2025 NBA Awards Ballot

Ah! Jumpscare! Two articles on two consecutive days, truly scary stuff. Well, yeah, I left myself no room for time, and at the time of writing this, we currently have (checks notes) approximately 20 hours until the NBA playoffs officially begin. Not to fear, I have six hours until work, I have the (majority) of my award winners selected, and I've got enough Herbie Hancock in the improvisation playlist to last until dawn tomorrow. While I joke about having no idea about some of these awards, like I stated in my All-NBA Ballot piece, I had major troubles deciding on all of the awards this season, and especially the one we're all here for, I'll let you decide which one that is.

What I'm getting at is that this is one of the closest award seasons we've had in a mighty long time, and no matter who I select for each award, I know I won't be happy with it at this time next week. We have officially transitioned out of the "superteam" era (that only featured maybe one or two true superteams), and with that has come some of the most incredible leadership and all-around play from the most talent we've ever seen in one season of the NBA. There are now going to be more snubs than ever before (Karl-Anthony Towns says hi, as do I to you, Anath, let's see if you actually read these or not), and that's quite the shame. Even picking an award like the Coach of the Year is a herculean task because how do you even choose? Do you go with the guy who commanded the ship of the championship favorite Thunder in Mark Daigneault? What about the young and fiery Ime Udoka, who straightened out a Houston Rockets team plagued by immaturity and lack of true veteran leadership since the beginning of the decade to a legitimate foe in the Western Conference? Surely, JB Bickerstaff has to get a nod, he brought the historically terrible last season Detroit Pistons a guaranteed playoff spot and helped secure Cade Cunningham's spot as a surefire all-NBA guard for years to come, right? Right!?

You can see my point, this was a very difficult article to put to paper (well, screen), and not everyone is going to be happy, that includes myself. It's not because I'm not confident in my selections or my ability to examine the season as a whole; it's simply because the runner-ups to all these choices all had incredible cases themselves and all (rightfully) should feel offended by not being selected for their respective awards. This is a season that's going to go down in history as one of the closest and most unpredictable award and postseasons we've seen at this time of year, and we're in the thick of it. I can't believe what I'm about to open this up with, but here we are, your 2025 NBA Most Valuable Player:

2025 NBA Most Valuable Player: Nikola Jokic

Second-place vote: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; Third-place vote: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Can I open this by saying that I had Shai as the winner of this award quite literally seven days ago? Is it insane to switch the winner of the single most important individual award in any given season based off of now what happened since this, but what happened before? The answer is, well, yes, it probably is. But this is untouched ground we're getting at, and Nikola Jokic is the inhabitant of these grounds.

While the Shai argument needs to be and will be had here, it's only fair to open with the case for the best player in the world. Jokic finished the regular season averaging 29.6ppg (third in the league), 12.7rpg (third in the league), and 10.2apg (second in the league) on 57.6% from the field. 41.7% from beyond the arc (???), and 80.0% from the charity stripe on the year. Jokic has now officially become the third player to ever average a triple-double in a season, officially become the first player to ever finish top-3 in points per game, assists per game, and rebounds per game in a single season, and the first player to ever lead quite possibly the most dysfunctional playoff contender I have ever seen to a top five finish in the most loaded Western Conference of all time (big shoutout to Hakeem in 1995, though). Alright, alright, I'll admit, I guess you can't really track the final "stat" I threw in there, but that's the entire story of Jokic's case right there– even with this unreplicated statistical season, it's still not the greatest part of his case.

The strongest point I can confidently bring up is that what Jokic brings on a night-to-night basis is unparalleled by any player we have ever seen. There is not a single moment where Jokic does not have complete and utter control of the basketball court, full stop. He consistently pulls off the feat of topping one legendary performance after the next, and it is the only reason this Nuggets team is where it is right now. I don't want to get into this and have it devolve into some hate nest for this Nuggets team, but it's impossible to avoid. The reports that have been trickling out since the recent firing of former head coach Michael Malone have shown a total lack of professionalism, chemistry, and understanding between Malone's coaching staff and the Nuggets organization. Reports have surfaced that Malone was playing or not playing players based on the ownership's view of them, there were frustrations building between Malone and general manager Calvin Booth (see previous linked article), and infighting within the roster that would culminate into utter collapses against teams that the Nuggets should not be worried about falling to. Yet, despite all of the nonsense flying around within the organization, there was one consistency– Nikola Jokic.

