Carmelo Anthony names ‘the real MVP’ for the 2025–26 season
Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images Carmelo Anthony has made his stance clear on the NBA MVP race, backing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the standout player of the 2025-26 season. The former All-Star believes the conversation goes beyond numbers. Oklahoma City Thunder’s rise has played a major role in that view.
After winning the NBA title in 2025, they have maintained their elite form as the league’s top team once again With Shai leading the MVP Ladder ahead of Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic and Cade Cunningham, the debate continues to intensify. ‘Melo’, however, sees it as already decided. Carmelo Anthony names Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as ‘real MVP’ Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post Speaking on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Anthony explained why players see the MVP race differently.
“Players know who the real MVP is. Like, that’s all that matters. You know what I mean?
Like, the media could, you know, they don’t get their vote and say so, but the players know who’s MVP. Like, ask the players who’s MVP. “Because we know what we played up against.
We know what we went up against. We know how we had to, how you competed. We know little s— that the media can’t really, can’t really see or understand because they dealing with the numbers and the analytics of everything.