The NBA loves its awards because they reduce an 82-game marathon into a handful of simple questions. Who was the best? Who improved the most? Who treated every clutch possession as a personal challenge?
Our 2025–26 ballot paints an intriguing picture: a few races that already feel settled, one genuinely tense Rookie of the Year battle, and several awards where the story behind the numbers matters just as much as the numbers themselves.
MVP — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The league's biggest individual honor should once again belong to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This isn't the flashy choice. It's simply the unavoidable one.
Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the NBA's best record at 64–18, and Shai remains the engine behind a team that doesn't just win—it dominates with alarming consistency. His MVP case rests on two simple truths. The Thunder have been the league's best team. And SGA has once again produced the kind of season that leaves defenses asking the same question every night: How exactly are you supposed to stop him?
The voting landscape reflects that reality. He led ESPN's second MVP straw poll in February, while The Athletic's anonymous player survey also named him the favorite. At this point, it feels less like a debate than a collective shrug. Yeah. It's Shai again.
Rookie of the Year — Cooper Flagg
The most fascinating award race belongs to the rookies. Our pick is Cooper Flagg—but only barely. Nothing about this race feels over. Kon Knueppel has turned it into a genuine duel between two former Duke teammates. Knueppel helped lead Charlotte to a surprisingly competitive season and built an extremely mature Rookie of the Year résumé.
Flagg, however, possesses something that often decides these races. Ceiling. His flashes have simply been overwhelming. Awards like this often go not to the safest rookie, but to the one who leaves the strongest impression of future greatness. The numbers support that feeling.
According to projections, Flagg finished his teenage rookie campaign averaging roughly 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal per game—a statistical combination almost unheard of for a 19-year-old debutant. That's not merely an excellent rookie season. That's the kind of company normally reserved for future legends.
Defensive Player of the Year — Victor Wembanyama
Some awards invite debate. This one barely does. Victor Wembanyama has evolved beyond simply being the league's best young defender. He's an entire defensive system disguised as a basketball player. If a defensive metric doesn't rate Wembanyama among the NBA's elite, the problem probably lies with the metric.
He leads numerous advanced defensive categories, is on pace for a third consecutive season atop the blocks leaderboard, and transforms San Antonio's defense simply by stepping onto the floor. The Spurs finishing with 62 wins only strengthens his case. Wembanyama isn't just a highlight machine anymore. He's become the foundation of a legitimate championship contender.
Coach of the Year — J.B. Bickerstaff
Coach of the Year usually rewards transformation rather than reputation. That's why J.B. Bickerstaff gets our vote. Detroit didn't merely improve. The Pistons won the Eastern Conference with a remarkable 60–22 record. That's not development. That's a complete change of identity. The defining moment came after Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung late in the season.
That kind of injury usually derails a breakthrough campaign. Instead, Detroit kept winning and held onto the East's top seed. That's what separates a good coaching job from an award-winning one. Coach of the Year isn't usually given for building a solid system. It's awarded after the rest of the league is forced to admit: "This team became great much faster than anyone expected."
Most Improved Player — Nickeil Alexander-Walker
We'll take a slightly unconventional approach here. Nickeil Alexander-Walker isn't the loudest choice. But he may have the purest improvement story. He wasn't a blue-chip prospect who simply developed on schedule. He wasn't handed twice as many minutes overnight. Instead, Atlanta's veteran rotation player seized an opportunity and fundamentally changed the trajectory of his career.
The numbers tell the story. Career highs in scoring and playing time. Personal bests in shooting efficiency, overall impact, win shares, and ball security. This feels like exactly what the award should celebrate. Not a temporary hot streak. Not inflated opportunity. A player finally becoming the best version of himself.
Sixth Man of the Year — Keldon Johnson
Choosing Keldon Johnson means rewarding impact rather than headlines. Jaime Jaquez Jr. put together an excellent campaign in Miami, especially as both a creator and bench scorer. But Johnson checks three boxes that often decide this award. Efficiency. Clearly defined role. Team success.
San Antonio finished second in the league, while its second unit ranked among the NBA's most effective bench groups. Johnson isn't simply someone who comes off the bench. He's an essential piece of a machine that already works. That's often the perfect profile for Sixth Man of the Year.
Clutch Player of the Year — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Some seasons turn this award into a matter of personal taste. Who hit the biggest shots? Who delivered the most memorable buzzer-beaters? This year, there's very little room for subjectivity. Shai led the NBA in clutch scoring. He also led the league in clutch plus-minus. Perhaps most impressively, his case isn't built around one or two spectacular game-winners.
It's built on consistency. Oklahoma City wasn't among the league leaders in total clutch minutes. But whenever a close game reached winning time, everyone in the building knew exactly where the ball was going. They just couldn't stop it. That's about as convincing a Clutch Player résumé as you'll ever find.
Executive of the Year — Onsi Saleh
This may be the trickiest award of all. Which is exactly why it's one of the most interesting. Our choice is Atlanta general manager Onsi Saleh. Not because the Hawks posted a historic record. Because their front office successfully balanced the present and the future.
The offseason additions worked. The asset management worked. Most importantly, Atlanta made the difficult organizational decision to begin moving beyond Trae Young and create a clearer long-term direction centered around Jalen Johnson.
Executive of the Year isn't the league's most glamorous honor. But it often reveals which front office is thinking two moves ahead. In a season without an obvious executive standout, Saleh's body of work deserves recognition.
A Season Defined by New Faces
Taken together, these awards tell a remarkably clear story about the 2025–26 regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander firmly established himself as the league's defining superstar. Victor Wembanyama completed his transformation into basketball's new defensive force. Detroit graduated from promising young team to Eastern Conference powerhouse.
And the Rookie of the Year battle between Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel ensured that awards season remained exciting until the very end. Perhaps that's what makes this list satisfying. It doesn't simply hand out trophies.
It captures the places where the NBA has already changed—and identifies the players and people driving the league's next chapter.
