It’s now reasonable to think that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season’s balloting for the NBA MVP award.
The NBA released the three finalists for its major trophies on Sunday night, with Antetokounmpo on the MVP list alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the runaway frontrunners for the award.
Jokic was last season’s MVP and is bidding for his fourth MVP award in the last five years. Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s scoring champion this season and the leader of a Thunder team that won 68 games while setting a league record for scoring margin, is seeking his first MVP trophy.
They were considered such big favorites that BetMGM Sportsbook didn’t even offer realistic odds toward the end of the regular season on anyone else winning. Gilgeous-Alexander was the favorite, Jokic was the second choice and nobody else had odds shorter than 500-1.
Given that All-NBA voting now essentially mirrors MVP voting, being an MVP finalist basically guarantees an All-NBA first-team nod. It’ll be the ninth appearance on that team for Antetokounmpo, the seventh for Jokic and the third for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Last year’s MVP finalists were Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic — then of Dallas, now of the Los Angeles Lakers.
A panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA voted on the awards last week. The NBA will announce the winners of the various awards, along with the All-NBA and All-rookie teams, over the coming weeks.
Coach of the year
Finalists: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland; J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit; Ime Udoka, Houston.
This is how good a race this was: Mark Daigneault, who won last year, led Oklahoma City to a 68-win season and didn’t get into the top three.
Atkinson led the Cavaliers to a 64-win season, the best in the Eastern Conference. He was announced Saturday as the winner of the National Basketball Coaches Association’s coach of the year award, a separate trophy from the NBA honors.
Bickerstaff, in his first year with the Pistons, and Udoka took their teams to the playoffs, and the Rockets got the No 2 seed in the West.
Last year: Daigneault won, with Minnesota’s Chris Finch and Orlando’s Jamahl Mosley the other finalists.
Rookie of the Year
Finalists: Stephon Castle, San Antonio; Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta; Jaylen Wells, Memphis.
Castle – the No 4 pick in last year’s draft — could be the second consecutive NBA Rookie of the Year from San Antonio, after Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous winner last season.
Risacher and Wells were the No 3 and No 4 rookie scorers this season behind Castle. A notable omission: Washington’s Alex Sarr, who averaged 13 points this season.
Last year: Wembanyama won, with Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte’s Brandon Miller the other finalists.
Sixth man of the year
Finalists: Malik Beasley, Detroit; Ty Jerome, Cleveland; Payton Pritchard, Boston.
Pritchard is the overwhelming favorite, though voters clearly took note of what Beasley did off the Pistons’ bench – making more than 300 3-pointers – and Jerome was particularly steady for the Cavs all season.
Last year: Minnesota’s Naz Reid won, with Sacramento’s Malik Monk and Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis the other finalists.
Most improved player
Finalists: Cade Cunningham, Detroit; Dyson Daniels, Atlanta; Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers.
Cunningham led Detroit’s wild turnaround year – a 28-game losing streak last season, the No. 6 seed this season – and should be an All-NBA selection as well. Daniels and Zubac both had exceptionally good seasons, particularly on the defensive end.
Last year: Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey won, with Houston’s Alperen Sengun and Chicago’s Coby White the other finalists.
Defensive player of the year
Finalists: Dyson Daniels, Atlanta; Draymond Green, Golden State; Evan Mobley, Cleveland.
Daniels was a steals machine, Mobley has the gift of being able to defend the rim with physicality but not foul, and Green is seeking his second award after winning it in 2016-17.
Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert remains on four DPOY awards, tied with Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as winners of the most. Wembanyama – who won the blocked-shots title this season – probably would have won this award in a runaway had he not been sidelined since the All-Star break with deep vein thrombosis in one of his shoulders.
Last year: Gobert won, with Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Wembanyama the other finalists.
Clutch player of the year
Finalists: Jalen Brunson, New York; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota; Nikola Jokic, Denver.
Can’t go wrong here. Edwards had 157 points in clutch time this season, Brunson had 150 and Jokic had 140.
Last year: Golden State’s Stephen Curry won, with DeMar DeRozan – then of Chicago, now of Sacramento – and Gilgeous-Alexander the other finalists.
