Who Will and Should Win NBA Awards in 2025-26
The NBA regular season is complete. For now, the awards are still up for debate, even if some of them certainly aren't. Before the awards are revealed, here's a prediction on who will win as well as who should win each major award.
Rookie of the Year
Will Win: Cooper Flagg
Cooper Flagg led rookies in points per game, and he is among the leaders in almost every other stat. Starting out as the number one pick and the next potential face of the NBA, Flagg did nothing to dissuade anyone of his caliber in year one, and he's the slight favorite as of now.
Should Win: Kon Knueppel
Kon Knueppel should win, though. He was more efficient, way better on offense, and similar in terms of defensive acumen, as Knueppel actually had a better defensive rating than Flagg. A lot of the advanced metrics lean towards Knueppel, while Flagg has the traditional averages. The advanced metrics are a better indicator, though.
NBA MVP
Will Win: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favorite. It's not even close. He is an astonishing -5000 to take it home over Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic, with Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham currently ineligible. That does take a little bit away, but Gilgeous-Alexander is still a fantastic player. He averaged 31.1 points (second in NBA), 6.6 assists, and shot 55.3% from the field with good defense.
Should Win: Victor Wembanyama
Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP, and it won't be close. While he is a very worthy choice, he still benefits from a friendly whistle and is the uninspired choice. Take him away from OKC and they're still good. Take Victor Wembanyama away from the Spurs, and they're probably not. Plus, there is no player better on defense (more on that in a bit), and Wembanyama is also excellent on offense. There's no one who can do what he does, and he is outrageously valuable.
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Defensive Player of the Year
Will Win: Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama is the best defender on the planet. He might be the best ever. The only thing that may stand in his way of reeling in a ton of DPOYs is the 65-game rule. But as long as he's eligible, the player with 3.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game and the aura that makes people reconsider layups is the easy pick here.
Should Win: Victor Wembanyama
There's no one in Wembanyama's league defensively. With all due respect to Evan Mobley, Chet Holmgren, and others, Wembanyama is the most unique and difficult-to-attack defender in NBA history, so they're all going to have a tough time taking this award away.
Coach of the Year
Will Win: J.B. Bickerstaff
The NBA's Coach of the Year award is almost always given to the coach of the best team, especially when said best team wasn't the best team the year before. There's a reason J.B. Bickerstaff and Mitch Johnson are up for it, and with the Detroit Pistons leading the East despite a couple of injuries to key players at times, it's not hard to see why Bickerstaff is -260.
Should Win: Joe Mazulla
With all due respect to Bickerstaff, that logic is boring. Joe Mazulla, even if he shuns the award, is the Coach of the Year. Let almost any other team lose its best player for about two-thirds of the season and see how well they do. Those teams wouldn't be second in the East like Boston is. This is easily the most impressive coaching job of the year.
NBA's Most Improved Player
Will Win: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Nickeil Alexander-Walker spearheaded an astonishing turnaround for the Atlanta Hawks, and he came out of nowhere to do it. He's the clear favorite at -1250. There's really no reason to expect any surprise, even if Jalen Duren would be a pretty solid candidate, too.
Should Win: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
This is an easy choice. Alexander-Walker upped his points per game from under 10 to over 20. That's almost unheard of, even in the scoring era of the modern NBA. He got the Hawks from the basement to the legitimate playoffs with a chance to make some noise, so it's well-deserved.
