season against Knueppel and the Hornets.
“I see the games every night. I can check the box scores,” Flagg said when asked how close of an eye he kept on Knueppel during the season. “I think also I was watching Kon just because that’s one of my brothers. We had such a good connection, and we’re gonna be there for each other for the rest of our lives. I was watching him as a fan as well, but there was obviously that competition at the same time.”
It was, as expected, one of the closest votes in Rookie of the Year history.
Only 26 points separated Flagg and Knueppel in a balloting where 100 reporters and broadcasters who cover the league ranked their top three rookies, with five points going to first place, three to second and one to third.
