The NBA revealed the three finalists for each of its seven major individual awards for the 2023-2024 regular season on Sunday night, led by Nikola Jokic, who was an MVP finalist for the fourth consecutive season, and San Antonio Spurs midfielder Victor Wimpanyama, who was a finalist. Rookie Award Finalist. Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Jokic, whose Denver Nuggets team opened the playoffs with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, won the MVP award in 2021 and 2022 and finished second behind Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers last year.
Embiid and the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo have been MVP finalists alongside Jokic in each of the past two seasons, but they were replaced this season by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
Jokic finished the regular season averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists for Denver, which finished the season tied atop the Western Conference with Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder. Oklahoma City clinched the top spot in the Western Conference tiebreaker.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals this season. Doncic led the league in scoring with an average of 33.9 points, in addition to 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists for the Dallas Mavericks, who opened their campaign in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 109-97 loss on Sunday.
There were no surprises among the Rookie of the Year finalists, as the top two picks in the 2023 draft — Wimpanyama and Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller — were joined by 2022 second overall pick, Thunder center Chet Holmgren.
Wimbanyama set several records in his first season with the Spurs, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals, while Holmgren averaged 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds for Oklahoma City after his absence. Last season due to a foot injury. Miller averaged 17.4 points and made 184 3-pointers this season.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who previously won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and was a finalist from 2017-22, leads this year's finalists, along with Wimpanyama and Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo.
Gobert led Minnesota to the best defensive rating in the league and averaged 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Adebayo, one of the league's most versatile bigs, averaged 10.4 rebounds plus steals and blocks per game, while Wimbanyama became a hitting and stealing machine as a rookie, especially after switching to full-time center midway through the season.
The field for Most Improved Player selection, which is often one of the more complicated awards to vote on because there is no set criteria, includes 76ers guard Therese Maxey, Chicago Bulls guard Coby White and Houston Rockets center Albryn Singone.
Maxey made his first All-Star team averaging 25.9 points and 6.2 assists. White averaged career highs of 19.1 points and 5.1 assists, and Singgun averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists for Houston.
Meanwhile, voting for the Sixth Man of the Year award was led by Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk, Timberwolves midfielder Naz Reid and Bucks forward Bobby Portis.
Monk averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists for Sacramento before missing the final weeks of the season with a knee injury. Reed developed into one of the league's best bench players, averaging 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds — both career highs — to help Minnesota clinch the third seed in the Western Conference.
Portis averaged 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Bucks, and will play a much larger role in Milwaukee's first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, with Antetokounmpo initially sidelined with a calf injury.
For the second year in a row, Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault finished in the top three in Coach of the Year voting, joined by Orlando Magic coach Jamal Moseley and Minnesota coach Chris Finch.
Under Mosley, the young Magic team boasted one of the league's best defenses and captured the Southeastern Division title. Finch led Minnesota to 56 wins, the second-most in franchise history.
Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan is a repeat finalist for the Clutch Player of the Year award, which was created last year. He's joined by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Gilgeous-Alexander.
The NBA will announce each of the award winners — as well as selections to the All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams — over the next two weeks.
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