NBA Announces Finalists For 2024/25 Awards
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are the three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player award this season, the league announced on Sunday (Twitter link).
While all three players put up monster numbers, Gilgeous-Alexander is generally considered the favorite to win the award due in large part to the Thunder’s team success this season. Oklahoma City won a league-high 68 regular season games, compared to 50 for Jokic’s Nuggets and 48 for Antetokounmpo’s Bucks.
The finalists for each award represent the top three vote-getters. The winners will be announced at a later date.
Here’s a rundown of the finalists for the major NBA awards voted on by media members:
Coach of the Year
- Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers)
- J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
- Ime Udoka (Rockets)
Rookie of the Year
- Stephon Castle (Spurs)
- Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks)
- Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies)
Sixth Man of the Year
- Malik Beasley (Pistons)
- Ty Jerome (Cavaliers)
- Payton Pritchard (Celtics)
Defensive Player of the Year
- Dyson Daniels (Hawks)
- Draymond Green (Warriors)
- Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
Most Improved Player
- Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
- Dyson Daniels (Hawks)
- Ivica Zubac (Clippers)
Clutch Player of the Year
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Central Notes: Mitchell, Kuzma, Harris, White
The Eastern Conference’s top seed begins its first-round series tonight, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell knows that in order to be looked upon as a one of the game’s biggest stars, he has to deliver in the playoffs, he tells Marc Spears of Andscape.
“It’s right there. The biggest thing that holds me back is winning. Talent-wise, I don’t think it’s even a discussion,” he said. “It’s more like, ‘Can I win at the highest level?’ That’s been the question for most of my career. So, for me, that’s why you can’t squander these opportunities because that’s what puts you there.
“I said it [last] summer on the Melo [Carmelo Anthony] podcast, ‘I can use it as fuel, but I can’t get mad.’ I’ve been to the conference finals. I can use it as fuel, but then you got to go out there and produce a win. To shut them [critics] up, you got to go out there and win. So that’s the main goal, and I will do it by any means necessary. It doesn’t mean I have to go out and score 40 points every night. I’ve got to make the guys around me better.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma was a no-show in Game 1 of the team’s series against the Pacers. He had no points, rebounds or assists in 22 minutes. Kuzma banged his thumb in the first quarter but wouldn’t make excuses. “Just understanding what I need to do, can’t wait for the ball, can’t wait for things to happen, kind of just gotta go get it, just find myself and get into actions on my own,” he said, per the Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak. “Rebound — definitely a stinker for sure. It’s a long series, it’s seven games and I’m excited to play because I understand a little bit of what I need to do to attack the next game.”
- The Pistons gave up 21 unanswered points in the second half of their Game 1 loss to the Knicks. Forward Tobias Harris said the team needs to move on from that disappointment with Game 2 approaching on Monday night, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. “It’s a series,” Harris said. “You can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Each team will make an adjustment, but overall it’s about mentally just staying locked into the moment and being ready for the next game, no matter what. I think for us, obviously for this group, guys having first time playoff experience it’s just understanding it stinks to lose but it’s about how you come back the next night.”
- Bulls guard Coby White is entering the last year of his deal and will make $12.9MM next season. He’s eligible for an extension but would be foolish to sign one, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. If he pursued an extension, White would be limited to a 40% raise on his current contract. He could potentially make a lot more by waiting until free agency next summer.
Southwest Notes: Thompson, Harrison, Dumars, Udoka
The Mavericks‘ play-in game victory in Sacramento had special meaning to Klay Thompson. He scored 23 points against the Kings, making five three-pointers along the way. Thompson missed all 10 of his field goal attempts last season against Sacramento in the play-in tournament, which wound up being his last game in a Warriors uniform.
“I wasn’t going to define myself off one bad shooting night,” he said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I mean, I’ve had some of the greatest shooting nights in the history of the game. So even someone in my caliber can go 0-for. … I try to not even think about that, but at times you do because you’re human. But you just keep going out there and do what you love.”
Dallas will now battle the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed on Friday.
“I’m still alive. I’m excited,” Thompson said. “I get to go to Memphis. It was really fun (Wednesday) because you could just be fully immersed in the experience, and we’ve had a tumultuous season, to say the least. The injury bug has struck us like I’ve never seen before, but we’re still here playing postseason basketball.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison‘s contentious press conference, in which he stated he didn’t regret trading Luka Doncic, wasn’t something he suggested, ESPN’s Sham Charania tweets. “Nico Harrison did not want to do this closed-door roundtable. This was not his idea,” Charania said during an appearance on NBA Countdown. “This was something that was enforced by their owner, Patrick Dumont.”
