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It's been fairly common for players to repeat as the Most Valuable Player in the NBA since the league began giving out the award in 1956. The trend began with Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, who earned the honor three consecutive times from 1961-63.

Players have won back-to-back MVPs 14 more times since then, with Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers (1966-68) and Boston's Larry Bird (1984-86) also capturing three in a row. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James have repeated twice during their careers, with the latter doing so with two different teams (2009-10, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2012-13, Miami Heat).

The player that most recently accomplished the feat is Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who was MVP in 2021 and 2022. The 6-foot-11 Serbian came close to winning the award four straight times as he was runner-up to Joel Embiid in 2023 before reclaiming the trophy in 2024.

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Jokic was the 13th different player to repeat as NBA MVP, but there's a strong chance that club will have a new member very soon. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat out Jokic for the award last season and is the front-runner for the honor again this campaign. The star guard has helped lead the Oklahoma City to a Western Conference-best 45-15 record and is the league's second-leading scorer with an average of 31.8 points.

It doesn't appear as if there are many contenders in the race for the 2026 MVP. Most of the major sportsbooks have Gilgeous-Alexander priced at -250, while Jokic is the second favorite with odds around +400. Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham also is in the picture as he is listed between +650 and +850.

Best bet: Gilgeous-Alexander (-220, BetMGM)

The 27-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander has been on the shelf since Feb. 3, sitting out Oklahoma City's last nine games with an abdominal injury. He has missed a total of 11 contests this season and potentially could become ineligible for the MVP under the NBA's new rule that states any player who misses more than 17 games does not qualify for the league's annual awards.

Jokic, who leads the NBA in both assists (10.4) and rebounds (12.5) while ranking sixth in scoring (28.8 points), is in even greater danger of being ineligible. The 31-year-old big man already has missed 16 contests this campaign, meaning he must play in at least 22 of the Nuggets' final 23 games to qualify.

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Should Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic fail to meet the requirements, the door will be wide open for Cunningham to claim the MVP award. The 24-year-old guard is having a superb season for the league-leading Pistons, who began Thursday with a one-half game lead over the Thunder, as he his second in the NBA with an average of 9.8 assists and is scoring 25.4 points per contest.

However, Gilgeous-Alexander needs to appear in just 16 of Oklahoma City's final 22 games to keep his chances of repeating alive. He is expected to return to the court on Friday when the Thunder host Jokic and the Nuggets, and barring any further physical issues, he's likely to become the 14th player in league history to repeat as MVP.