Finalists for the NBA’s seven major awards have officially been announced, and the Most Valuable Player contest is officially on.
Both Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokić were named finalists for the top award on Sunday after a thrilling season-long battle. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was the third finalist.
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Jokić has won three of this last four NBA MVP’s, and he’s put up one of the greatest individual statistical seasons in NBA history. He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists in 70 games this season, which made him just the third player ever to average a triple-double. Gilgeous-Alexander, though, averaged a league-best 32.7 points with 6.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds. He shot nearly 52% from the field, too, and helped the Thunder to a dominant campaign where they rolled over the Western Conference and led the league in defensive rating.
Antetokounmpo had a very impressive season, too, though he’s in a distant third in this conversation. He averaged 30.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in Milwaukee in what was a near-identical statline from last season. Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVP awards in 2019 and 2020, though he’s not finished better than third in the race since.
The NBA also announced finalists for six other major awards — Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year and Clutch Player of the Year —on Sunday. The awards will be announced throughout the opening round of the playoffs, which officially kicked off on Saturday.
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Here’s a look at the finalists for the major NBA awards from the 2024-25 season.
NBA awards finalists
MVP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Defensive Player of the Year
Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Coach of the Year
Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers
J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons
Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets
Rookie of the Year
Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks
Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies
Most Improved Player
Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks
Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
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Sixth Man of the Year
Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers
Malik Beasley, Detroit Pistons
Clutch Player of the Year
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
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