NBA award ballots were sent out to a panel of 100 voters from various markets on Thursday, April 16, before the playoffs started. We had 24 hours to cast our ballots. In the interest of transparency, here are my votes for MVP, All-NBA, Rookie of the Year and other accolades.
MVP (and First Team All-NBA)
- 1. Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Thunder
- 2. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
- 3. Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
- 4. Luka Doncic, Lakers
- 5. Cade Cunningham, Pistons
This is a safe space, Nuggets fans. You can let it all out. I’ll be your punching bag if it makes you feel better. But I’ll just remind you I was part of the minority when I voted for Jokic over SGA last year. () And I’ll direct you to Jokic’s own assessment of his 2025-26 season, when I asked him recently how it compares to the previous year, when he said he was “playing the best basketball of my life.”
“I think for me, it was a little bit inconsistent,” he said this time. “Just because injury, and then it was the first time I was coming back from (an) injury. … I think before injury, I played really, really high-level basketball. And since injury, it’s so-so.”
That was on March 25, with three weeks remaining in the regular season. You can argue he had turned a corner by then — though you might have to ignore his 10 turnovers in a loss to the tanking Grizzlies a week earlier — but the point is that for at least two and a half months of the season, Jokic simply wasn’t a relevant enough part of the MVP conversation. A hyperextended left knee sidelined him in January. His first few weeks back on the court hindered him in February, not to mention a flare-up of discomfort in his right wrist that he was determined to play through. He was a pedestrian 3-point shooter for the last 33 games after his return from the knee injury. He had a tendency to play loose with the ball, finishing with a turnover rate 2.5% higher than last season and a worse assist-to-turnover ratio. I would not describe this as his most active defensive season either, in part due to his coaching staff’s inclination to save his energy for the playoffs (a worthwhile trade-off).
If it sounds like I’m just a hater ragging on a Denver sports icon, please keep in mind that my ballot still reflects the stance that Jokic was the second-best player in the NBA this season 辱ٱthose months. That’s how automatically impactful his presence on the court is, even when he “struggles.” But the margins narrowed this season as Gilgeous-Alexander continued to improve as both a scorer and playmaker. Averaging 31.1 points on 55.3% shooting from the field and 66.5% true shooting (within 0.5% of Jokic) on a guard’s shot diet is ridiculous. That’s the efficiency of a 7-footer whose only shot attempts are pick-and-roll lobs and other easy chances around the rim. Consider also that SGA’s burden as a shot creator was heightened this year by wingman Jalen Williams missing 50 games, and that OKC still had a 121.5 offensive rating with him on the floor (11.1 points per 100 better than without him).
I maintain that Jokic is the best basketball player on the planet because his versatility at the center position is revolutionary and his highs are higher than anybody else’s (at least for now, until Victor Wembanyama catches up). But Gilgeous-Alexander’s metronomic consistency made him the best and most valuable player to his team this regular season.
Second Team All-NBA
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets
- Tyrese Maxey, 76ers
I’ll make a few very brief notes on the rest of my ballot as I go. Leonard was originally penciled in as my fifth-place MVP vote and last First-Team All-NBA selection, until an arbitrator unexpectedly ruled in favor of Cunningham being eligible for awards despite not playing 65 games. Leonard barely crossed the threshold himself (and Cunningham actually played more minutes), so it’s not like there was some chasm between them in availability. I almost talked myself into keeping Leonard fifth anyway, but Cunningham’s season was unimpeachable. He had an absolutely profound winning impact on a top-seeded team that doesn’t exactly have awesome spacing or secondary shot creation around him.
Props to Murray, who would have been my unofficial seventh-place MVP vote if Doncic and Cunningham had both been deemed ineligible. Even with those two guys allowed on the ballot, the Nuggets guard was comfortably on my Second Team.
Third Team All-NBA
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks
- Kevin Durant, Rockets
- Jalen Johnson, Hawks
- Jalen Duren, Pistons
Coach of the Year
- 1. Joe Mazzulla, Celtics
- 2. JB Bickerstaff, Pistons
- 3. Tiago Splitter, Trail Blazers
This was one of the most difficult awards on the ballot for me this year. There are a ton of coaches around the league right now deserving of recognition. Also strongly considered: San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson, Phoenix’s Jordan Ott, Toronto’s Darko Rajakovic, Charlotte’s Charles Lee, Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault and Denver’s David Adelman (54 wins despite all those injuries?). Ultimately leaned Splitter, who had perhaps the most unfavorable situation in the NBA this year, taking over for Chauncey Billups on opening day, and coached the Blazers to the playoffs in a tough Western Conference. Will Portland’s cost-cutting new owner pay him a wage commensurate to his accomplishments?
Most Improved Player
- 1. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Hawks
- 2. Jalen Duren, Pistons
- 3. Collin Gillespie, Suns
Gillespie didn’t make the cut as a finalist, but would you have ever guessed when he was on a two-way contract in Denver that he would someday break a franchise’s single-season record for most 3-pointers? He’s a point guard by nature, but he also was 47.4% on catch-and-shoot 3s this season. In general, he handled his increased responsibility in Phoenix with incredible poise, starting 58 games for a surprise playoff team after having played only 57 in his NBA career before 2025-26.
Sixth Man of the Year
- 1. Keldon Johnson, Spurs
- 2. Jaime Jaquez, Heat
- 3. Tim Hardaway Jr., Nuggets
Three worthy candidates in a year without an obvious winner. Johnson’s energy is inextricable from his team’s identity in addition to his statistical contributions off the bench, so he gets the nod from me in a squeaker. Also strongly considered: Minnesota’s Ayo Dosunmu, OKC’s Ajay Mitchell and New York’s Mitchell Robinson, until I realized he didn’t meet the 65-game rule.
Clutch Player of the Year
- 1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
- 2. Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
- 3. Jamal Murray, Nuggets
SGA’s likely win in this category will reinforce his MVP candidacy. He was fantastic in the biggest moments all season.
Defensive Player of the Year (and First Team All-Defense)
- 1. Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
- 2. Chet Holmgren, Thunder
- 3. Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves
- Ausar Thompson, Pistons
- Scottie Barnes, Raptors
Second Team All-Defense
- Cason Wallace, Thunder
- Derrick White, Celtics
- OG Anunoby, Knicks
- Stephon Castle, Spurs
- Amen Thompson, Rockets
Rookie of the Year (and First Team All-Rookie)
- 1. Kon Knueppel, Hornets
- 2. Cooper Flagg, Mavericks
- 3. VJ Edgecombe, 76ers
- Dylan Harper, Spurs
- Ace Bailey, Jazz
I’ve seen the school of thought that Flagg should be bestowed this honor because he’s likely to have the better overall career than Knueppel. That may well be true, but Rookie of the Year is about this year, not the next 10 to 20. This was deservedly a tight race nonetheless, and I have no qualms with Flagg winning if that indeed comes to pass. But for a rookie to lead the NBA in 3s is truly remarkable, and Knueppel’s sharpshooting ability had ripple effects across the overall execution of Charlotte’s offense en route to the Play-In Tournament. His poor performance in the Play-In is not supposed to be counted against him, and it certainly was not on my ballot.
Second Team All-Rookie
- Cedric Coward, Grizzlies
- Maxime Raynaud, Kings
- Derik Queen, Pelicans
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, Hornets
- Jeremiah Fears, Pelicans