- Now that Joe Dumars has been officially hired as the Pelicans president of basketball operations, he has two big decisions to make, Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes. His first major decision will be whether to retain head coach Willie Green. As the offseason progresses, he’ll have to choose whether to retain Zion Williamson as the franchise player or trade him and take the franchise in another direction.
- Dumars has spent the last three years as the NBA’s head of basketball operations and commissioner Adam Silver thanked him for his service in a statement relayed by The Athletic’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). “Joe brought tremendous credibility to his role at the league office and is one of the most genuine and respected people in all of basketball,” Silver said. “His exceptional playing career and tenure as an executive provided him with an elite understanding of the game and strong relationships around the NBA. We are grateful for Joe’s leadership over the past three years and wish him well as he begins his new role with the Pelicans.”
- The Warriors are actually the betting favorite to win their first-round series against Houston even though the Rockets are the No. 2 seed. Much of that is due to Golden State’s wealth of playoff experience — Rockets coach Ime Udoka says he and his staff will have to do their best to neutralize that advantage. “The experience for our young guys will be new,” he hold Mark Medina of Athlon Sports. “But as far as me and my staff and what we’ve experienced, I don’t think there is a whole lot that’s going to surprise us or be different. It’s just our young guys getting experience for the first time and going through the playoff prep and all the specifics of how much more you have to dig in.”
Scott Perry Considered Frontrunner For Kings’ GM Job
Longtime NBA executive Scott Perry is considered the frontrunner for the Kings’ general manager job, Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic report.
The organization is looking for a replacement for Monte McNair, who mutually agreed with ownership to part ways after a five-year run. The Kings were eliminated from the play-in tournament by Dallas on Wednesday.
Perry was the Kings’ VP of basketball operations and has a strong working relationship with Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive. Perry has a 25-year front office resume that has included stints with the Pistons, SuperSonics, Magic and Knicks. Former Nuggets GM Calvin Booth, who lost his job last week, is also expected to receive consideration.
While former GM Vlade Divac is still within the organization as VP of basketball and franchise operations, he’s not considered a candidate for the top executive job. Team sources tell The Athletic that Divac won’t be returning to the front office in any formal capacity.
As for the head coaching job, Doug Christie hasn’t been given any promises to have the interim tag removed, but he’s well-positioned to keep the job. Christie replaced Mike Brown in late December.
According to The Athletic, McNair didn’t want to fire Brown and he also recently clashed with ownership regarding Christie’s status beyond this season, with Ranadive backing Christie. The decision to acquire DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade last offseason and deal for Zach LaVine at the trade deadline may also have been driven by ownership, per Amick and Slater.
McNair, who spoke with the team minutes after the loss to the Mavericks, may not be out of a job for long. He could return to the Rockets, where his former co-worker, Rafael Stone, is the GM. He also has close ties with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey.
Booth’s potential candidacy and McNair’s potential reunion with Houston were previously reported.
Central Notes: Bulls Play-In, Vucevic, Pistons, Haliburton
Tempo will be a key in the Bulls’ play-in game against the Heat tonight, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune writes. Chicago will want to speed up the game, while the Heat would prefer a half-court battle.
“Our identity is up and down — and it’s not a secret,” guard Josh Giddey said. “Everyone knows the way we play.”
Coby White says the Bulls need to match the Heat’s physicality. Chicago lost to Miami in the play-in round in each of the last two seasons.
“I feel like Miami — the last two years we played them in the play-in — they physically dominated us,” White said.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Bulls center Nikola Vucevic remains one of the league’s most consistent players, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes. Vucevic averaged a double-double this season. “It’s the hardest thing in this league,” he said. “There’s so many games. There’s a lot of ups and downs. You win, you lose. You have good games, bad games. But you just have to learn to deal with it and move on. I just try to bring it every night and do what I do and not get out of that. I’ve had better years and worse years, but I don’t think there’s been a huge difference in the way I’ve played and my numbers. So, I take a lot of pride in it. I try to bring it every night.”
- Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has a warning for the younger players on the Pistons — you’re about to step into a new dimension. They’re about to get a taste of postseason basketball, a totally different experience from regular season action. “It’s a completely different basketball game,” he said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “And until you’re in it, it’s hard to understand it. We’ve been through this before. At some point in time, we were all kids and didn’t listen to our parents, either, and didn’t figure it out until we experienced it on our own. That’s what the playoffs are. We can tell guys what to expect, but until we experience it you don’t understand just how different it is from an intensity standpoint, from the execution of schemes, the importance of possession-by-possession basketball.”
- The Pacers enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed with a home-court advantage over Milwaukee in the first round. They made a surprise run to the conference finals last season. Expectations are different this time around, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. “I think even last year we were just satisfied with being in the playoffs,” guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “Everything from there was kinda playing with house money to be honest with you. This year I think we have real expectations to do something special as a group and when I say something special, I mean a championship. That’s definitely an expectation we’ve had since the start of the year. That doesn’t change.”
Warriors Notes: Butler, Curry, Layoff, Odds, Kuminga
Jimmy Butler took full advantage of the Grizzlies’ decision to use center Zach Edey as the primary defender on him during Tuesday’s play-in game. Butler feasted on the matchup, erupting for 38 points on 12-for-20 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in the Warriors’ 121-116 victory.
“He just told me: ‘I don’t care who guards me. Just give me space. Give me the ball. I’ll make something happen,’” coach Steve Kerr said. “And that’s the beauty of Jimmy.”
Butler had more room to shoot from the perimeter but instead chose to attack the basket. Only two of his buckets were three-pointers.
“I’d rather drive into the paint,” Butler said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Get me a layup, a middy or pass the ball to somebody that’s probably a much better shooter than I am. I think you and probably everybody else want me to shoot more threes. But I like shooting some layups.”
We have more on the Warriors:
- Stephen Curry racked up 37 points on Tuesday. He scored 15 of those points in the final 7:02 as the Warriors clinched the No. 7 seed. They’ll face the Rockets in the next round. “It’s just a reminder that it’s not guaranteed,” Curry said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I don’t care how talented you are. You look around the league, you could argue more talented teams that we have that are on the outside looking in. So you appreciate the moments. That’s why we have been talking for the last two months [about] how important it is to play meaningful games. And now we have a series that’s going to be full of meaningful games.”
- The Warriors have essentially been in playoff mode since the All-Star break. They’ll now get a little time off before the series opener in Houston on Sunday night. “We desperately needed to win this game and get four days [off],” Kerr said. “Our guys have basically been playing knockout games for about three weeks. One high-level game after another. So to get this one, it took 83 games, but we are right where we want to be. Which is back in the playoffs and we got a chance.”
- Forget the seedings. The Warriors are a -220 favorite on Bet MGM’s Sportsbook to win their first-round series vs. the Rockets, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
- Jonathan Kuminga didn’t get off the bench in the play-in game. Draymond Green expects Kuminga to play a role against the Rockets in the first round, Slater tweets. “He’ll contribute (in the Houston series)…The challenge for him is to stay mentally engaged,” Green said. Kuminga will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Florida’s Condon To Enter Draft While Maintaining NCAA Eligibility
Florida big man and potential first-round pick Alex Condon is declaring for the draft but will leave open the possibility of returning to college next season, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports.
Condon is ranked as the No. 29 prospect in ESPN’s projections but he’ll maintain his college eligibility as he prepares for the draft. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has the 6’11” Condon coming off the board with the No. 37 pick in his latest mock draft.
Condon was named third-team All-SEC after averaging 10.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocks per game in 24.9 minutes for the national champions. The Australian-born prospect didn’t start playing serious organized basketball until he was 16, so there’s room to grow his skills.
He wants assurances he’ll go in the first round — otherwise, he’ll try to help the Gators repeat.
“There’s no way I could go to any other school,” Condon told Givony. “If I have confirmation from NBA teams that I’m in the 15-30 range, if something is guaranteed, I will consider keeping my name in. I have a great situation at Florida. It would have to be something pretty special, my family would have to agree that we can’t turn that down.”
Givony notes that Condon was a significant conduit in Florida’s ball-screen offense with his ability to be a play-maker out of dribble handoffs. He displayed superior ability as a passer and off-the-ball defender, plus a high motor.
