Despite Victor Wembanyama’s Campaign, Tyrese Haliburton Gives His Verdict on Intense MVP Race

Tyrese Haliburton explains why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves the MVP award over Victor Wembanyama.

Despite Victor Wembanyama’s Campaign, Tyrese Haliburton Gives His Verdict on Intense MVP Race

Tyrese Haliburton was booed on WWE Summer Slam at New Jersey (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • The MVP race features Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, and Luka Doncic competing closely.
  • Tyrese Haliburton endorses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for back-to-back MVP titles despite Wembanyama's impressive performance.
  • With eight games remaining, the standings may influence the final MVP decision between SGA and Wembanyama.

The MVP race is hotter than ever with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, former winner Nikola Jokic, along with Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic, battling it out in the final weeks of the 2025-26 campaign. All the four players have been consistent and dominant all year and have very little to separate between them, which makes this one of the most exciting MVP races in a while.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has not set foot on an NBA court in over nine months. The 26-year-old joined the NBA on Prime crew and weighed in on the MVP race.

I see there’s been a lot of conversation about it. If I had a vote, it would for sure go to Shai for back-to-back. What Wemby is doing in San Antonio is amazing, so I don’t want to take away from that, but I would vote for Shai.

Tyrese Haliburton on NBA on Prime

Last season during the playoffs, Tyrese Haliburton had a dream run. He had orchestrated the franchise’s first Finals appearance since 2000 and was pulling the strings in the league’s most entertaining offense. Unfortunately, an Achilles tear in game seven of the NBA Finals ruled him out for the entire 2025-26 campaign.

Haliburton picking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to go back-to-back was not a huge surprise. The Canadian international is coming off a historic campaign last year, and has shown no signs of slowing down. He has been top-three in the MVP race for the majority of the season and even seemed to be a lock earlier this month after his impressive performance over Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.

However, in the last two weeks, Victor Wembanyama has taken the league by storm. The Frenchman even gave three reasons as to why he deserves to win the MVP award this season and has made his intentions clear that he is going all out to win the award. The Spurs center is highly likely to win the Defensive Player of the Year award as well, which makes it a legacy defining campaign.

Can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander win back-to-back MVP titles?

After Victor Wembanyama laid out his reasons, it seemed to have worked as the Frenchman is the leader of the latest MVP rankings, surpassing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But this race will go on till the final round of games.

The season began with the usual names: Nikola Jokic, SGA, and Luka Doncic. While the three were locked in a three-way race, injuries began to take a toll. But the one player who has consistently remained in the top-three since the first week of the season was the reigning MVP.

While he may not come close to Wembanyama in terms of defense, his offensive game is second to none. His scoring numbers and efficiency have been off the charts. A couple of weeks ago, he broke Wilt Chamberlain‘s record for the longest 20-point scoring streak in history which was for 126 consecutive games. SGA’s streak is currently on 134 games.

With eight games to go, the Oklahoma City Thunder sit at the top of the Western Conference standings. However, they are just two games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs. When the regular season comes to an end, the teams records may come into play in deciding the MVP between SGA and Wembanyama.

Joe Mazzulla speaks on how to contain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is well on court to average 30+ points in four consecutive seasons, putting him in the same tier as Michael Jordan. He is second in the league in scoring, just behind Luka Doncic. The Thunder guard is currently averaging 31.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists.

Thunder teammates swarm Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after game-winner
Thunder teammates swarm Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after game-winner (Image via SLAM Kicks/X)

Following Boston Celtics’ win over the Thunder, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla broke down on how to contain SGA.

The first challenge is keeping him off the free throw line… Then you take a look at last game, the second to last possession… We make him pass it. We don’t get the rebound… The most important thing, is making sure we’re ready to execute with whatever is needed, depending upon how the game is going.

Joe Mazzulla in his post-match press conference

Victor Wembanyama may be the best two-way player in the league by a distance, but SGA has remained the most consistent player this season. The voters will be waiting till the final games of the regular season to decide on who deserves to win the MVP.

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