The 2026-27 NBA MVP race is wide open this year, and after two weeks, there is still plenty of opportunity for stars around the league to make their early-season case. Although Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continue to stake their claim at the top of the rankings, several young stars continue to raise eyebrows across the league, including Cooper Flagg.
So far this season, the Dallas Mavericks have quietly kicked things off with a 4-2 record, picking up wins over an Indiana Pacers team that had Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac on the court before they got hurt, the Miami Heat on the road, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and most recently, the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup group play stage.
Flagg has been the undisputed leader of the Mavs throughout the first two weeks of the new season, proving to everyone that he is not only going to be a first-time All-Star but also that he deserves to be in the discussion for the MVP award.
Through five games, Flagg is averaging 26.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 55.7 percent from the floor and 26.9 percent from 3-point range. He is the ONLY player in the NBA currently averaging at least 26-6-6 while shooting over 50 percent from the floor.
The 20-year-old forward has also scored 20 or more points in every game he's played except in the second game of the year against the Pacers, where he suffered a shoulder injury and was forced to leave the game early. That also resulted in Flagg missing Dallas' next game against San Antonio, which they lost 122-106.
No matter if you use the eye test by watching him play, look at his status, or all of the above, Flagg checks off the boxes for what MVP candidates have: high-level skill, leadership, and the will to win.
Derrick Rose was the youngest player to ever win the NBA MVP award at 22 years and 191 days. Could Flagg shatter that record in just his second season?
He still has a long way to go to catch Doncic, Wemby, and SGA, but Flagg is putting himself and the Mavs on the map for every team in the NBA to notice.
Previous 2026-27 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 1 | Preseason
1. Luka Doncic – Los Angeles Lakers
Previous ranking: #1
2026-27 season stats: 6 games, 37.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 46.4 FG%, 39.5 3P%
Luka Doncic continues to fill up the stat sheets and put the Los Angeles Lakers on his back, setting records almost every night and carrying the Lakers to a 5-2 record through the first two weeks of the 2026-27 season.
Aside from registering 45 points and 15 rebounds in the team's 131-125 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday for his third 40-plus-point night in the last four games, Doncic also recorded five steals, drew three charges, and forced eight turnovers. Defense has always been the area of Luka's game that gets criticized the most, and on Sunday night, he drew a lot of eyes with his two-way play.
“Obviously, I'm not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year, I really took a step forward,” said Doncic, whose season-high 15 rebounds also came on the defensive end. “Obviously, people are going to talk what they want to talk. The media is going to talk what they want to talk, but I know, and my team knows, that I'm better this year.”
In this same game, Doncic became the first player in the play-by-play era (1997-98) to record at least 45 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, five steals, and make five 3-pointers in a game. Luka continues to elevate his play to new heights, and on the verge of averaging 40 points per game through six games, a remarkable achievement in itself, the Lakers star is rightfully at the top of the MVP ladder.
2. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs
Previous ranking: #3
2026-27 season stats: 6 games, 28.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 4.2 blocks, 48.5 FG%, 29.7 3P%
It was a rough first week for Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Not only did they lose the season opener to the Thunder, followed by the second game of the year to Houston, but Wembanyama struggled to find his groove.
Well, that is a thing of the past, as Wemby is back to being the Wemby we all know. Over the Spurs' last four games, where they have gone 4-0, the 22-year-old superstar has averaged 32.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor.
On Saturday night, Wemby had 43 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks in the Spurs' 121-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, joining Bob McAdoo and Kristaps Porzingis as the only players in league history to record 40 points and six blocks in a game before turning 23 years old.
The Spurs are winning, and Wembanyama is looking like the MVP candidate he was late in the 2025-26 season. That is why he has jumped Gilgeous-Alexander for second on these rankings behind Doncic.
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
Previous ranking: #2
2026-27 season stats: 6 games, 26.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals, 46.5 FG%, 30.0 3P%
At this point, Gilgeous-Alexander will need to outperform his last two MVP seasons just to keep the Thunder afloat and their championship hopes alive. Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are both likely out for the entire year after suffering a fractured leg and a torn labrum, respectively, and Chet Holmgren is likely out until sometime in 2027 after undergoing a biological treatment on his knee.
That leaves Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein as the lone opening-night starters still healthy on the Thunder's roster, and this team doesn't have a whole lot of scoring depth left after trading Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe in the offseason.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been good so far this season, but he has not been over-the-top great, and he can only do so much without reliable help around him. That is why opposing teams are beginning to double him and put even more pressure on the two-time MVP.
With the way this team looks after its major injuries, it's hard to imagine Gilgeous-Alexander will win his third straight MVP award.
4. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets
Previous ranking: #5
2026-27 season stats: 5 games, 21.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks, 47.7 FG%, 20.8 3P%
For Nikola Jokic's standards, he has had a very underwhelming start to the 2026-27 season. Is it that the fans are booing him and the team is getting under his skin? Is Jokic, who is now 31 years old, losing his desire to play?
Something is definitely up with Jokic, but that still doesn't take away from the fact that his numbers as is right now are still among the best in the league. Jokic is almost averaging a triple-double, and he's already recorded two triple-doubles this season.
Over his last four games, where the Denver Nuggets have gone 3-1 overall, Jokic has averaged 23.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game, recording four straight games with 10-plus assists.
It will be interesting to see if Jokic finds his touch as a scorer in the coming weeks and if the Nuggets can truly put their foot down to take advantage of the opportunity in the Western Conference due to all the injury concerns league-wide.
Article Continues Below5. Cade Cunningham – Detroit Pistons
Previous ranking: #6
2026-27 season stats: 6 games, 22.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.0 steals, 45.0 FG%, 33.3 3P%
In the Eastern Conference, all the attention is going to the Philadelphia 76ers for their hot start and the Boston Celtics for what Jayson Tatum has done to make them 5-1. But what about the Detroit Pistons? Did we forget that this team won 60 games last year and was the 1-seed in the East?
Cade Cunningham has the Pistons at 5-1 through six games, and he has done so without Jalen Duren in the frontcourt due to a hamstring injury. Only Cunningham, Doncic, Jokic, and Alperen Sengun are averaging at least 22 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and shooting 45 percent or better from the floor this season.
Out of these four players, Cunningham has averaged the fewest minutes to achieve this feat early on in the season.
The Pistons once again look like they could end up with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and if they do, Cunningham's MVP resume will only strengthen.
Just missing the cut
6. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics [Ranked No. 9 last week]
7. Tyrese Maxey – Philadelphia 76ers [Ranked No. 7 last week]
8. Cooper Flagg – Dallas Mavericks [Not ranked last week]
9. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Miami Heat [Ranked No. 10 last week]
10. Ty Jerome – Memphis Grizzlies [Not ranked last week]