It took legendary performances such as a 60-point triple-double performance in an OT loss (???) against the Timberwolves, where The Joker shot over 60% from the field (again, and I can't stress this enough, they lost), a 35-point, 22-rebound, 17-assist game in a January win over Sacramento, and a 30-point victory over Atlanta where Jokic finished with 48-points, 14-rebounds, and 8-assists to keep this Nuggets team afloat all season. This, on paper, really shouldn't be as much of a problem as it says it is. Co-star Jamal Murray has had an impressive statistical season and played 67 games after being riddled with injuries the previous few seasons. Christian Braun seemed to take a significant leap this year, and in the (very limited) number of games Aaron Gordon played, he seemed to be playing fairly well. The problem with the construction of this Nuggets roster is every guy past those top four, and unfortunately, yes, I'm including a subpar Michael Porter Jr. season in that group. The Nuggets have six players they can reliably trot out on a night-to-night basis when it comes time for legitimate playoff minutes, and there's about a 25/75 percentage split on whether or not those six guys outside of Jokic are going to be a threat on any given night. The construction of this team collapsed under itself with the incredibly weird step-back from players like Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson, and because of that, Jokic has been left to put up historic performances (statistically and eye-test-wise) with a team that would have a top 5 draft pick without him.

I've put it off for long enough, the case needs to be told for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As I mentioned in the introduction to this piece, Shai was my MVP, quite literally, one week ago from the day of writing this. This is a Shai season that will go down as (and I am not exaggerating) the greatest offensive season for a guard we have seen since Michael Jordan– and I didn't forget Kobe. The Thunder superstar is, without a doubt in my mind, the most unstoppable scorer in the NBA. An NBA that includes the grace and skillset of Kevin Durant. An NBA that includes the overwhelming physicality and touch that is Luka Doncic. An NBA that includes, hell, the sheer talent and mind for the game that one Nikola Jokic has. All of this, and Shai still reigns supreme. He has an unprecedented feel and touch within 22 feet that is the definition of unstoppable on any given night. If he has the basketball, a good shot will get off, whether he's on this incredible Thunder team or not. He can size up any player in the league and use his craftiness and stop-and-go size-up style to get to any spot he wants and get a good look off or draw a foul off of a behind-the-play defender. He does this all without the gravity of a Steph Curry because his frame allows for slits and holes in a defense that are simply impossible to take advantge of when another player attempts them. Couple this with the fact that Shai is leading what I believe to be the future NBA champion Thunder to being the most dominant Western Conference team since the late 2010s Golden State Warriors, and you have your case. Shai isn't losing this award; Jokic is winning it.

Finally, Giannis needs the attention he rightfully deserves. I hinted at it in my All-NBA Ballot (again, you should read it) that there is simply zero excuse to keep the Bucks' star out of the conversation again. He consistently puts up dominant performances on a subpar Bucks roster that has dealt with constant injury problems throughout the season. He's still unstoppable when going downhill and is arguably the most underrated defender in the NBA (you can argue I underrated him by keeping him off my All-Defensive bracket). His strongest case is that I'd argue he'd be my first overall selection if I need a player to win me a game over a single quarter, he's just that routinely dominant.

