NBA MVP award winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Nikola Jokic?

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The NBA resumed handing out its 2024-25 season awards on May 20, announcing the All-Rookie first and second team selections.

Stephon Castle, the league’s rookie of the year, was a unanimous choice as he received first-team votes on all 100 ballots from the global media panel.

So what awards are left to be announced?

Disclaimer one: Players must compete in 65 regular-season games to become award-eligible.

Disclaimer two: These awards are for the regular season, not the regular season and postseason play.

NBA MVP: Gilgeous-Alexander or Jokic?

It became a two-man race between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets big Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP winner.

The Thunder and Nuggets met in the Western Conference semifinals with OKC, the top overall seed in the playoffs, winning the series in seven games.

While the individual stats of Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic in the series had no bearing in the award outcome, the NBA waited until after the second round series ended to announce the award.

Just for curiosity, here’s a comparative look at how Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic statistically stacked up in the series.

Gilgeous-Alexander: 29.7 ppg., 52.9% FG, 33.3% 3PT, 6.4 rpg., 6.6 apg., 1.6 spg, 0.6 bpg.

Jokic: 28.4 ppg., 47.9% FG, 32.5% 3PT, 13.9 rpg., 5.9 apg., 1.7 spg., 0.9 bpg.

Wonder if the MVP votes will be this close.

All-NBA: Anthony Edwards first team over LeBron James?

Expect Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to join Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander on the All-NBA first-team.

Who will be the other two?

Remember, it’s position-less, meaning voters don’t have to vote two guards, two forwards and a center or two backcourt players and three frontcourt players.

Four names to consider for those final two first-team slots: Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

Out of those four, Edwards and Mitchell have never been voted first team. Edwards made second team last season and Mitchell did so for the 2022-23 season.

All-Defensive Team: Will Lu Dort get first-team nod?

If the voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year is an indicator, here’s how the all-defensive teams might shake out.

First team: NBA DPOY Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers), Dyson Daniels (Atlanta Hawks), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets).

Second team: Ivica Zubac (Los Angeles Clippers), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Toumani Camara (Portland Trail Blazers), Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat) and Antetokounmpo.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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