By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA officially announced the prestigious finalists for its year-end awards on Sunday, highlighting a selection of the league’s most dominant performers from the 2025-26 Regular Season.
The race for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player features a heavyweight trio from the Western Conference’s elite. Serbian center Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets made the cut after a historic regular season where he became the first player to ever lead the league in both rebounds and assists per game. He is joined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who piloted the Oklahoma City Thunder to the league’s best record, and French sensation Victor Wembanyama, whose sophomore leap with the San Antonio Spurs saw him average 25 points per game.
Wemby is also the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, which will be the first award announced this Monday. The 22-year-old big led the NBA in blocks and defensive rating, though he faces stiff competition from Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and Detroit Pistons’ lockdown perimeter specialist Ausar Thompson.
In the NBA Coach of the Year ranks, the Spurs‘ Mitch Johnson earned a nod for guiding San Antonio to the second-best record in the Regular Season. He competes with J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons and Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics from the Eastern Conference.
Further accolades include the Most Improved Player, where Israeli forward Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit’s Jalen Duren, both first-time All-Stars, face Atlanta Hawks’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
The Rookie of the Year battle centers on Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets, and VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Clutch Player of the Year will be decided between the Thunder’s Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray of the Nuggets, and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Finally, the Sixth Man of the Year finalists feature Denver’s Tim Hardaway Jr., San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat.
Following Monday’s Defensive Player of the Year reveal, the league will announce the Clutch Player on Tuesday, Sixth Man on Wednesday, the Sportsmanship Award on Thursday, and Most Improved Player on Friday.