2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year: Evan Mobley

Second-place vote: Jaren Jackson Jr.; Third-place vote: Amen Thompson

From the moment the debates surrounding award season started heating up, there was zero doubt in my mind who this award was going to. The current iteration of the NBA's Tim Duncan (only halfway kidding), Evan Mobley is the most worrisome force on a night-to-night basis for any team in the NBA. The giant came into this season as one projected to make a mighty leap and realize the raw potential shown from his size and talent he portrayed at USC, and he made up for everything and then some. In my mind, he's quite handily the best 1-5 defender we have in the league right now, and rarely, if ever, gets tangled up in the mess of guard-play that dominates the league right now, even at his size. The blocks and steals never jump out at you with a player like Mobley, but his sheer presence on the court is where he makes up most of his damage. Of course, the pairing with Jarrett Allen helps tremendously with this, as the duo makes up for the most terrifying defensive twin towers in the league, but Mobley's ability to stretch out to the perimeter is what puts him that notch above. The only concern is whether you can rely on him to be able to consistently guard a Jalen Brunson type on the perimeter in a seven-game series, as a team like the Knicks will undoubtedly be attempting to get Brunson into as much open space as possible. Rebounding and physicality are the only other knocks I have on Mobley as a defensive presence, as his body hasn't quite filled out yet. But that should just add to the impressiveness that Mobley is putting out on any given night.

The only other lock on my All-Defensive team takes my second-place vote for this season's DPOY, and in quite a controversial fashion, it seems. I've been reading and hearing a lot of whispers that many voters within the NBA don't even have Jackson Jr. on either of their All-Defensive teams, let alone their DPOY ballot. I can see the case coming from a mediocre Grizzlies season that felt like it was missing something from its top guys throughout good portions of the season, but I don't feel Jackson Jr. should be the primary reciprocator of that criticism. Sure, I think there's a point to be made that his increased load on the offensive side of the ball has taken a bit away from his unmatched defensive presence from the previous few seasons, but the guy is still averaging well over a block and a steal per game. The Block Panther realizes his potential on the defensive end, and fortunately for his team, the opponents do as well. A result of which is said opponent refusing to challenge Jackson Jr. on any given play.

My final nod goes to the transcendent Amen Thompson, who is reportedly already earning a reputation as the most athletic player in the NBA, a league that is filled with the most athletic people on the planet. There is an incredible Thinking Basketball video that goes into far greater analysis of one half of Houston's terror twins that I could ever put down, but it doesn't take a critically thinking mind to realize the presence this guy has. The best way to describe the young phenom is that there is zero chance you're going to be able to shake him. I don't care how hard you try, how many screens are set for you, or how many times you try to call a timeout when the guy starts to hound you; there is a good chance he's going to get the basketball from you. He is certainly a beneficiary of an incredibly lengthy Rockets team that allows for a zone when needed, which is often used to completely throw off other teams not used to a zone at this level of basketball, but is the primary factor that drives it. You aren't going to break the zone if the Rockets trot it out, that's the simple fact of the matter. There is far too much length and quickness pioneered by Thompson to even think about driving to collapse the zone, and on the off chance it is broken, Thompson has been known to poke the ball out from seemingly impossible angles. That's all to say when the Rockets are in a zone, if they stick with the man-to-man, all I can do is wish you luck, because Thompson is picking you up for the whole 94.

2025 NBA Rookie of the Year: Stephon Castle

Second-place vote: Zacchaire Risacher; Third-place vote: Jaylen Wells

Man, was this a difficult one to finally round out. The unbelievable play of Risacher down the stretch made this one go down to the wire for me, and I'm still not entirely sure if I'm making the right choice. The simple fact of the matter is that the Spurs have found a surefire floor-raiser to pair with Victor Wembanyama, and the fact that he's a do-it-all guard that can annoy the best player on the other team on any given night, edges this one out to Castle.

While I have no problem acknowledging the fact that Castle is a beneficiary of the Spurs' sudden change in trajectory after the Wemby injury earlier in the season (which allowed for Castle to become the guy the Spurs would look to play around this season), there is also no ignoring the fact that Castle is still performing at a high-level as a guard in an unmatched Western Conference. His offensive game has shone greatly and significantly improved under the influence of veteran Chris Paul in San Antonio, and shows as much by being one of the most well-rounded creators when the floor is open in the league. The assist numbers won't jump out to you as much, but in just over 25 minutes per game, that near-5-assists-per-game clip is solid enough, and he has enough drive-and-kick ability to make up for it. He's an excellent downhill scorer and can get to his spots at high frequencies throughout a ball game, but his shooting certainly needs great improvement. Couple this with the fact that he is a hound on defense at such an early age, and he put together an incredibly solid rookie campaign that just so happened to fall into a weaker Rookie of the Year race than usual.

