Basketball in 2024: Which NBA star had the best year?
From the 2024 playoffs to the Paris Olympics and the NBA Cup, which star dominated the sport the most from January to December?
As we celebrate New Year’s Eve, let’s take a look back at the year in professional basketball with my Annual (and imaginary) Ballon d’Or (Golden Basketball) for the best player of 2024.
In the decade since I first awarded the Ballon d’Or for performance in all competitions of the calendar year (similar to the previous format of football’s Ballon d’Or, which changed from an annual award to a seasonal award in 2022), there has never been such an open field.
The Boston Celtics they won the NBA title more through depth than individual stardom, and only one of the top five finalists in regular-season MVP voting (Luka Doncic) reached the conference finals. Meanwhile, the 2024 Paris Olympics were a possible final coronation for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron Jamesneither of whom saw their team win a playoff series.
After all that, Can reigning MVP Nikola Jokic become the first consecutive Golden Basketball winner since James won three in a row from 2016 to 2018, or will he be dethroned by Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Let’s review their cases and choose a winner.
Honorable mentions
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Resume: NBA Finals MVP
Given the importance of the Finals, the series MVP has won Golden Basketball in five of the last nine years. The balanced Celtics gave us an unusual situation in which Brownwho also won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, was not recognized as the team’s best player. Brown He also missed an opportunity to improve his Golden Basketball credentials when he was cut as a replacement on the Team USA squad for teammate Derrick White.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Resume: All-NBA Second Team
brunson revitalized New York basketball with his leading role in last year’s run to Game 7 of the conference finals, finishing fifth in MVP voting and averaging 32.4 points and 7.5 assists for the Knicks with a shortened team in the playoffs . He has taken a step back so far this season, with newcomer Karl-Anthony Towns emerging as New York’s MVP candidate.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Resume: Clutch Player of the Year Jerry West
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Resume: FIBA Olympic Games MVP
From the first time I awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2014 through 2020, Curry and James combined to win all but one of them. The two future Hall of Famers provided some of the most memorable basketball games this year playing together for Team USA in the Olympics, with James winning the tournament MVP, but Curry shining in the final. However, neither was a serious Ballon d’Or contender after they failed to play at an MVP level during the NBA season and their teams combined for a playoff victory.
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Resume: All-NBA Second Team
Like Curry and James, the most important basketball in Davis In 2024 it came in the Olympic Games, when he averaged 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds with 62.5% shooting from the field. Davis has taken a step forward in Los Angeles this season, emerging as the Lakers’ leading scorer as well as an All-Defensive candidate.
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Resume: All-NBA Second Team
Believe it or not, Durant has never won a Golden Basketball award despite earning one MVP and two Finals MVPs. Durant finished ahead of Curry and James in All-NBA voting and was another key contributor to Team USA’s gold medal, but the Durant They also had a quick exit from the playoffs, being swept in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
2:25
LeBron, KD and Steph talk about mutual respect, inspiration
LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry talk about the respect they feel for each other and the future of the League.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Resume: All-NBA Second Team
During a spectacular postseason, Edwards finished second in playoff wins above replacement player rating (WARP) by my metric, leading the Timberwolves to the conference finals for the first time since 2004. Coming off the bench for the Olympic team, Edwards He averaged 12.8 points, ranking fourth on the team.
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Resume: First team All-NBA
Along with White, Tatum was one of two players to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal.. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as important as expected for either win. The irregular last two rounds of the playoffs tatum allowed Brown to win MVP of both series, while his lack of playing time in the opening game of the Olympics and the gold medal game became a story to follow. That leaves tatum as the most difficult of the finalists to eliminate.
Finalists
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Resume: All-NBA First Team, NBA Cup MVP
Antetokounmpo He closed out 2024 on a high note, topping Gilgeous-Alexander in a dominant victory in the finals of the NBA Cup by scoring 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists to win the game’s MVP. He was also the Olympics’ leading scorer, averaging 25.8 points per game to lead a Greek team with no other NBA players to the knockout stages.
