The NBA’s 65-game rule is wreaking havoc on the awards landscape to end the 2025-26 season. Luka Doncic won’t be eligible for MVP, Cade Cunningham doesn’t qualify for the First-Team All-NBA honors he deserves, and Anthony Edwards didn’t play enough games for an All-NBA nod, either.
This year will be remembered for another close MVP race between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic — only this time, Victor Wembanyama made it a three man choice. Wembanyama’s ascension is the biggest story of the season, even if it isn’t surprising for a player getting compared to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a year before he was drafted. Wembanyama will be the favorite to win MVP next season, and he’ll almost certainly win the league’s top individual honor at least a few times in his career, but he’s not quite there yet.
With the regular season now over, here’s our picks for every NBA award this season.
MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Nikola Jokic has been the best player in the world for the last five years, but this is the season Gilgeous-Alexander stole that title away from him. It’s excruciating not to give Jokic his fourth MVP after a season where he led the league in both rebounds and assists while scoring just about as well as ever, but it’s a testament to SGA’s level that he’s still ultimately most deserving of the honor. Don’t believe the narrative that Gilgeous-Alexander is simply a free throw merchant (Austin Reaves had a higher free throw rate this year) or that OKC’s success is only about its defense. Switch SGA with even another offensive star like Jalen Brunson, and there would be so many more holes to pick in the Thunder. He was already the best guard alive even before he unleashed a deadly step-back three-pointer this year, which he used to win several games at the buzzer. Gilgeous-Alexander putting up 45.3 points per 100 possession on 66.5 percent true shooting is simply absurd stuff for a 6’6 guy. He’s legitimately one of the best guards the league has seen post-Michael Jordan, and Steph Curry is really the only guard I feel comfortable saying had an objectively higher peak in the time since. SGA crushed Jokic in EPM (+9.3 to Jokic’s +8.0) and estimated wins (+19.1 to +17.1) this year. Some of the other advanced stats slightly favor Jokic or even Wembanyama, but Shai grades out as an elite player in all of them, and the Thunder would have been nowhere close to 64 wins without him, especially in a year where Jalen Williams barely played. Wemby is coming for the Best in the World title next season, but SGA has it for now, along with what should be his second MVP.
Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama
There’s no need to spend much time on this one. Apologies to Bill Russell, but Wembanyama is already maybe the best defensive player in league history at age-22. With an 8-foot wingspan, incredible speed, and a high motor, he’s going to win this award every year for the foreseeable future as long as he plays enough games. If Wembanyama weren’t eligible this season, I’d go with Chet Holmgren as a distant second choice.
Rookie of the Year: Kon Knueppel
I went longer on this year’s Rookie of the Year race last week, but Knueppel deserves the award over his college teammate Cooper Flagg because he was simply a better and more impactful player this season. Knueppel’s shooting and screening have been elite traits from day one. I’d say he’s been a top-50 player in the entire league as a rookie. Flagg would still go No. 1 in a redraft, but Knueppel has been the NBA’s best rookie this season, and I honestly don’t think it’s all that close.
Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson
I agree with Mat Issa’s analysis of the Sixth Man of the Year race: this is Keldon Johnson vs. Jaime Jaquez, and Johnson has a slight edge for being a little bit more impactful.
Coach of the Year: JB Bickerstaff
I considered Joe Mazzula, Jordan Ott, and Charles Lee for this honor, but ultimately Bickerstaff deserves the nod for getting this Pistons team from 14 wins to 44 wins to 60 wins. I felt like Detroit downgraded over the offseason by losing Dennis Schroder and Malik Beasley among others, but Bickerstaff got the most out of the defense, developed two-way guard Daniss Jenkins into a key contributor, and found ways to prioritize Jalen Duren offensively as he made a huge leap. Bickerstaff deserves a lot of credit for Detroit going 13-5 without Cade Cunningham this season, and he’s the brains behind the league’s No. 2 overall defense. The Pistons’ preseason over/under was only 46.5 wins. No one thought this would be the best team in the East this season, and Bickerstaff’s fingerprints are all over their success. The Monty Williams era seems so long ago at this point, and that might be Bickerstaff’s biggest accomplishment yet.
Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexnader led the league with 175 points in the clutch this season. Jamal Murray (166) and Nikola Jokic (155) were second and third in that category, but unlike Denver’s star duo, SGA didn’t really have anyone else to take the pressure off him in late-game situations. Chet Holmgren was the only other Thunder player to finish top-100 in clutch points this year by checking in at No. 49. The development of his step-back, like the game-winner against Denver above, is going to make him so much harder to guard in the playoffs.
Most Improved Player: Jalen Duren
There are plenty of worthy candidates for this award, but it still feels like it’s going to come down to Nickeil Alexander-Walker vs. Duren. I’m going with the Pistons center because I feel like the leap he made this season — going from a pretty good starter to a potential All-NBA nod — is more difficult than the one NAW made. I had Duren at No. 5 on my 2022 draft board, so I always believed he had this type of development in him coming out of Memphis. Duren was the NBA’s youngest player as a rookie, and he was the first guy to enter the league who was born after LeBron’s debut. It’s wild to think he’s still only 22 years old, and he’s younger than several projected first-round picks in the 2026 draft, including Bennett Stirtz, Thomas Haugh, and of course Yaxel Lendeborg. His ability to attack off the dribble just exploded this year, and he also became more efficient from short mid-range, while continuing to crush the glass at both ends. Detroit’s offense scored 122 points per 100 possessions with Duren on the floor this year for more than 1,800 minutes — which would have led the league. When he was off, the team only scored 114.7 points per 100. His free throw improvement from 66.9 percent last year to 74.7 percent this year is also part of the story. Duren’s defense can still get better, and he’s got plenty of time for that. He’s one of the best centers in the league right now, and I don’t think anyone saw that coming before this season started.
NBA All-Defensive Team picks
First team: Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Bam Adebayo, Derrick White, Rudy Gobert
Second team: Scottie Barnes, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, OG Anunoby, Cason Wallace
First team: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell
Second team: Jaylen Brown, Chet Holmgren, Jamal Murray, Jalen Duren, LaMelo Ball
Third team: Tyrese Maxey, Kevin Durant, Derrick White, Jalen Brunson, Scottie Barnes
