Cade Cunningham Finishes Fifth in 2026 NBA MVP Voting

His leap with 60-win Detroit now sets up a strong All-NBA case.

Overview

The NBA released the official results Sunday before Pistons–Cavaliers Game 7, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning his second straight MVP.
Gilgeous-Alexander received 83 first-place votes and 939 points from 100 media ballots that use a 10-7-5-3-1 scoring system.
Cunningham placed fifth with 117 points on two firsts, one second, three thirds, 11 fourths and 42 fifths.
The Pistons guard led a 60-win, No. 1 seed season while averaging 23.9 points, 9.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama joined Gilgeous-Alexander in the top three, Luka Doncic finished fourth, and Donovan Mitchell tied Kawhi Leonard for seventh.