The NBA announced its finalists for all the major 2022/23 regular season awards on Friday evening (all Twitter links can be found here).
Here is the full list of finalists for each of the awards, listed in alphabetical order:
Most Valuable Player
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Joel Embiid (Sixers)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Defensive Player of the Year
- Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
- Brook Lopez (Bucks)
- Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
Rookie of the Year
- Paolo Banchero (Magic)
- Walker Kessler (Jazz)
- Jalen Williams (Thunder)
Most Improved Player
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Lauri Markkanen (Jazz)
Sixth Man of the Year
- Malcolm Brogdon (Celtics)
- Bobby Portis (Bucks)
- Immanuel Quickley (Knicks)
Coach of the Year
- Mike Brown (Kings)
- Mark Daigneault (Thunder)
- Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)
Clutch Player of the Year
- Jimmy Butler (Heat)
- DeMar DeRozan (Bulls)
- De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
TNT will begin announcing the winners next week during its coverage of the 2023 playoffs, according to the NBA. The three finalists for each award are based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Antetokounmpo, the league’s back-to-back MVP winner in 2018/19 and ’19/20, has finished fourth and third in MVP voting over the past two seasons, respectively. He averaged a career-high 31.1 PPG along with 11.8 RPG and 5.7 APG on .553/.275/.645 shooting in 63 games (32.1 MPG) this season in leading the Bucks to the NBA’s best record at 58-24.
Embiid, the MVP runner-up in each of the past two years, led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season, posting a career-high 33.1 PPG along with 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.7 BPG on .548/.330/.857 shooting in 66 games (34.6 MPG). The Sixers finished third in the East with a 54-28 record, though it’s worth noting that record is also the third-best mark in the league.
Jokic, the reigning back-to-back MVP, averaged 24.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 9.8 APG and 1.3 SPG on .632/.383/.822 shooting in 69 games (33.7. MPG). In addition to breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s record for most assists per game by a center (8.6), Jokic led the Nuggets to the top seed in the West with a 53-29 record.
It’s long been assumed that Banchero, Brown and Fox were the runaway favorites for their respective awards. Given Embiid’s excellent play to end the season and Denver’s stumble to the finish line, it seems likely that Embiid will edge out Jokic and Antetokounmpo to win his first MVP — all three finalists are more than deserving, just as they were last year.
However, the other three awards are more up in the air. Jackson and Lopez have been considered the betting favorites for DPOY for much of the second half of the season. Mobley’s inclusion is somewhat surprising, but maybe it shouldn’t be — the Cavs finished with the league’s top defense and he is arguably the best defender on the team.
Mikal Bridges isn’t a most improved candidate?
SGA and Lauri are all stars
Mikal has improved to the point where he should be. It’s arguable that his level of improvement was greater than theirs.
It’s not greater. It’s actually very similar to what Markkanen did. The timing was just off.
Next year, for example, guys have to play 65? games to be eligible for awards. Bridges sample size was only 20-30 games.
SGA and Markkanen improved during the whole season, other than smaller bouts of injury compared to 2/3 season on the Suns.
His improvement sample size is much smaller. Would have been much better if the trade happened during the Summer, like Markkanen.
By order, top one will win
They’re all in alphabetical order, so that’s not likely.
Warriors going to win the title with no good players apparently….doesn’t this cornball crap get old for you copium addicts?
“Clutch player of the year” is 3 players with no rings between them. Absolutely pathetic.
Since they are regular season awards, for THIS season, wtf do past championships have to do with anything?
Lmao crickets!
If there was comeback player of the year Thompson would won that easily.
Actually no because he came back last year. If the award existed my bet would have been on Jamal Murray or Dennis Smith Jr
Embiid
Jackson Jr
Brunson (should be). They’ll give it to Lauri
Brogdon
Mike Brown
DeRozan
I think Shai ell get MIP
Shai improved his stats and was already their go-to guy when healthy.
Markkanen improved stats, his efficiency went into all-time territory, and his mentality shifted from role player to lead star.
Both SGA and Markkanen were All-Stars. Markkanen was moved in as the starter. SGA was picked pretty early in the draft.
