At the forefront of individual NBA awards stands Nikola Jokic, together with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as the top three finalists. Each of the seven regular-season major awards for 2024-25 revealed its finalists on Sunday evening as the selected players brought prestigious star power and unexpected storylines to the lineup.
The Most Valuable Player race revolves around Jokic, who emerges as the top pick from the Denver Nuggets as they routinely enter these discussions. Jokic continues his MVP chase as he seeks a place among LeBron James and Bill Russell by accumulating four MVP titles within his first five professional seasons.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder could be the best candidate to steal the MVP award from Nikola Jokic’s grasp. His outstanding play brought the Thunder their highest season record of 68 wins since the historic 2016 Golden State Warriors, while he maintained league-leading scoring stats at 32.7 points per game. During his successful campaign, he obtained the top spot on ESPN’s MVP straw poll twice.
Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee wraps up the MVP finalists by achieving his seventh consecutive position within the top four MVP voting group. Giannis Antetokounmpo cemented his position as a premier player by triumphing for the second time as MVP while adding another dominating season to his resume.
As the MVP battle heats up, the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) is its drama-filled category. A prohibitive early favorite, Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama was disqualified by a season-ending deep vein thrombosis diagnosis. That opened the door for Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, Golden State’s Draymond Green, and Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels to duke it out.
Mobley’s breakout season earned him his initial All-Star selection and probable All-NBA recognition, scoring 18.5 points, grabbing 9.3 rebounds, and blocking 1.6 shots. Daniels made his case by pacing the league with 229 steals, and Green demonstrated his veteran toughness by stabilizing the Warriors’ defense after a midseason surge that included acquiring Jimmy Butler.
The Most Improved Player award has another collection of uplifting tales. Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, who averaged 26.1 points and 9.1 assists, tops this list. Clippers’ big man Ivica Zubac also made waves, with career highs across the board. And Daniels, who appears in two award categories, demonstrated his worth after taking on a larger role in Atlanta after being traded from New Orleans.
Finalists for Rookie of the Year this year are Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher, Spurs’ Stephon Castle, and Memphis’ Jaylen Wells. Castle was impressive with his 14.7 points and 4.1 assists, and Wells, though he suffered a season-ending wrist injury, played in most of the season and proved to be a second-round gem.
In the Sixth Man of the Year race, Boston’s Payton Pritchard excelled with consistency, scoring 14.3 points on 40.7% from 3-point shooting. Detroit’s Malik Beasley provided top-end 3-point shooting (41.6%), and Ty Jerome came back from injury to finish with a stellar 51.6% field goal clip.
Perhaps the most surprising of the storylines is from the Coach of the Year competition. Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson and Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, the coach he replaced, are finalists, as is Houston’s Ime Udoka. All three guided their teams to significantly outperform preseason projections, with Cleveland recording 64 victories and Detroit tripling its win total from the prior season, a first in NBA history.
Finally, the Clutch Player of the Year award will be a close decision between Jokic, Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, and Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards, all of whom have provided game-winning performances for the ages this season.
The NBA will be announcing winners of all the awards — including All-NBA, All-Defense, and All-Rookie teams in the weeks ahead.
