MVP, sixth man of the year and more: we analyze the NBA awards
NBA experts answer some questions about the most important awards of the regular season and make their predictions.
As the regular season 2024-25 of the NBA comes to an end, the teams focus their attention on the postseason. Others began planning their lottery strategies.
The NBA regular season awards are also just around the corner, and the main unknown is what superstar of the West Conference will rise with the MVP.
It seems that there are no clear winners for any of these important awards, with the Defensive player of the year at play and Sixth man of the year at stake.
NBA Zach Kram experts, Tim Macmahon, Chris Herring, Jamal Collier and Tim Bontemps answer some of the most important questions about the most important prizes of the regular season of the League, including their predictions.
Jokic and SGA are the favorites for the MVP. Who deserves it more?
Zach Kram: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander He is on his way to becoming the tenth player in NBA’s history to win the scorer title, leading his team to the best league record. Eight of the previous nine players who achieved it won the MVP; The only exception was the second position of Michael Jordan In the 1996-97 season, when Karl Malone won the prize in a big surprise. But gilgeous-alexander has also broken the seemingly strong control of Nikola Jokic At the top of the classification tables of advanced statistics. Even the integral metrics that take into account the differential of Jokic, leader in the league, such as the estimated one and LeBron, indicate that SGA has been a slightly more valuable player this season.
Tim Macmahon: There is not a single valid criticism against the cases of Jokic or Gilgeous-Alexander, but one can only choose one. Michael Malone fans and Denver Nuggets They do not want to hear this, but if the result is even, I would be inclined to the one who has not yet won the prize before the three -time MVP, mainly because the team of the former has a two -digit advantage in the west classification. Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league in annotations with 352 points and one more/less than 911; Both clear indicators that this is their season.
Chris Herring: A part of me believes that all this season (the dominant victory, the four 50-point performances) has been a deserved coronation for Gilgeous-Alexander, whose team is sweeping the west. Traditionally, it would be a clear candidacy for MVP. On the other hand, Jokic is playing one of the best basketball of his career, which already includes three MVP and a NBA championship. His team has been much better with him on the court, while OKC has been better with SGA, but it is still excellent outside it. Depending on how the “value” is analyzed, I would understand that Joker was the choice. But it would cost me a lot not to give SGA this season.
Tim Bontemps: It may seem a curious response coming from someone who performs multiple informal surveys throughout the season to evaluate the MVP contest, but this award is rarely about who deserves it more, and it is not the case this year. They both deserve it fully and are having extraordinary seasons. But that is also what makes the choice so complicated in most seasons, and especially in this: you are choosing between two people with unquestionable arguments.
Jamal Collier: SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder They have dominated the entire season, dominating at an extraordinarily at odds West Conference, while Gilgeous-Alxander is on its way to winning the scorer title and is close to the top of the classification in most advanced metrics. He has been the favorite for some time, and this seems to be his year to be crowned.
Draymond Green states that the race for the award to the defensive player of the year is open with the loss of Victor Wembanyama. Who has the best possibilities?
Macmahon: Luguentz Dort He is the most dominant and shocking defender in, by far, the most strong defense of the league. In a season without a clear favorite, he is the candidate for which I lean. It does not have the dazzling statistics that are usually required for this award, with an average of 1.1 robberies and 0.6 caps, but a Thunder survey would result in a unanimous vote for Dort. His physical tenacity, while assuming the most difficult defensive tasks, marks the guideline for Oklahoma City, which has only allowed seven games of 30 points to rival players this season. The elite scorers of the league rarely test Dort alone, and rightly so, since it has only allowed 0.64 points per possession in those situations.
Bontemps: This is a case that I am still trying to understand a couple of remaining regular season. Evan Mobley has solid arguments, as well as Jaren Jackson Jr. I would also say that Green has solid arguments, and would also include the clippers pivot, Ivica Zubacin that conversation. However, in general, I agree with its assessment that it is a conversation as open as any other prize in recent history, and I am very curious to see how it develops.
KRAM: It is a difficult decision because the five best teams by defensive assessment (Thunder, The clippers, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics) They are so effective thanks to teamwork and training, instead of being led by a single outstanding defender. In the absence of a clear favorite, I wonder if Dort could win as a representative of the domain of the Thunder, in the same way as Marcus Smart He took the prize in 2021-22. But it is much more likely (and understandable) than a pivot wins the prize to the Defensive player of the yearso Mobley and Green are the main candidates for now.