“We play through the bigs at Florida,” Condon said. “My job is to get the ball to our guards, and then crush the glass. My defense is NBA-ready. I already know how to switch ball-screens and stay in front of smaller guards, which you need to do in the NBA. I still have a lot of room for improvement, especially offensively. Most guys have been playing a lot longer than me. The next thing I need to tap into is my shooting. I shoot very well in drills but need to transfer that to games. If I come back to school, I will shoot it with more confidence.”
Knicks Notes: Rotation, McBride, Robinson, Towns, Bridges, Brunson, Toughness
How low will coach Tom Thibodeau go? In this instance, we’re talking about his rotation.
Thibodeau sliced his rotation to eight players in last year’s playoffs, then cut it to seven when injuries struck. The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy anticipates that Thibodeau will rely heavily on his starting unit once again in the opening-round series against Detroit.
Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson appear to be the only locks to get steady playing time off the bench. Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa are the other reserves who could be called upon but it’s likely only one will get rotation minutes, according to Bondy, who recommends that the hot-shooting Shamet should be the choice.
Here’s more Knicks news:
- It’ll be the first postseason with the Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the front office’s two major acquisitions to become a championship-level team. The pressure will be on that duo to produce, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. “I think for me and Mikal, we just wanted to show our value to the team,” Towns said. “And I think that throughout the year, we’ve had the opportunity to do that, to our fans and our teammates and our coaching staff.”
- Jalen Brunson, who returned from an ankle injury this month to play four games, says that past playoff experiences will help the club navigate this postseason, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. “I think for us, it’s, like any other season, it’s a roller coaster every year, there’s gonna be ups and downs, and it’s all about how you manage it,” Brunson said. “But now that the regular season’s over, it’s all about how we can move on and be better the next day. I know it’s a term that people don’t like to hear, but we learn from what we did in the past, good and bad, and move on and get better. That’s the name of the game at this stage of the season. … So we’re just focused. We still got a long way to go with preparation, still got a long way to go making sure we’re ready to go for Saturday. We’ll be ready.”
- The talent is there but are the Knicks tough enough to make it past the physical Pistons and other potential opponents? Newsday’s Steve Popper explores that topic in a subscriber-only story.
Central Notes: Giddey, Ball, Jones, Buzelis, Pistons, Sims
Bulls guard Josh Giddey is dealing with a muscle issue on the side of his hand but he’s expected to suit up for the play-in game against Miami on Wednesday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network reports.
“It’s just about managing the pain,” Giddey said, adding that the injury will be addressed in the offseason (Twitter links).
Giddey can’t imagine watching Wednesday’s game in street clothes.
“I’m good to go,” he said, per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “Play-in game, must-win game, there’s not way I’m going to sit out.”
Lonzo Ball (wrist) and Tre Jones (foot) won’t play.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis plans to play for the Lithuanian national team, but he’s unsure about representing his country this offseason. “I’m not sure that I will come this summer. We have problems with the coaches,” he told Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net, referring to controversial comments by an assistant coach of the senior national team, Tomas Pacesas. “I have to talk to Jonas [Valanciunas], Domantas [Sabonis] and see what they will do.” Lithuania will participate in the EuroBasket tournament this summer. Sabonis is expected to sit out for personal reasons, while Valanciunas is expected to play.
- The Pistons apparently don’t want Little Caesars Arena to have a large continent of Knicks fans during the first round of the playoffs, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes. Potential ticket buyers for upcoming playoff games in Detroit must produce a credit card with a mailing address “located in Michigan and in certain parts of Ohio, Indiana and Ontario, Canada,” according to Ticketmaster. However, a Pistons spokesman told Bondy that the restrictions are intended to target ticket brokers and reduce fraud.
- Bucks coach Doc Rivers is “pretty sure” reserve big man Jericho Sims will be available for their opening-round series against Indiana. Sims participated in a majority of Tuesday’s practice, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. He hasn’t played since March 16 due to a thumb injury.
And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh
The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:
- Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers
- Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
- Darius Garland, Cavaliers
- De’Aaron Fox, Spurs
- DeMar DeRozan, Kings
- Derrick White, Celtics
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics
- Kevin Durant, Suns
- Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
- LeBron James, Lakers
- Luka Doncic, Lakers
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
- Stephen Curry, Warriors
- Trae Young, Hawks
- Tyler Herro, Heat
- Tyrese Maxey, Sixers
Curry won the award last year.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
- The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
- Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.