Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was last year’s NBA Most Valuable Player.

France’s Victor Wembanyama is averaging 24 ppg and 11 rpg for the San Antonio Spurs.

Nikola Joki of the Denver Nuggets is a 3-time MVP winner.

There are several schools of thought on voting for the NBA regular season Most Valuable Player Award. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic are at the top of the list of contenders for the award. Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers) and Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics) are receiving deserved mention.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning league MVP as well as the NBA finals Most Valuable Player, and Jokic (a three-time winner ) are getting the “most play” among voters. Both recently returned from the injury list: Gilgeous-Alexander (strained stomach muscle) and Jokic (leg injury). The league rule states that a player must play 65 games, which equals 80% of the 82-game regular season schedule.

To qualify for the MVP and other awards, both leading contenders face the possibility of “not qualifying” for the top award due to the 65-game limit. Jokic is one game away from the limit. Gilgeous-Alexander is on the cusp of disqualification, missing 11-12 games as of this writing. Both men have put up MVP-worthy numbers this season. Gilgeous-Alexander (31.8 points a game, including 123 straight games scoring 20 or more points, just four shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time NBA record of 126.

On March 1 he scored 30 points in a 100-87 win over the Mavericks in Dallas to set a new NBA record of 59 straight road games with 20-plus points, breaking Chamberlain’s record of 58. His 36th game with 30 or more points is the most by any player in the NBA this season.

Jokic, averaging 28.7 points per game while leading the league in rebounding (12.6) and assists (10.5), has averaged a “triple-double” (double figures in points, rebounds and assists) for much of this season — something that has not been done since Russell Westbrook pulled off the feat in the 2020-21 NBA campaign. The 6-foot, 6-inch guard has led defending champion OKC to a record start before being injured. At present, the Thunder hold a slim lead over the surging San Antonio Spurs, which have beaten the defending champs four out of five games this season, as we enter the final days of this NBA regular season.

The recent head-to-head battle between Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic (Feb. 27) turned ugly when Gilgeous-Alexander threw a ball at Jokic, a total loss of composure on his part, resulting in a technical foul. The physicality of the contest was raised to another level when Thunder guard/forward Luguentz Dort took a cheap shot at Jokic (hip-checking him to the floor), resulting in his ejection from the contest.

When it was all said and done, Oklahoma City emerged victorious by a 127-121 final in overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points despite sitting out the overtime session due to a minutes restriction, while Jokic, despite a dismal shooting night (nine for 35 from the floor), still recorded a triple-double (23 points, 17 rebounds, 14 assists).

One argument for Jokic over Gilgeous-Alexander is that his team struggled mightily during his absence. The counter to that argument is that the Thunder is a “deeper team,” which allowed them to post a 7-4 win-loss record, while Gilgeous-Alexander and fellow All-Star guard Jalen Williams (hamstring strain, still on injured list) have both missed significant time on the injured list.

And while other MVP candidates make their cases — Wembanyama leading his team on a recent 11-game win streak, Cade Cunningham leading the Detroit Pistons to the top record in the NBA Eastern Conference (45-14 as of this writing) and Jaylen Brown continuing to lead the Boston Celtics (second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 40-20 record in 60 games played without All-Star forward Jayson Tatum; recovering from achilles tendon tear) for MVP recognition, the staggering numbers put up by Nikola and Shai will probably keep them at the top of the MVP voting.

Alexander: “We both want to win the MVP Award — there is no questioning that. Jokic has three MVPs and beat me out for one. I believe my work to date has put me in the number one position. But I don’t vote for the award. That is handled by others. My job is to play and lead my team. We are trying to repeat as NBA champions. That is our primary goal.”

Jokic, who has already acquired Hall of Fame career numbers, knows that the 65-game limit will more than likely prevent him from getting his fourth Most Valuable Player Award. “I don’t play this game to win MVP awards. I play to win NBA championships. I have one, Shai has one. We took them to seven playoff games last year. The lopsided loss on their court (in game seven) is still on our minds. But this is a new year, with different challenges facing our team.”

Key injuries to Aaron Gordon (reaggravated hamstring strain suffered on Jan. 23 — missed 15 games to date — averaging 17.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists in 23 games this season) and Peyton Watson, who racked up multiple 30-game performances during Jokic’s absence before being injured, are expected to miss four weeks of action. “They have kept us from being the team that we want to be. But I am confident that when we get these two guys back, that we will be able to compete against anybody.”

In the final analysis, Gilgeous-Alexander is still the leader in the MVP voting. His team is still atop the Western Conference standings. Jokic continues to put up mind-boggling numbers while keeping his Nuggets team in playoff contention.

The tricky part of this equation will be the ‘65 game limit. If Gilgeous-Alexander and “the Joker” fail to reach the magic 65 number of games played to qualify for the MVP Award, Cade Cunningham could win it.

Jaylen Brown will finish in the upper tier of the NBA regular season MVP list, but will have to settle for being the Most Valuable Player of this year’s Boston Celtics team.