HERRING: I think I would be inclined to Draymond for now. His intelligence and effort have been demonstrated throughout the season for a team that desperately needed to be good, if not excellent, in defense, with Stephen Curry as the only offensive leader for much of the season. The shooters have achieved 54% success near the hoop when Green is the one who defends it, which represents a reduction of more than nine percentage points compared to their averages. The 35 -year -old, with an average of more than one theft and a plug per game, would be the oldest player to win the award. I think whoever wins will benefit from OKC to have so many notable defenders that no Thunder player has a real opportunity to finish first.
Collier: It is a real pity that Wemby is not rewarded for what he has done in defense in his first two seasons in the League. I have not yet seen anyone change the shooting of so many NBA players simply for their mere presence in the painting. Without him, this award seems not to have a clear favorite. Jaren Jackson Jr. de los Memphis Grizzlies and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially with a projected lack of awards winners in the rest of the cavs squad, seem to be the two best bets.
What player of those who aspire to the most improved player award has the biggest way to become a consolidated superstar?
HERRING: I guess Cunningham cunning. It could be said that it is already a superstar, and that is my problem. For me, Cunningham, who averaged 23, 4 and 8 points last season, was already a star, so good to consider it for the award for Most improved player This season seems strange to me. I did not like the recent tendency to choose players who already averaged 20 points or more the previous season. I suppose it depends on what you consider the most difficult mountain to climb: go from being an unknown player, last year of the bank, to a legitimately good player, or to go to stardom. I have always preferred the first for the award to Most improved player.
Collier: I agree with Herring that I don’t think a player like Cunningham should even be considered for this award. Nor someone like AMEN THOMPSONone of the first five teams in his second year in the League. The player that I would recommend, with a potential slightly higher than the one I would have projected a year ago, is Tyler Herro. Herro was a well-deserved All-Star and did a good job leading the Miami Heat At the beginning of the season with the loss of Jimmy Butler III.
Bontemps: This is another case in which my two main options, Cunningham and Evan Mobley, can argue the same. Cunningham has led Detroit Pistons to their best season in a generation and has earned a deserved All-Star as the main basis of the Pistons. Mobley, meanwhile, has also taken a great step forward this season, becoming a well-deserved All-Star as one of the most versatile pivots in the League.
KRAM: The combination of Mobley’s offensive improvements (he is registering the best figures of his career in use and efficiency rate) and his defensive brilliance grant him the greatest bidirectional potential of any player in this category. Last year’s concerns about Mobley’s apparent stagnation seem absurd in retrospect; He was part of his first All-Star team this season and should be a pillar in the coming years.
Macmahon: Cunningham showed this season that it can be the engine of a winning team. He finally had the opportunity to play in a competitive team, thanks to the arrival of the candidate for Coach of the year, JB BickerStaff Already the incorporations of some competent veterans and dangerous shooters (Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley), who gave Cunningham breath space in half -court plays. A corpulent base with great touch, which averages 25.7 points and 9.2 assists at 23, can say that he is on his way to being a superstar.
Since 2012, only two winners of the sixth man have become All-Stars (James Harden, Tyler Herro). What candidate this year could break that trend?
Bontemps: My list begins and ends with the base of the Celtics, Payton Pritchardso I would say that no one is going to break the trend this year. Pritchard has been a fantastic story and has become a key piece for Boston with one of the best contracts in the League. But not even his most fervent followers would promote him as an All-Star future.
KRAM: I agree with Bontemps that no one is likely to break the trend this year, since none of the main candidates for the award-Debritchard, Malik Beasley and the undervalued Ty Jerome-has the possibility of becoming all-stars at any time. So I’ll cheat and choose Russell Westbrookwho has solid arguments to be considered in secondary elections such as the sixth effective Nuggets man, and who could receive an honorary position in the All-Star in his eventual last season, in the style of Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade.
Macmahon: Amen Thompson, from the Houston Rockets, would have been a good answer, but was definitely incorporated into the starting lineup in the middle of the season. I do not see a future in rising among the main candidates for Sixth man of the year This season.
HERRING: Pritchard will win easily. If not for this question, I would bet on someone like Naz Reidwho could get some votes in the secondary elections after having won the award last season. It is versatile on both sides, very efficient and has proven to be very effective when you have minutes as a starter. In the 17 games that has started this season, the 25 -year -old has registered 18.3 points, nine rebounds and 3.2 assists. In a more prominent role, it could be an there one day.
Collier: Talk to anyone in Minnesota and they will start talking wonders of Naz Reid. It is unlikely to win the award this year after winning it last season, but Reid has become so important for the ecosystem of the Minnesota Timberwolves that it is possible that one day stands out and one Anthony Edwards For an All-Star.
