The NBA regular season is over and the NBC News sports crew had some thoughts on the major awards races. We skipped the Defensive Player of the Year award — Victor Wembenyama seems to have that one wrapped up. But our teams dove into the tightly contested MVP, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved races below.
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We have more NBA Play-In Tournament games tonight, too. Throughout the NBA playoffs, we’ll have you covered here and, as always, on the NBC News website.
MVP
By Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News sports reporter
I wonder if Denver’s Nikola Jokić would be running away with this award had he not already won three MVPs. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a worthy choice here. So is the Lakers’ Luka Doncic. (I think Victor Wembenyama has played too few minutes.)
But I think no player in the league carries more responsibility than the “Joker,” who certainly plays with talented teammates, but isn’t flanked by multiple All-Stars or multiple All-NBA level defenders like Gilgeous-Alexander.
For the second straight season, Jokić belongs to a club that he created and of which he is the only member: Scoring at least 27 points per game, shooting over 55% from the field, while averaging at least 10 assists a night. He’s doing all that while leading the league in assists and rebounds. SGA certainly has a case, but in my opinion, not as strong of a case as Jokic.
Andrew Greif: Nikola Jokic
Tim Rohan: Nikola Jokic
Greg Rosenstein: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Rookie of the Year
By Andrew Greif, NBC News sports reporter
For years, NBA insiders pegged the ‘25 draft class as uniquely deep and talented. It turns out the hype was deserved. Picking a winner between Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg of Dallas and Philadelphia’s V.J. Edgecombe is an exercise in splitting the finest of hairs.
Flagg — the only player this season to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals — and Edgecombe showed their franchises that their futures are in good hands.
Yet, Knueppel should win because his play immediately helped Charlotte leap from perennially moribund to one of the season’s revelations. His 273 3-pointers led the NBA and are a rookie record by 66. His effective field goal percentage this season was a staggering 60.1%.
Rohan Nadkarni: Cooper Flagg
Tim Rohan: Cooper Flagg
Greg Rosenstein: Cooper Flagg
Sixth Man of the Year
By Tim Rohan, NBC News sports editor and reporter
The Sixth Man of the Year race has been whittled down in recent weeks to two candidates: Miami forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and San Antonio forward Keldon Johnson.
Jaquez Jr. put up big numbers for a reserve player — 15.4 points, 5 rebounds and about 5 assists per game. But the Heat faded down the stretch and lost last night in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Meanwhile, Johnson is the “heart and soul” of the Spurs, who surprised the league and won 62 games. Johnson averaged 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.3% from 3-point range, and providing lots of energy off the bench.
He’s also the Spurs’ longest-tenured player. He wears cowboy hats to games and serves as unofficial team DJ. He’s the better story on the better team — and just edges out Jaquez Jr. for the award.
Rohan Nadkarni: Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Andrew Greif: Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Greg Rosenstein: Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Most Improved
By Greg Rosenstein, NBC News sports editor
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has thrived since joining the Atlanta Hawks this season. He more than doubled his points per game average (20.8 compared to 9.4 a year ago with the Minnesota Timberwolves) and has career-highs in minutes, steals, assists, rebounds and 3-pointers. You also can’t foul him, as he’s shooting 90.2% from the free-throw line.
Alexander-Walker is one of the premier defenders in the league and is a key reason why Atlanta was one of the hottest teams in the NBA down the stretch. He’s the no-brainer choice for this award.
Rohan Nadkarni: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Andrew Greif: Jalen Duren
Tim Rohan: Jalen Duren
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What We’re Reading
After the Pittsburgh Pirates signed top prospect Konnor Griffin to a $140 million deal, our Tim Rohan examined the trend of MLB teams signing young players to huge contracts. Super agent Scott Boras, players Corbin Carroll and Luis Robert Jr. and ex-GM Sandy Alderson all weighed in.
Right on cue, the Detroit Tigers announced today they had agreed to an eight-year, $150 million deal with rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle.
The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini resigned over photos of her and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and the news outlet says its investigation will continue.
LaMelo Ball should have been ejected for tripping Bam Adebayo last night, Heat coach says.
Former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore avoids jail time after pleading no contest to misdemeanors related to an incident at a staffer’s home.
Draymond Green gives a telling response about Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s future with the team.
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran made an obscene gesture to a fan who he says ‘told me to kill myself.’
Matt Crocker quit as the sporting director for the U.S. Soccer Federation just two months before the World Cup.
What We’re Watching
The NBA Play-In Tournament continues tonight. The winner of the first game, between the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, will be the No. 7 seed in the East and earn a first-round matchup with the No. 2-seeded Boston Celtics. The loser will play the Charlotte Hornets on Friday for the right to be the No. 8 seed and face the No. 1 Detroit Pistons.
In the later game, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors are playing to stave off elimination. The winner will play the Phoenix Suns on Friday for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, which will play the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder in round one.
All times are Eastern:
- 7:30 p.m.: No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 8 Orlando Magic, on Amazon Prime
- 10 p.m.: No. 9 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 10 Golden State Warriors, on Amazon Prime
That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
