The NBA’s regular season has come to a close, and while most of our attention will be spent on the playoffs ahead of us, we aren’t quite done looking back on the 82 games that were just played. In the coming weeks, the NBA will announced the winners of this season’s major awards, and on Sunday, the league revealed the three finalists for each of the seven most prestigious individual honors in the league. They are as follows:
2025 NBA awards finalists
- Most Valuable Player: Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Defensive Player of the Year: Dyson Daniels, Draymond Green, Evan Mobley
- Rookie of the Year: Stephon Castle, Zaccharie Risacher, Jaylen Wells
- Sixth Man of the Year: Malik Beasley, Ty Jerome, Payton Pritchard
- Most Improved Player: Cade Cunningham, Ivica Zubac, Dyson Daniels
- Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson, J.B. Bickerstaff, Ime Udoka
- Clutch Player of the Year: Nikola Jokić, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards
Of this year’s finalists, only two are up for multiple trophies. Jokić has a shot at MVP and Clutch Player of the Year, while Daniels can win Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player. However, Daniels is the only one of the two to be favored for an award, and he’s only favored for one of the two he can win.
NBA awards: Expert picks for MVP, Defensive Player, Rookie of the Year, more with no unanimous selections
Sam Quinn
Voting closed during the week and at present, Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite for MVP, Green for Defensive Player of the Year, Daniels for Most Improved Player, Pritchard for Sixth Man of the Year, Castle for Rookie of the Year, Brunson for Clutch Player of the Year and Atkinson for Coach of the Year. Given how close many of these races are, though, there are sure to be upsets.
The NBA does not stick to a fixed schedule when it comes to handing out awards, but there are broad trends we can follow. A few are usually handed out in the first round, with the last batch getting held back. The MVP is often awarded during the second round, with players sometimes accepting it on their home floor before a playoff game. Even if we don’t know the specifics, the winners will surely be announced shortly. Now that we have the finalists, the awards races are very close to their conclusions.
