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The 2024-2025 NBA season will mostly be remembered for something that happened off the court. Luka Doncic getting traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers will never make sense no matter how many times fans see him in purple and gold. Dallas’ epic collapse in the wake of the deal will forever be tied to the trade, and will have consequences for years to come.
There has been plenty to celebrate on the court. The Oklahoma City Thunder morphed into one of the best regular season teams ever despite some injury issues. The Cleveland Cavaliers went on a stunning rise to a 60+ win powerhouse.
The Celtics have realistic dreams of being the league’s first repeat champion since Kevin Durant was on Golden State. The MVP race between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been one for the ages, while the Lakers and Warriors were reborn as (fringe) contenders after their trade deadline deals. The regular season is just about over, and the playoffs are around the corner.
With that in mind, here are our picks for the league’s awards for the 2024-25 season. MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander My hot take on the 2025 NBA MVP race is there is no wrong answer between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This might be the closest MVP since .
.. Russell Westbrook over James Harden in 2017? Tim Duncan over Kevin Garnett in 2003? Either way, both Jokic and SGA are deserving of MVP, and it sucks only one of them can win it.
Jokic is the best player in the world , and there’s a case that this is his best season yet even with three MVPs already to his name. He’s one of the best offensive players of all-time, and will finish top-3 in the league in scoring, assists, rebounds, and steals while shooting better than 41 percent from three. The Nuggets’ roster has started to deteriorate this year, and Jokic has kept them afloat by being a wild +703 on the season.
How can you average a 30-point triple-double and not win MVP? Well, Gilgeous-Alexander has been every bit as good. There’s a case to be made that this is the best season by a guard since Michael Jordan haunted the league. SGA is averaging 32.
8 points per game on fantastic 64 percent true shooting. He has blended usage and efficiency at an all-time level without being reliant on the three-pointer. The Thunder might finish as the best regular season team ever despite their second best player Chet Holmgren missing much of the year with injury.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a real part of OKC’s historic defense, and he’s a solid playmaker even if he’s not at Jokic’s level. SGA is currently +1,013 on the season. There’s no wrong answer here, but I’ll go SGA.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ivica Zubac This should have been Victor Wembanyama’s award, but he won’t meet the 65-game minimum requirement after a season-ending shoulder injury. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein could have had a case in Wemby’s absence, but neither will play enough games. There are still some good candidates out there between Evan Mobley, Draymond Green, and Dyson Daniels, but I’ll go with Ivica Zubac, who has anchored an elite defense in a surprising season for the Clippers.
I thought the Clippers could be in danger of being one of the worst teams in the West this season after losing Paul George in free agency. Whoops. LA rebuilt its team with a defensive identity around James Harden’s playmaking, with Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr.
and Zubac playing key roles. Zubac ranks in the 98th percentile of defensive EPM this season, he’s putting up a monstrous 30 percent defensive rebound rate, and he’s held opposing players to -8.9 percent worse shooting at the rim .
Zubac is so damn big that no one can finish through contact over him, and he’s really impressive at contesting shots without fouling. The Clippers defensive rating is 109.17 with Zubac on the floor and 113.
06 with him off. For as good as Dunn and Jones are at the point of attack, both are playing under 25 minutes per game. It’s been Zubac who has covered for James Harden all year to turn the Clippers into an great defense without George for all of the year or Leonard for most of it.
In a weird year for DPOY, his case is as compelling as anyone’s. Rookie of the Year: Jaylen Wells The best player from a draft class often does not win Rookie of the Year, with Malcolm Brogdon (2017) and Michael Carter-Williams (2014) as recent examples. Jaylen Wells likely won’t go down as the best player from the 2024 draft, but he’s been the most useful rookie this year, and that’s worth the award.
Wells has started almost every game for a Grizzlies team that was among the top teams in the West all year until a post-All-Star break collapse. He has a clear role as a wing stopper, and has spent his rookie year defending opposing stars all season long, from Anthony Edwards to Luka Doncic to James Harden. Wells is also third among rookies in total points, and first in made three-pointers.
He’s developing into a real 3-and-D wing, and one of the best stories in the league for a player who was at DII Sonoma State just two years ago. The Grizzlies found an absolute steal in the second round. Sixth Man of the Year: Payton Pritchard Payton Pritchard requested a trade from the Celtics in 2023.
He emerged as a key bench piece to Boston’s championship team last season, and has taken another huge leap this year. Pritchard is fantastic offensively as an efficient scorer all over the floor — 41 percent from three, 62 percent on two-pointers — while also avoiding turnovers. He broke the NBA record for most three-pointers off the bench this season.
It would be fascinating to see what he could do in a bigger role on a different team, but for now he’s part of Boston’s embarrassment of riches. I almost went with Malik Beasley here, who has been a deadeye shooter for the Pistons. Detroit doesn’t make this leap without more shooting around Cade Cunningham, and Beasley has been the biggest piece of that.
He would be a worthy winner if he gets the award. Most Improved Player: Dyson Daniels Cade Cunningham is the favorite for this award, and he has made some real improvements this year, particularly as a pull-up shooter. No player in the league has changed their individual narrative quite like Dyson Daniels, though, who went from teetering on draft bust to a shutdown defender and capable offensive player after being traded from the Pelicans to the Hawks.
Daniels is averaging 3.1 steals per game, an insane number. No NBA player has averaged three steals per game since Alvin Robertson in 1991.
Daniels also has 421 deflections at time of writing, while second-place Keon Ellis is at 249. We compared Daniels to Marcus Smart on our 2022 draft board , and while Daniels gambles more and defends the ball less, their defensive effectiveness has become similarly great. Daniels has also taken a big leap offense, going from 5.
8 to 14.2 points per game while putting a career-best 34.5 percent of his threes on 3.
1 attempts per game. Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson There are plenty of deserving candidates for this year, from JB Bickerstaff for turning around the Pistons to Ime Udoka for helping the Rockets take the next step in their rebuild without a true star to OKC’s Mark Daigneault for guiding a historically good regular season team. Coach of the Year should still go to Kenny Atkinson though without being too close.
The Cavs were a solid team under Bickerstaff the last two years, averaging 49.5 wins and winning one (very ugly) playoff series. Atkinson immediately turned them into an elite team with the same roster, partially because Darius Garland got healthy and Evan Mobley matured as a player, but also because he made the piece of Cleveland’s funky lineup fit perfectly.
No one thought the Cavs would win 65+ games this year with the same roster that struggled to beat the Magic in last year’s playoffs. Atkinson has done an amazing job. 2025 All-NBA team picks First-Team Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Nikola Jokic Jayson Tatum Giannis Antetokounmpo Donovan Mitchell Second-Team Jaren Jackson Jr.
Karl-Anthony Towns Stephen Curry LeBron James Evan Mobley Third-Team Cade Cunningham Anthony Edwards Tyrese Haliburton Darius Garland Kevin Durant 2025 NBA All-Rookie team picks First-Team Jaylen Wells Stephon Castle Matas Buzelis Zaccharie Risacher Zach Edey Second-Team Ron Holland Kel’el Ware Kyle Filipowski Donovan Clingan Alex Sarr 2025 NBA All-Defense team picks First-Team Ivica Zubac Evan Mobley Draymond Green Dyson Daniels Amen Thompson Second-Team Jaren Jackson Jr. Lu Dort Toumani Camara Rudy Gobert Jalen Williams.
