The NBA regular season has wrapped up and most of the attention has shifted to the playoffs. Though there are 20 teams with a chance to win it all, there are really only a handful of contenders that will have a legitimate chance of going the distance.
Check out the 1xbet app today to see up-to-date odds on frontrunners for NBA awards. Which players are in the best position to win an award? These early picks could wind up cashing in when the offseason arrives.
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MVP
A quick look at the NBA Standings and stats and you will see two names roughly neck-and-neck for the MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. This is as tight an MVP race as we’ve had in recent memory and choosing either of them would be completely understandable and justified.
The only thing hurting Jokic is his previous successes. He’s a three-time MVP already, including the last two, so voter fatigue may hurt him. SGA is the best player on the league’s best team and has the numbers to make him a viable MVP. That said, don’t sleep on “Joker” nabbing a third consecutive MVP.
Defensive Player of the Year
This award feels like it could go in any direction. Ask 10 pundits and you might get 10 different answers. Evan Mobley has been the defensive anchor of the best team in the Eastern Conference. Draymond Green is the established name having a resurgence with the Warriors.
Like the MVP award, there’s no wrong choice here. Until he suffered a blood clot that kept him from the 65-game threshold, Victor Wembanyama felt like a lock. Now, it could realistically go to one of four guys, with Mobley the slight favorite among the group. If you are looking for a sleeper, Amen Thompson could be a name to watch after a very good season for a surprising Rockets team.
Rookie of the Year
It took some time, but by the end of the season, this turned into a two-player race. As the season progressed, Stephen Castle got so much better for the Spurs, averaging 19 points and 5 assists per game over the last two months. Jaylen Wells, meanwhile, has been playing 26 minutes per night, averaging 10.4 points per game for a Grizzlies team that has been surprising.
His season ended early with a fractured wrist, but he looks to be a prominent part of the Grizzlies moving forward. Castle gets the edge because of his numbers and what he has done without Wembanyama in the lineup. Unlike the Defensive Player of the Year voting, most experts have it down to one of these two with Castle being the overwhelming favorite.
Sixth Man of the Year
The Detroit Pistons are something of a feel-good story this season, and Malik Beasley is a major part of that. He turned in 16.3 points per game, hitting an incredible 319 3-pointers to finish second in the league. Without him, the Pistons may not be the surprise story that they turned out to be.
Having said that, this award seems like it is Payton Pritchard’s to lose. He is one of the most underrated pieces for the defending champion Boston Celtics but should get some of his due this season. He hit 40.7% of his three-pointers off the bench, averaging 14.3 points per game. He has been the frontrunner for this award for much of the season, so it would be shocking if he doesn’t walk away with the hardware.
