Sports

2025 NBA Awards Picks: Selecting MVP, DPOY, Most Improved, 6th Man, and More

Ben Pfeifer Sports Editor

Published16 Apr 2025

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The regular season roaring to its end means it’s time for our final award ballot of the year. I don’t have an NBA awards vote (maybe, next year!), but this is how I would vote if I did.

🏆 Most Valuable Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Making a case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the league’s MVP doesn’t require much tinkering. He leads the NBA in Estimated Plus-Minus (plus-8.6) and scoring (32.7) on a true shooting percentage 5.7 points above league average. His Oklahoma City Thunder are the NBA’s clear best team and a historically dominant group in many ways.

Gilgeous-Alexander put together one of the all-time great guard scoring seasons, joining Damian Lillard, James Harden and Stephen Curry as the only guards since 2000 with years north of 30 points per game on 63 percent true shooting. The other three relied on high-volume 3-point shooting, but Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficiency stems from a special midrange game. He made more than 50 percent of his non-rim twos on nearly 10 attempts per game.

Beyond his elite 2-point scoring and oft-maligned foul drawing, Gilgeous-Alexander took jumps as a 3-point shooter and playmaker. He’s more comfortable hitting interior passes and kicking out of his drives than ever before. His off-dribble shooting experimentation paid dividends, as he made 37.5 percent of his 5.7 triples per game.

He separates himself from Nikola Jokic (aside from team success, of course) on the defensive end. While Jokic hasn’t had his best defensive year, Gilgeous-Alexander defended at a well above-average level for an elite defense (94th percentile Defensive EPM, 87th percentile STOP rate). Jokic’s all-time scoring and playmaking blend makes him a reasonable MVP choice, but Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player in the world this season.

Honorable Mentions: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo

🔒 Defensive Player of the Year: Evan Mobley

While Draymond Green has played his best defense of the year to close the season, Evan Mobley should still receive this award. He’s been the best eligible defender throughout the season, anchoring an excellent Cleveland Cavaliers defense. Mobley guided Cleveland to an eighth-place finish in defensive rating (per Cleaning the Glass) and played a significant chunk of his minutes without Jarrett Allen, a stout defender in his own right.

Mobley was the NBA’s best shot-blocker this season, erasing attempts as a primary paint defender and weak-side helper. His 4.7 percent block rate ranks sixth among award-eligible defenders. No other 7-footer blends shot-blocking, ground coverage as a helper and switching versatility like Mobley does.

Alongside Green, Dyson Daniels and Jalen Williams also both have reasonable cases for Defensive Player of the Year. But I value paint protection and versatile big men more than anything else. Daniels’ historic steal production deserves recognition, but his performance didn’t lead to great team defensive impact. Williams played center for much of the season with Oklahoma City’s bigs sidelined, but he had the luxury of high-end defenders around him at every other position.

Green has Mobley beat in Defensive EPM and steals, but Mobley’s rim protection (with fewer fouls) shuts down the paint and alters offensive game-plans. Mobley has been the most consistently elite defender throughout the season. His paint defense, mobility and defensive responsibility make him a worthy Defensive Player of the Year.

Honorable Mentions: Draymond Green, Jalen Williams

👶 Rookie of the Year: Jaylen Wells

No award decision challenged me more than Jaylen Wells versus Stephon Castle. Both comfortably made my All-Rookie First Team and the gap between these two for Rookie of the Year is incredibly slim. There isn’t a wrong answer here.

Ultimately, I lean Wells because of his immense defensive responsibility, efficiency and secondary driving. Castle took on a larger self-creation load, which we must account for when comparing efficiency, though Wells does have a four-point lead in true shooting percentage. Wells spaced the floor much more effectively and had to create off of the dribble as well in Memphis’ screen-averse offense.

It’s easy to make a case for Castle’s on-ball driving and playmaking success as more valuable than what Wells accomplished on a better team and Castle’s defense was strong for a rookie most of the season. I already went long on both players in my All-Rookie Teams piece, and you can read more about them here.

Honorable Mentions: Stephon Castle, Zach Edey, Zaccharie Risacher

📈 Most Improved Player: Evan Mobley

Nothing has changed since our last Most Improved Player ladder, which features Evan Mobley as the award’s winner.

Beyond his usual defensive greatness, he took on a significant creation load this season, improving his driving force, overall efficiency and outside shooting.

Honorable Mentions: Tyler Herro, Dyson Daniels, Cade Cunningham

🪵 Sixth Man of the Year: Payton Pritchard

Pritchard was the NBA’s best offensive reserve this season, thriving as an off-ball shooter, driver and bench creator. He ranks 31st in the NBA in offensive EPM (plus-2.5), buoyed by career-highs in points per game (14.3) and true shooting (63.3 percent). It’s a luxury for the Boston Celtics to have a bench initiator like Pritchard, who can score at all levels and makes positive decisions with the ball.

He shot the ball at an elite clip this year, canning 40.7 percent of his triples on 7.8 attempts per game. While high-volume shooting was the bedrock of his offense, he made 53 percent of his non-rim twos and an absurd 75 percent of his shots at the hoop. Despite his scoring uptick, Pritchard kept his mistakes low, managing the lowest turnover rate (8.4 percent) of his career.

Ty Jerome’s per-possession impact rivals Pritchard’s, but he played nearly 900 fewer minutes in total and was actually ineligible for the award because he didn’t record at least 63 games with 20-plus minutes. Malik Beasley’s off-ball shooting was key for the Detroit Pistons this season, though his consummate offensive impact as an on-ball creator isn’t as strong as Pritchard’s. Pritchard is good enough to start on many teams, but Boston is fortunate to bring a player of his caliber off the bench.

Honorable Mention: Malik Beasley

📋 Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson

Atkinson elevated an always promising Cleveland team over the hump this season. Aside from midseason acquisition of De’Andre Hunter, Atkinson took largely the same roster as last year to a new level. The Cavaliers are the East’s clear best regular season team and led the conference in both wins (64) and net rating (plus-9.8).

Like all great coaches, Atkinson installed a scheme and culture which maximized his players. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Ty Jerome and Isaac Okoro all had career seasons, while his creative offensive deployment of Mobley and trust in Jerome as an initiator especially loom large. He’s unlocked previously clunky double-big lineups, increasing the offense’s long-term viability.

JB Bickerstaff deserves credit for Detroit’s enormous turnaround this season, but that roster changed drastically from last season. It’s easy to make a case for Mark Daigneault’s dominant Thunder, but he has the MVP and an Oklahoma City team which earned the West’s top seed last year. Elevating a team from good to elite is an extremely difficult feat, especially without a new injection of talent. Atkinson has done that.

Honorable Mentions: Mark Daigneault, JB Bickerstaff