During the 2024 portion of the regular season, Antetokounmpo was as good as almost anyone, finishing fourth in MVP voting during 2023-24 and a close third in AM850’s Tim Bontemps’ recent 2024-25 poll. In the middle, Antetokounmpo He missed a chance to make a statement in the playoffs, watching Milwaukee’s first-round loss from the sideline due to a calf injury. Surprisingly, Antetokounmpo He was the highest-performing player in MVP voting to miss the playoffs due to injury since David Robinson (third) in 1992.
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Resume: Western Conference Finals MVP, third in MVP voting
Until June, Doncic was the clear favorite for this award. Doncic Not only did he lead all players in playoff WARP while making his first Finals appearance, but he played his best regular-season basketball after the calendar turned to 2024. Doncic averaged 33.8 points, 10.2 assists and 9.9 rebounds from January 1 onwardsgoing from fifth place in the first poll of 2023-24 to finishing third and earning four third-place votes.
The long playoff run meant a brief recovery period for Doncic before playing in the FIBA Olympic Games qualifiers, and Slovenia was defeated by Greece in the semi-finals. Doncic He then got off to a relatively slow start this season, averaging 28.1 points, his fewest since 2020-21, before suffering a calf strain on Christmas Day.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Resume: Second in the MVP voting
Of all the candidates, Gilgeous-Alexander It has perhaps the most complete calendar year. Along with fellow Canadians Luguentz Dort and Dwight Powell, Gilgeous-Alexander was one of three players to compete in the last eight of the NBA playoffs, Olympic Games and NBA Cup.. And he finished second in the MVP voting, as well as in the 2024-25 informal poll.
TO Gilgeous-Alexander It’s just missing an emblematic moment of the year. It looked like his 39-point performance against Doncic in the NBA Cup quarterfinals might qualify before that was usurped by a poor shooting night (8 of 24) in the championship loss to the Bucks. However, the idea that he has trouble on the big stage is clearly false. Gilgeous-Alexander He was fantastic when the Thunder lost to Dallas in the NBA playoffs, averaging 32.2 points on 51% shooting, and had a game-high 27 points when Canada was defeated by France in the quarterfinals of the Games. Olympics.
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Resume: NBA MVP
For the third time in the last four years, Jokic He was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player and is currently the favorite for a fourth trophy, averaging a career-high 30.5 points, 3.4 more than in any previous season. Jokic He leads the NBA in three-point shooting percentage (49%) and the Nuggets depend on him more than ever. Opponents outscore Denver by 13.6 points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the bench this season, but the Nuggets are +9.7 per 100 when he plays, according to NBA Advanced Stats.
After not participating in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 following the Nuggets’ championship run, Jokic he rejoined the Serbian national team for the Olympics and led them to a near upset of the United States in the semifinals. Jokic He then achieved a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) as Serbia beat reigning world champions Germany to earn a bronze medal to add to the silver they won in 2016. Jokic led all players in the Olympic WARP rankings.
And the Golden Ballon d’Or goes to…
The winner: Nikola Jokic
At the end of 2024, Jokic He’s still the best player in the NBA by acclaim, and I don’t think anyone has done enough to dethrone him as the Golden Basketball winner. Gilgeous-Alexander came close, and perhaps an NBA Cup win (and probably MVP) would have taken him over the top, while Doncic could have done so with a stronger start to the 2024-25 season.
Interestingly, this is the first time in the three MVP campaigns of Jokic that Golden Basketball has won, as they were followed by relatively short playoff runs. After winning Golden Basketball last year, he finished second in the MVP category in 2023 en route to being Finals MVP.
Previous winners: 2014: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2015: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; 2016: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2017: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2018: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; 2019: Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers; 2020: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; 2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; 2022: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks; 2023: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
