The author has been granted an official ballot for year-end awards by the NBA for the fifth straight year. These awards include Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Clutch Player of the Year. The author provides their potential picks for each award, acknowledging that they reserve the right to make changes before submitting their final choices. For the MVP award, the author selects Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, closely followed by Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
In the Defensive Player of the Year category, the author chooses Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves as the top pick, with Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers as runner-ups. For Rookie of the Year, the author selects Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, with Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets as additional top contenders. In the Coach of the Year category, the author picks Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic, and Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves as the top choices.
For the Sixth Man of the Year award, the author selects Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves, followed by Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings and Norman Powell of the L.A. Clippers. In the Most Improved Player category, Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers is the author’s top pick, with Coby White of the Chicago Bulls and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder as other notable mentions. Lastly, in the Clutch Player of the Year category, the author chooses DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets as additional standout performers in clutch situations.
