A debate I regularly have on the Open Floor podcast: Does the NBA’s 65-game minimum for postseason awards need to exist? The minimum, collectively bargained in 2023 in response to what the league felt was an abuse of load management, has become a polarizing issue. Proponents will say anyone who plays fewer than 65 games shouldn’t be eligible anyway. Critics argue that it should be up to the voter to decide if a 60-game player having an MVP season is worthy of the handful of awards and honors he could be eligible for.
That threshold looms especially large this season. Nikola Jokić, the front-runner for MVP in December, remains out with a knee injury that could limit him to fewer than 65 games. The 12 games Victor Wembanyama missed with a calf injury could keep him out of the awards race, too. So far, the NBA has skirted any controversy from the minimum games requirement. In a few months, that could change.
Until then, let’s take a peek at my unofficial midseason ballot.
Most Valuable Player
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Nikola Jokić
- Luka Dončić
- Cade Cunningham
- Jaylen Brown
Disclaimer: Availability played a big role on this ballot. If I had to vote three weeks ago it would have gone to Jokić, who is in the midst of another Jokić-y season (29.6 points, an NBA-best 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists). But Jokić’s knee injury opened the door for Gilgeous-Alexander, who is having another MVP-worthy season while playing 43 games on a top-seeded team that has dealt with injuries around him. When Jokić can return—and if he is eligible for the award when he does—will be a plot twist with this award.
To me, Dončić/Cunningham was a coin flip. Dončić is having another absurd offensive season (33.5 points, 8.7 assists) though his defensive effort leaves a lot to be desired. Cunningham has been brilliant. He’s racked up 21 double-doubles (fourth most in the NBA) while joining Jokić as the only players to average 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds. And he’s the unquestioned star of the top team in the Eastern Conference.
Brown gets credit for team performance, too. That Boston, which lost most of its offensive firepower from last season, has a better offensive rating in this one is a head-scratching fact, and Brown is the biggest reason why. If there was any doubt that Brown could be the top option on a winner, it’s gone.
Side note: I fully expect Wembanyama, should he meet the minimum games threshold, to appear on my final ballot. The combination of 14 missed games early in the season and a minutes restriction when he came back kept him off this one.
Coach of the Year
- Joe Mazzulla
- J.B. Bickerstaff
- Mitch Johnson
It pains me that Bickerstaff could go two straight years without winning the award. After engineering a 30-win improvement last season (his first in Detroit), Bickerstaff has been better in this one, pushing the Pistons’ new Bad Boys to the top of the conference.
But Mazzulla has been awesome. Think about the players Boston lost from last season: Jayson Tatum. Jrue Holiday. Kristaps Porziņģis. Al Horford. Luke Kornet. That’s a lineup that on its own could make the playoffs. Mazzulla has rebuilt the Celtics offense around Brown, found a way to win with a frontcourt manned by once seldomly used center Neemias Queta and revived Anfernee Simons as a Vinnie Johnson–esque sixth man. It’s as good a coaching job as the NBA has seen in years.
Honorable mention to Johnson. It feels like there were a lot of people rooting for Johnson to fail. But Johnson has proved he is a shrewd tactician who connects with players. The addition of Sean Sweeney to Johnson’s coaching staff has beefed up the defensive brainpower on the Spurs’ bench. San Antonio has the talent to match up with anyone in the West. And the coaching chops, too.
Rookie of the Year
- Cooper Flagg
- Kon Knueppel
- VJ Edgecombe
Oh this race is good. Flagg was the heavy preseason favorite and after a sluggish start—you remember the Point Flagg Era—he has been as advertised. He’s averaging nearly 19 points per game for the injury ravaged Mavs, chipping in rebounds (6.3) and playmaking (4.1 assists) while developing into a solid defender.
Knueppel has been better than advertised. A lot better. We knew Knueppel could shoot—he’s pushing 43% from three on an absurdly high volume. What we didn’t know was how good he was off the dribble, how solid he was on the glass and how efficient he could be from all over the floor. The trio of Knueppel, LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller has given Charlotte hope for the first time since Grandmama was a thing.
And Philly has a stud in the uber-athletic Edgecombe, who has been on a scoring binge the last few weeks. Entering Thursday night’s win over Houston, Edgecombe ranked first in steals (1.5), while ranking third in assists (4.2), third in scoring (15.8) and seventh in rebounds (5.3). His game screams future franchise player.
