Surprise MVP and DPOY shoo-in? Predicting NBA award winners

We are simply days away from the beginning of the NBA season, and it’s time to begin excited about what the brand new yr might carry. 

A significant a part of every season is who heads residence with some {hardware} when the whole lot is alleged and completed. So, sure, that may be a methods down the highway, however why not take a stab at giving a way-too-early prediction?

It could also be apparent to foretell the No. 1 general choose to win Rookie of the Year, however AJ Dybantsa simply appears a stage forward of his competitors. 

Dybantsa has proven flashes of his skills all through the low season, as he averaged 25 factors, seven rebounds, two assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per sport in Summer League. He adopted that with some regular work in pre-season, averaging 13 factors, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and two steals whereas taking pictures 42.4 per cent from the sphere. 

What moreover offers Dybantsa the sting within the race is who his operating mates might be on the Washington Wizards, alongside one of many NBA’s elite playmakers, Trae Young and a premier large man, Anthony Davis.

Having such confirmed expertise round Dybantsa will permit him to progress rapidly and discover his footing as an NBA star. 

Coach of the Year — Will Hardy (Jazz)

The Utah Jazz have missed 4 straight post-seasons, and are coming off a depressing 22-60 season. However, issues have been barely totally different final yr, because the Jazz’s objective was a lottery choose as a substitute of competing for a title. Utah constantly sat out its high gamers whereas others battled accidents, however well being and youth must be on the horizon this season. 

The Jazz are bringing again their core of Jaren Jackson Jr., Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen, Isaiah Collier and Ace Bailey, whereas including No. 2 general choose Darryn Peterson into the combination. 

Will Hardy is getting into his fifth season and has been on the helm by means of all of the struggles, however he now has an opportunity to alter the narrative surrounding the Jazz. Hardy is revered as an elite basketball thoughts, and he can now present that by growing this younger Utah core right into a perennial playoff crew. 

The 38-year-old has the chance to get the Jazz a high seed in a a lot weaker Western Conference than previously. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have a brand new beginning taking pictures guard this season in Cason Wallace. The fourth-year guard is extensively anticipated to fit in OKC’s backcourt alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander following the low season commerce of Lu Dort. 

Wallace isn’t any stranger to beginning, as he did it 58 instances final season, however now he will get the prospect to do it for a full 82. He averaged 8.6 factors, 3.1 rebounds and a pair of.6 assists on 43.2 per cent taking pictures from the sphere and 35.1 per cent from three final season. 

Those numbers don’t bounce out at you, however it’s his defensive capabilities which have at all times been revered. Wallace averaged 1.9 steals per sport final season en path to ending seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. 

Wallace can now proceed to showcase his stopper skills whereas increasing his offensive function. His capability to knock down threes might flip him right into a high 3-and-D choice. 

If Victor Wembanyama is within the league and wholesome, it’s laborious to choose anybody however him to win the Defensive Player of the Year award each season. 

The San Antonio Spurs phenom grew to become the first-ever unanimous winner of the award final season, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he does it once more. Wembanyama has averaged 3.6, 3.8 and three.1 blocks per sport over his first three seasons within the NBA, main the league every time. 

The 22-year-old additionally averaged a steal per sport final yr, grabbed 9.5 defensive rebounds and boasted a 101.0 defensive score. A quantity that additionally stands out drastically is Wembanyama’s defensive win shares; he led the NBA within the superior statistic with 5. 

Wembanyama would more than likely be going for a three-peat with the award if he hadn’t missed almost half of 2024-25 with a blood clot. His seven-foot-four body permits him to be the anchor of the Spurs defence with ease. 

Realistically, Dylan Harper must be a starter within the NBA, however as a result of Spurs’ crowded backcourt, he’s compelled into being the sixth man behind De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.

In his rookie season, Harper averaged 11.8 factors, 3.4 rebounds and three.9 assists on 50.5 per cent taking pictures. The second-generation star completed fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and eleventh in Sixth Man of the Year with these numbers.  

Harper now enters his sophomore season with some expertise, and he had the prospect to play within the NBA Finals. In 23 post-season video games, he averaged 14.1 factors, 5.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a steal on 51.5 per cent taking pictures. 

Even although the Spurs got here up brief, Harper confirmed he can rise to the event when wanted and the way a lot of an offensive weapon he can turn out to be. The 20-year-old can also be taking part in with a chip on his shoulder. 

Harper made it clear that he believes he must be a starter within the league in an interview with GQ, saying: “I ain’t coming off no bench.” Harper will look to seek out his method into the opening lineup by dominating in his function. 

It’s positively an unpopular opinion to choose anybody aside from Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Nikola Jokic to win MVP. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready to start his first season off the Milwaukee Bucks, and he joins a new-look Miami Heat roster. The Greek Freak has gained the MVP twice already and has a loaded trophy cupboard, however we may even see a hungrier Antetokounmpo than ever earlier than. 

Antetokounmpo had a down 2025-26, averaging 27.6 factors, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 62.4 per cent taking pictures in simply 36 video games as he battled accidents and the Bucks’ entrance workplace. However, in years prior, Antetokounmpo averaged 30-plus factors and shot over 60 per cent from the sphere constantly.

He now additionally joins a Heat crew that’s comparatively weak and has been constructed to help his wants. Antetokounmpo could have the ball in his arms greater than ever as Miami’s greatest shot creator, and he’s surrounded by shooters for him to seek out on the wings. He will doubtless need to shoulder the load offensively most nights, and could have Bam Adebayo to help him defensively, permitting him to focus extra on scoring. 

The 31-year-old is already the most effective gamers of all time, and he now has one thing to show. Antetokounmpo will have to be at his greatest to get individuals to overlook all of the adverse publicity that surrounded his departure from Milwaukee. 

NBA champion – San Antonio Spurs defeat Philadelphia 76ers in six video games

The Spurs got here so near profitable all of it, however fell brief by the hands of the New York Knicks. Wembanyama and his cohorts aren’t going to need to really feel the ache of a loss like that once more, and their roster is completely constructed to make one other run for the title. If Wembanyama makes one other leap whereas the kids proceed to seek out their function, it’s laborious to think about San Antonio not getting by means of all their competitors.

Their last opponent would be the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, with LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. That beginning 5 may very well be the most effective of all time, and every of them brings their very own ability set to the desk. Brown has the prospect to be the No. 1 choice on offence, Embiid can management the paint, Maxey and Edgecombe can proceed to develop, and James might be taking part in with the hopes of getting one final ring earlier than he sails into the sundown. 

All that might be sufficient to get the 76ers to the Finals, however to not the mountaintop. Once they run into the Spurs’ top-notch younger core, they simply gained’t have sufficient to maintain up with the tempo. Expect San Antonio to take down Philadelphia in six video games within the 2027 Finals.