SGA Leads MVP Poll, Knueppel Wins Rookie Vote
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- Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander led ESPN’s final MVP straw poll with 88 first‑place votes and 958 points, 300 points ahead of Victor Wembanyama.
- Victor Wembanyama posted league‑leading 3.1 blocks per game and averaged 24.5 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, yet trailed SGA by 300 points in the poll.
- Nikola Jokic earned three first‑place votes and appeared on 99 of 100 ballots, but fell to fourth place as his per‑game averages dipped after a knee bone bruise.
- Luka Doncic averaged a league‑high 33.5 points per game and was on 97 ballots, but a left hamstring injury threatened his eligibility for the MVP award.
- Cade Cunningham was excluded from MVP ballots after a collapsed lung injury, per voter instructions.
- Kon Knueppel captured 80 first‑place votes in the Rookie‑of‑the‑Year poll, outpacing Cooper Flagg’s 20 votes.
- Kon Knueppel set the NBA rookie record for three‑pointers made in a season and leads the league at 43.1% from deep.
Why it matters: SGA’s commanding lead cements him as the front‑runner for back‑to‑back MVP honors, while Wembanyama’s sizable gap underscores the difficulty of overtaking a veteran star despite historic stats; Knueppel’s rookie‑of‑the‑year lead boosts his profile and validates the Hornets’ late‑season surge for the team.
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