The NBA’s international growth has been at an all-time high over the last 10 years. Basketball is played all around the globe, and the game continues to expand.
On Wednesday afternoon, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the 2024-25 MVP. SGA is Canadian-born and is the seventh consecutive international league MVP. That raises the question: which American players are most likely to be the next MVP of the NBA?
When will the next American-born player win the NBA MVP?
There hasn’t been an American NBA MVP since James Harden (2018). 😳
2025: SGA 🇨🇦 2024: Jokić 🇷🇸 2023: Embiid 🇨🇲 2022: Jokić 🇷🇸 2021: Jokić 🇷🇸 2020: Giannis 🇬🇷 2019: Giannis 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/bASLpovPGg
— Tatum Rises (@tatumrises) May 21, 2025
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the 2024-25 NBA MVP on Wednesday afternoon. He became the seventh consecutive international player to win the award. The last American to win the NBA MVP was James Harden during the 2017-18 season with Houston. Since then, Nikola Jokic has won three times (2021, 2022, & 2024), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019 & 2020), Joel Embiid in 2023, and SGA in 2025. What American player has the best chance to win the league MVP in the future?
In voting for the 2024-25 NBA MVP, Jayson Tatum received the most votes of any American player. He had 11 third-place votes, 84 fourth-place votes, and four fifth-place votes for a total of 311. That was the fourth-most of any player in NBA MVP voting. The top three finishers this season were all international players. Jayson Tatum plays in a strong basketball market and is a superstar in the NBA. He has the making of a league MVP. Can he put it all together and have an MVP-worthy season? Tatum has now finished fourth in MVP voting twice.
Another American player with a real chance to win the NBA MVP is Anthony Edwards. He’s only 23 years old and has been a polarizing figure for years. When the older generation starts to retire, Edwards has the chance to be the face of the NBA and win the MVP. LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant will be gone in a few years. That is Edwards’ chance to take over the league and make himself a yearly MVP candidate.