Honorable mention for Cedric Coward—Memphis’s ability to find diamonds in the rough is uncanny.
Most Improved Player
- Deni Avdija
- Ryan Rollins
- Ajay Mitchell
Usual disclaimer: I see this category as belonging to guys who make surprising improvements, not the ex-lottery picks who have shown to-be-expected growth.
Avdija was a lottery pick, back in 2020. But after five seasons, it felt like we knew what Avdija was: a solid-ish forward who could score, shoot the three and rebound a little. Avdija put up good numbers, but he did it on teams that had not sniffed a winning record. A lot of people laughed when Portland traded two first-round picks for Avdija. I’d know—I was one of them.
Avdija’s rise this season has been astonishing. He’s juiced his scoring (26.2 points) by nearly 10 points. His assist numbers have nearly doubled. And he’s doing it on a Blazers team in the mix for a playoff spot. Come February, Avdija will be an All-Star. He’s making a case for All-NBA. No one saw that coming.
Rollins and Mitchell fit the mold of players I usually vote for. On a Bucks team desperate for backcourt production, Rollins has delivered, averaging 16 points in 31.5 minutes, connecting on 39.2% of his threes. Mitchell was a two-way guard last season who slid into Jalen Williams’s starting slot early in the season and ran with it. His per-36 minutes are outstanding: 19.3 points, five assists, 4.8 rebounds, adding to a deep well of talent in Oklahoma City.
Sixth Man
- Keldon Johnson
- Naz Reid
- Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Johnson has been on an absolute heater. He’s shooting 56% from the floor and 41% from three, both career-bests in a full season. He’s an elite offensive rebounder and one of the Spurs’ most versatile defenders.
But folks in San Antonio are quick to remind you that Johnson’s contributions go beyond the numbers. His energy in the locker room is infectious. His willingness to sacrifice has freed the Spurs collection of young stars to get more opportunities. If Wembanyama is the face of the franchise, Johnson is the heart and soul of it.
Reid is fast emerging as the best sixth man of this generation. He won the award two seasons ago, could have won it last year (he finished fifth) and is putting up career-best numbers that make him a strong candidate in this one.
Jaquez has shaken off a disastrous sophomore year—what was that?—and is back to looking like the draft steal he was as a rookie. Jaquez relentlessly attacks the paint and is good for five-ish rebounds and assists each game. He’ll probably never be a three-point shooter (he’s connecting on a ghastly 27.1% of his threes this season) but his aggressive, high-energy game makes him a versatile weapon.
Defensive Player of the Year
- Victor Wembanyama
- Chet Holmgren
- Rudy Gobert
Let’s be honest: The only thing that will keep Wembanyama from winning this honor for the next decade is health. Wembanyama may, in fact, miss the NBA’s eligibility threshold this season—as noted above he’s missed 14 games with injury, meaning he can afford to sit out only three more—but if he hits it, he wins.
The numbers are great: 11 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, yada, yada. But you ask any coach—when Wemby is in the game, you don’t attack the paint. No player impacts the game defensively like Wembanyama. His ability to disrupt the game on that end is top of the scouting report stuff.
If Wembanyama isn’t eligible, I have Holmgren sliding in. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson recently dubbed Holmgren “the best rim protector in the NBA” and while that may have been a brain cramp (hello, Wemby) there’s no denying the impact Holmgren makes on the league’s top defense. He can defend multiple positions and is a menacing weakside shot blocker.
At 33, Gobert doesn’t have as much impact as he once did, but he’s still anchoring a top-10 defense and cleans up a lot of mistakes. As often as he gets cooked on the perimeter, Gobert still eats up a lot of space in the paint and gobbles up boards on the defensive glass.
More NBA from Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
- LeBron James Has Pointed Response to Reports of Friction With Lakers’ Jeanie Buss
- 76ers Robbed of Potential Game-Winning Shot by Missed Goaltending Call
- Dirk Nowitzki Explains Why Mavericks Aren’t Worried About Cooper Flagg’s Shooting
- Jonathan Kuminga Leaves Warriors Game vs. Mavs As Trade Deadline Nears
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Midseason Awards: Reviving the MVP Debate Between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić.