Risacher certainly had the strongest case outside of Castle this season, and what a season it was for the Frenchman. I, like many others, was wondering how in the world the rookie snuck into being the first pick in this year's NBA draft, and I was gleefully proved wrong with Risacher's rookie campaign. The stats are not exceptional by any stretch of the imagination, but Risacher became a near 30-minute per night guy for a playoff hopeful Hawks team, where he was one of the few bright spots in the latter half of the season. He's incredibly nimble, coming in at just 200lbs at 6'8, but he has the skillset and IQ of a savvy veteran guard that any championship contender would want to have on their team. He is often playing the forward slot for a Hawks team dominated by Trae Young, and is called upon to play with or without the all-star guard, and is often successful. It was touched on a bit earlier, but his IQ and feel for the game are nothing short of astounding for a rookie, and will be a major reason he'll be a key rotation piece on a very good NBA team for years to come.

I'll rest an uneventful Rookie of the Year race with a darling of the advanced NBA community, Jaylen Wells. The Grizzlies guard suffered a terrible wrist injury just a few weeks ago, right as it looked like he was going to be a contributing factor on a playoff hopeful Grizzlies team. His presence was sorely missed in the Grizzlies' recent loss to the Warriors in the opening round of the play-ins, as he has the whereabouts and fundamentals of an upper-echelon defensive guard that any team would kill for at his age and size. The guy is raw and has some work to do on the offensive side of the basketball, but there should be little doubt in your mind that he won't be a threat for years to come.

2025 NBA Most Improved Player: Ivica Zubac

Second-place vote: Dyson Daniels; Third-place vote: Austin Reaves

Zubac! What up, dude! It isn't your last appearance from my perspective in this week of the NBA season, and you've earned it. Zubac was such a raw prospect when he was drafted by the Lakers back in 2016, and has come a long way since then. He was almost all raw power and nothing else, and the power was nothing to write home about. Honestly, you could argue a better descriptor for the Bosnian was a traffic cone, on offense and defense. Fast forward to the trade that sent him to the Clippers in 2019, and he was essentially the same player. Stagnant development was the story for his time with the Lakers, and he's slowly developed into an upper-echelon big man since then. He maintained his gargantuan size as he developed his touch and defensive presence surrounding the basket and used it to his advantage, especially on the boards. He was always nearing 10 a game, but this season he skyrocketed to nearly 13 boards a game and has become a reliable break starter for a Clippers team that runs every so often. Defense was the main story for him this year, as he enacted the role of a giant tree that was used to steer away any potential opponents to attempt to take the ball up against the big guy, and earned a spot on my All-Defensive second team because of it. That same lumbering oaf level build is also what's allowed him to become such a constant threat on putbacks and shots near the rim, as you have to swipe or climb on him to affect any possible shot.

I entered into this portion of the piece thinking Zubac was the runaway favorite for this award, but Daniels came majorly close to seizing it from him. Daniels officially crossed that threshold for me, where a young guy is simply given the award for making a slightly improved jump after being given more minutes after his not-so-impressive sophomore season last year. His final year with the Pelicans wasn't head-turning to say the least, and was just thrown in to last offseason's DeJounte Murray trade in what is appearing to be a disaster for New Orleans. That's because the leap Daniels has made this both statistically and by the eye-test has been nothing short of incredible. He's become a more than reliable offensive threat, and while shooting still isn't a go-to for him, you need to respect his shot. You can rely on him to create shots for his supporting cast when Trae Young is off the court, and there's no reason to believe that'll dip anytime soon. His greatest presence is, of course, his ramped-up defense that earned him a spot on my All-Defensive first team ballot. The third-year guard led the league with 3.0 steals per game this season and seemingly out of nowhere. He showed potential in his seasons with the Pelicans but wasn't unlocked until he arrived in Atlanta, where he became one of the most reliable lockdown perimeter guys in the league. It was hard to exclude Daniels from winning this award, and honestly, if Zubac wasn't such a pivotal piece to a very threatening Clippers team, there's a good chance he'd be walking away with it.

