Throughout this year in the NBA when most people talked about awards season, it usually came up with the fact that some key contributors wouldn’t be included in discussions in the end because of the league’s new participation rule.
Despite the league’s new rule, though, we’re looking at some phenomenal races for the NBA’s end-of-season awards this year.
There are historic stakes at play with the MVP race, for example, if Nikola Jokic gets a third one. We also got treated to a pretty incredible Rookie of the Year race between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.
Outside of those two, some pretty exciting awards races are almost certainly going to come down to the wire like Coach of the Year and Most Improved Player. There’s a lot to look forward to.
With that in mind, here are all the announced finalists for the league’s end-of-season awards. Voters have some hard decisions to make.
Most Improved Player
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Alperen Sengun: Sengun probably runs away with this award if he’s healthy toward the end of the season. His 22.0 PER is the highest among these three. He looks like the foundational piece for Houston moving forward.
Tyrese Maxey: Maxey is the second-best player on the best team out of everyone included in this group. He’s also the only All-Star. A career-high 25.9 points while shooting 37 percent from deep will do that for you.
Coby White: Coby White isn’t the Bulls’ best player at this point, but there have been many nights when it’s felt like it. His hot shooting slowed down after the All-Star break, but he still averaged career highs in points per game (19.1) and assists per game (5.1).
Clutch Player of the Year
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Steph Curry: There’s a compelling case to make for Curry here considering he leads the league in total clutch points with 189 through this season. His 69 percent true shooting mark makes that all the more impressive.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: If you think Curry’s true shooting percentage is impressive, I’d love to know what you think of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 70 percent mark in the clutch. He hasn’t scored quite as much as his counterparts here simply because OKC is so good. But when they’ve needed him the most, Shai has been elite.
DeMar DeRozan: DeRozan is just behind Curry with 182 total points in the clutch this season. He’s also played the second-most clutch minutes this year at 191.8 total — only Coby White is ahead of him.
Coach of the Year
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Mark Daigneault: What Daigneault has been able to do with the Thunder this year has been nothing short of impressive. The Thunder’s jump from 40 wins to 57 is unreal. This is legitimately a championship-level team as the No. 1 seed in the West.
Chris Finch: The same can be said for Finch’s Timberwolves. Obviously, Minnesota was a playoff team last season so the jump may not be quite as impressive. But to go from 42 wins to 56 in a season where the west is historically difficult is impressive. Plus, it’s the Timberwolves, man.
Jamahl Mosley: Jamahl Mosley’s jump with the Magic has been incredible. This team won 34 games last year. Now it’s a 47-win playoff team with one of the best defenses in the NBA.
Sixth Man of the Year
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Naz Reid: Most people thought Naz Reid would be a terrible fit for the Timberwolves once the team made the Rudy Gobert trade. He’s fit in nicely and been a stabilizing force off Minnesota’s bench with 13.5 points per game.
Malik Monk: Monk is that microwave-scoring archetype we’re so used to seeing with this award. Production wise, he’s essentially been the same player he was last season for the Kings.
Bobby Portis: If Portis was a better free throw shooter, we’d be talking about him having a 50-40-90 season for the Bucks. But shooting 54 percent from two-point range and 40 percent from deep is still pretty impressive.
Rookie of the Year
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Victor Wembanyama: What Wembanyama has been able to accomplish this season can only be described as remarkable. His peers already have him ranked as the best defensive player in the NBA.
Chet Holmgren: As good as Wemby is, Chet Holmgren should still have a case here. He’s a key piece to the best team anyone from this bunch plays on. He’s shooting 53 percent from the field and has already asserted himself as one of the best rim protectors in the league.
Brandon Miller: Brandon Miller is playing for third here, unfortunately, but that doesn’t mean his season hasn’t been impressive. He’ll be a franchise cornerstone for the Hornets moving forward.
Defensive Player of the Year
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Rudy Gobert: Rudy Gobert is the centerpiece in the middle for the NBA’s best defense in Minnesota. That’s more than enough to make a compelling case.
Victor Wembanyama: As a rookie, Wemby is averaging 3.58 blocks per game. That leads the NBA. Again, 2023-24 was this dude’s rookie year.
Bam Adebayo: Bam should get more love in this conversation. He’s averaging 2.0 stocks per game (steals and blocks combined) and has the Heat as the fourth-best defense in the league.
Most Valuable Player
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Nikola Jokic: Jokic winning a third MVP would put him in some rare company. He’d be the 9th player in league history to win at least three. It’d definitely be deserved this year with the way he’s been playing for Denver.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Between the Thunder’s incredible jump in the standings and the late-game heroics from Shai Gilgeious-Alexander this season, it totally makes sense for him to be in this conversation. Averaging 30.1 points per game helps a ton, too.
Luka Doncic: You know who averages more than 30.1 points per game? Luka Doncic. He leads the league entirely at 33.9. Along with that, he’s averaging 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game. The dude is nearly a walking triple-double at this point.
