Shai, Nikola and Giannis MVP finalists

It's now reasonable to think that Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season's balloting for the NBA MVP award.

The NBA released the three finalists for its major trophies on Sunday night, with Antetokounmpo on the MVP list alongside Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver's Nikola Jokic, the runaway front-runners for the honor.

Jokic was last season's MVP, and is bidding to be named as such for a fourth time in five years. Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's scoring champion this season, and the leader of a Thunder team that won 68 games while setting a league record scoring margin, is seeking his first MVP trophy.