This final selection is one I know first-hand, trust me. The Lakers guard somehow skirted by the dumbfounding Luka Doncic trade (not even going to link because we ALL know the trade by now) and has benefited greatly because of it. Reaves was already a guy you could see being a key piece on a championship hopeful team, but he took it to a whole new level this season. He's officially one of those players that you need to worry about on a night-to-night basis, and can probably score 25 points per game on a team of his own if he wanted. He gets to his spots and is a knockdown shooter. Most importantly, he thinks he's the best guy on the court at all times. He's a guy you need to know about and be afraid of the entirety of the time he's out there, and if he continues as such, the Lakers will be a scary threat in the playoffs.

2025 NBA Sixth-Man of the Year: Malik Beasley

Second-place vote: Payton Pritchard; Third-place vote: Ty Jerome

While this feels like one of those awards that seems almost like a lock to go to one of my runner-ups, there was simply too much that went into Malik Beasley's season for me to give it to anyone else. The Pistons' guard has somehow become maybe the third most important player on a Pistons team that should be a genuine threat come playoff time, and has done so by being a sheer deadeye. While I can admit there are certainly some flaws within Beasley's game (aka, almost everything except shooting for a good portion per night), I'm adamant on the statement that the Pistons would be nowhere near where they are now without the play of the deadeye. He's Cade's go-to guy when his shots aren't falling and a spark is needed, and Beasley always seems to deliver in said moments.

Pritchard was the player being referenced at the beginning of the Beasley write-up, and I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with the statement. Pritchard is one of those players who does it all for the Celtics and brings the same spark plug mentality that Beasley does on a night-to-night basis. He is certainly a beneficiary of more experienced development and roster construction around the defending champions, but that shouldn't be a knock on a player who knows exactly what he needs to do on a night-to-night basis to help his team win.

A heartbreaking third-place finish is where Ty Jerome rounds out his incredible season, and while it's here and not at the top of the ballot, props are deserved. Jerome has been sneakily developing for a handful of years now, and was hindered early last season, which he sat out almost the entirety of due to injury. He was a solid piece for a not-so-great Thunder team in the early years of the Shai-led rebuild, and he seemed like he could be a reliable piece for some teams. One of those teams happened to be this year's iteration of the Cavaliers, where he showcased every night (especially in the first half of the year) that when he's hitting at the rate he can that the Cavs are as dangerous a team as any else in the league. He's got that same factor that Pritchard does, by which I mean he isn't afraid to come into the game and start launching at a moment's notice if his team needs it. It's a crucial part of any championship team, and there's a good chance he showcases that in the playoffs.

2025 NBA Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson

Second-place vote: Ime Udoka; Third-place vote: Mark Daigneault

Remember that self-inflicted argument we had at the beginning of the piece? Well, surprise, it was none of those guys. Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson was my easy choice for Coach of the Year in a pretty stacked year for the award. The easiest argument to make is that Atkinson took what was a good but not great Cleveland team, made little to no tweaks in actual roster construction, and turned it into one of the most dominant regular-season teams of the decade. He seems to have brought the offensive genius that he had previously showcased in the late 2010s Brooklyn years as well as an assistant on the 2022 champion Warriors roster. This allowed for this Cavs team to unlock another level that was previously untapped from the season previous, and is looking in line for a deep playoff run because of it.

It is appalling to me that I'm not seeing greater Ime Udoka praise throughout the rest of the participants in award season, as he is arguably the definition of what a Coach of the Year candidate should be. He straightened out a raw and untapped Rockets roster that featured character problems, where every player wanted to be the guy, when there was always room for more of a democratic roster layout. He established that this incredibly young and athletic Rockets roster needed to put much more focus on their defense, and the offense will figure itself out with a play like Alperen Sengun manning the middle, and Udoka was 100% right.

Mark Daigneault needed to be the final mention for this award simply because of the season Oklahoma City has had. I'd argue the only thing "holding" OKC's coach back was simply because this was the natural progression for a team with so much talent is supposed to make. It was already well established, dating back to the last two seasons, that Daigneault was a perfect fit and a brilliant mind to slot next to a young Thunder roster that had so much to offer, and it came time for those players to make the leap they did. Manning a team of this caliber is far more difficult than one might expect, but Daigneault did it effortlessly.

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