By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers from the 2017-18 regular season: Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year which includes French big man Rudy Gobert among the candidates, Kia NBA Most Improved Player and NBA Coach of the Year.
Swiss big man Clint Capela of the Houston Rockets headlines the candidates for the most improved player award and his opponents are Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets and Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers. Capela emerged as the starting center of the title-contending Rockets this season.
The winners of these awards will be revealed at the 2018 NBA Awards presented by Kia on Monday, June 25 The second annual NBA Awards will take place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
The finalists for the rest of the annual awards, based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, are below:
Kia NBA Most Valuable Player
- Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
- James Harden, Houston Rockets
- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kia NBA Rookie of the Year
- Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
- Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Kia NBA Sixth Man Award
- Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
- Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
- Lou Williams, LA Clippers