The NBA has announced the finalists for their end-of-season awards today, including Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Clutch Player of the Year.
The MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year finalists were announced at halftime of the NBC broadcast of Game 1 between the Pistons and Magic, while the league’s official account tweeted the rest.
MVP:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
The leaders of the three top teams in the Western Conference all have strong arguments for MVP. Jokic became the first player to lead the league in rebounds and assists per game while also averaging 27.7 points. Gilgeous-Alexander led the top team in the league despite multiple starters missing substantial time this season. Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points per game while also being the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.
Rookie of the Year:
- Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- VJ Edgecombe (Sixers)
This race is expected to come down to Flagg versus Knueppel. Knueppel was a key part of a resurgent Hornets squad, becoming the first rookie to lead the league in made three-pointers while averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in 81 appearances. Flagg played for a worse team but showed massive star upside, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while having four games of at least 42 points throughout the year. Edgecombe averaged 35.0 minutes per game over 75 games, posting a well-rounded 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.
Coach of the Year:
- Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)
- J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
- Mitch Johnson (Spurs)
Mazzulla and Bickerstaff each led massively over-performing teams that managed to dominate the Eastern Conference despite having players in and out of the lineup all year. Johnson helped navigate a tricky guard rotation and spacing issues as the Spurs posted the second-best record in the league.
Defensive Player of the Year (Twitter link):
- Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
- Ausar Thompson (Pistons)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Wembanyama is overwhelming favorite to win this award, ranking first in total blocks, blocks per game, defensive rating, and defensive rebounding percentage this season. Holmgren was second in blocks per game for the league’s top defense, while Thompson proved himself to be arguably the best perimeter defender in the league with his combination of off-ball defensive playmaking and point-of-attack dominance.
Most Improved Player (Twitter link):
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks)
- Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
- Jalen Duren (Pistons)
Both Avdija and Duren were first-time All-Stars this season, while Alexander-Walker won the starting spot on his new team and raised his scoring from 9.4 points per game last season to 20.8 points per game this season on .459/.399/.902 shooting splits, all career high percentages.
Sixth Man of the Year (Twitter link):
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (Nuggets)
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat)
- Keldon Johnson (Spurs)
Hardaway cracked 40% from three this season for the first time in his career while shooting 6.9 attempts in his 26.6 minutes per game. Most importantly for the injury-bit Nuggets, he played 80 games, including six starts, and was the team’s fifth-highest scorer. Jaquez had an impressively well-rounded contribution off the bench, posting career-highs of 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. Keldon Johnson was a crucial scoring hub for the Spurs bench units while adding offensive pop when the starters struggled to score.
Clutch Player of the Year (Twitter link):
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards ranked first and second, respectively, in clutch scoring, while Murray was second in total clutch points behind the Thunder star and shot the most efficiently from three of the guards.
Brett Siegel of Clutchpoints notes (via Twitter) that the awards will be announced one at a time, starting with Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, April 20.
Still believe jokic is the best for now. Very smart player. Slow,fat,but his bb iq is out of the world.
I thought Edwards missed too many games to be eligible for any awards.
I have no idea why Jamal Murray is a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year. Just as headscratching as him getting 16 FTs in Game 1. I’m lost because his teammate, a guy named Nikola Jokic was more clutch.
In the clutch time stat Murray had better fg% and +/- Jokic was a -.03 while Murray was a +.04 can’t give to some one that holds a negative.
Knueppel not Knuepple
Derrick White omitted from DPOY finalists is a pretty big surprise IMO