All 3 improved and made their teams much better than they were predicted to be. So really any of them would deserve it. The separation is just how bad the team was supposed to be vs how far they did go.
If the Jazz, for example, didn’t have so many injuries after the all-star break then they likely would have moved up to 6-8 spot. They were supposed to be the worst team. OKC made the play-in despite their youth. New York lost out on Donovan but still was really good.
All solid storylines. However, the media likes the Markkanen story the best, and has the stats to back it up, so he’ll win.
Brunson was pretty good last season too though.
Brunson improved quite a bit from last season to this one he upped his scoring by 7.7 points and upped his 3 point percentage by .43%.
Great slate of coaches. All three are deserving.
Brunson — 2021-22 season 32 mins,
16.3 pts, 4.8 ast, 3.9 reb, FG% (.502)
2022-23 season 35 mins,
24 pts, 6.2 ast, 3.5 reb, FG% (.491)
SGA — 2021-22 season 34.7 mins,
24.5 pts, 5.9 ast, 5 reb, FG% (.453)
2022-23 season 35.5 mins,
31.4 pts, 5.5 ast, 4.8 reb, FG%(.510)
Markkanen — 2021-22 season 30.8 mins
14.8 pts, 1.3 ast, 5.7 reb, FG% (.445)
2022-23 season 34.4 mins,
25.6 pts, 1.9 ast, 8.6 reb. FG%(.499)
All three are deserving. All their teams did better than expected. And they were a big reason why. I think Knicks made biggest jump. That’s why I say Brunson.
You think the knicks made a bigger jump than the thunder? Second youngest team in the nba going from a bottom seed to possibly the playoffs is a little better than a fringe playoff team making the playoffs lol.
Jumping the Blazers Mavs and Jazz for the 10 doesn’t impress me all the much
Going from bottom 3 team in the league to 40 wins and a game away from playoff without #2 pick all year easily clears going from just outside the playoffs (after making it the year prior at 4/5) back to the 5 seed and 45 wins. Lauri should win based off role/expectations, all 3 had great improved seasons, but you have to be a absolute homer to argue the knicks inproved as a team more than the thunder.
Agree with @C&C –
OKC made a seismic jump, for sure, but it was a jump by the FO going from heavy shameless tanking to light cautious tanking. In today’s NBA, that’s 10 wins without any real jump, particularly when the immediate competition is transitioning to heavy tanking simultaneously. SGA is great, and improved, but I think if he was good enough last year to have given them another 5 wins by just being allowed to play more.
8th best record in NBA. Third best road record is fringe. You still haven’t learned ….
OKC wanted the playoffs ….. yeah
Geez almost made it. If they only scored 26 more pts.
If Markkanen wins MIP, as he clearly should, Kendrick Perkins is going to suffer a stroke.
Brunson +7.7p +1.4a -0.4r -0.11 FG% +3 min
SGA +6.9p -0.4a -0.2r +0.57 FG% +0.8 min
Markkanen +10.8p +0.6a +2.9r +0.54 FG% +3.6 min
Markkanen literally improved in every category, and with the biggest jumps in stats.
Brunson and SGA actually regressed in at least 2 categories. Don’t know why people argue why they improved more. Lol
47 wins …… from 37 wins
40 wins …… from 49 wins
37 wins …… from 24 wins
Jazz and Thunder can both watch Brunson show you. What most improved looks like.
So you think stats on OKC and Jazz mean more ?? Than stats on a winning team.
You literally flipped the jazz and thunder records to try and make your argument seem less ridiculous. A 16 win improvement without your costar and jump to 31 PPG scorer and a shift from 14 PPG role player off the bench to a hyper efficient 25 PPG All Star starter/likely All NBA player both easily clear Brunson. He had a helluva season and deserves his 3rd place finalist but homie is basically putting up slightly better stats then what he did for Mavs in the playoffs last year come on. Brunson’s main improvement was not having to be in Lukas shadow anymore.
Most clutch player lol. What is that new Garbage award. Silver to tute his horn