For eight straight years, a player born outside the U.S. has been named the NBA’s MVP. The last American-born player to win the league’s top honors is James Harden back in 2017-18.
It has led to debates as to which American-born player will next win MVP and who is the best player from the U.S. currently. One of the first names that comes up is Anthony Edwards, but Jalen Brunson certainly strengthened his case to be the best after the New York Knicks took home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Ant-Man is one of many candidates for best AmericanÂ
It was a remarkable Game 5 of the NBA finals for Brunson as the Knicks won their first championship in 53 years. Named Finals MVP, he dropped 45 points, which is only behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bob Pettit’s 50 for most points in a finals closeout game.
That may vault Brunson to the top in some people’s eyes as the best American. Heading into the playoffs, though, some had him behind Cade Cunningham, who was named an All-NBA first team member (Brunson was second team).
Cunningham finished fifth in MVP voting and Jaylen Brown came in sixth (Brunson didn’t get an MVP vote). Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, and Kevin Durant all received more All-NBA points than the reigning Finals MVP.
Jayson Tatum had made the previous four All-NBA first teams but missed much of the season with a torn Achilles. Stephen Curry may now be 38, but still is an elite shooter and scorer.
Of course, Ant-Man is also in the running for best American-born player. He turns just 25 in August, and Edwards was named to the All-NBA second team the previous two years (wasn’t eligible in 2025-26). He’s coming off a year where he finished with career-bests in scoring average (28.6) and 3-point accuracy (39.9 percent).
That’s a lot of names that at least have a case to be known as the best American player. You can even throw in someone like Cooper Flagg, who isn’t seen in that light yet, but could be rather soon.
Edwards seems to improve every year. He just saw his teammate of four years, who he is still friends with (Karl-Anthony Towns), raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The title of best American player is subjective for sure, but Ant’s belief in himself will have him wanting to prove to skeptics that he, and only he, should be known as the best. With Brunson reaching another tier, Edwards will have his work cut out for him, though.
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