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Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports

NBA awards: Who will take home the prestigious individual hardware?

By Quinn Everts | Last updated 4/15/24

The NBA regular season came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday, with numerous teams still jostling for playoff positioning on the season's final day. With all 82 games played, the resumes of award-season hopefuls have been completed. Who are the candidates for each prestigious award, and who should take each one home?

Most Valuable Player

Candidates: Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo
Who should win: Luka Doncic. There are no wrong answers here...which means there are no right answers, too. We said a few weeks ago that Nikola Jokic is number one on the MVP ladder, and might feel that way tomorrow once again. But for the time being, the league's leading scorer (33.9 PPG) earns our MVP vote. Well, metaphorical vote.

Defensive Player of the Year

Candidates: Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis
Who should win: Rudy Gobert. Yes, Wemby's late-season surge (18 games of 5+ blocks in 2024) made this a little closer than it was at the beginning of the season, but Gobert has been a backline enforcer on the league's best defensive team all season long so he is deserving of his fourth DPOY award. After a weird, frustrating season in 2022-23, Gobert and the Wolves have completely minimized opposing offenses in 2024.

Coach of the Year

Candidates: Mark Daigneault, Joe Mazzulla, Chris Finch, Jamahl Mosley, Tom Thibodeau
Who should win: Mark Daigneault. It's hard to argue with this one. Oklahoma City's future was undoubtedly bright, but Daigneault has taken this team to contender status much quicker than even the most optimistic fans would have guessed. OKC won 57 games and finished first in the Western Conference, becoming the youngest team ever to do that. Daigneault has rapidly gained respect in league circles and it's pretty easy to see why.

The Thunder are now the youngest team in NBA history (23.9 years) to secure a #1 seed.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 14, 2024

Sixth Man of the Year

Candidates: Malik Monk, Naz Reid, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Norman Powell

Who should win: Malik Monk. Each one of these guys provides a huge boost for their respective teams, but Monk is tasked with running the offense alongside De'Aaron Fox - or instead of him, when Fox isn't on the floor - and he's been able to answer any responsibility he's been tasked with, posting a career-high 15.4 points and career-high 5.1 assists this season. He will likely miss the remainder of the season (unless the Kings can make a miracle run in the postseason.) It's a bummer that Monk's season ended with an injury, but a 6MOY trophy should at least make his recovery a little easier to bear.

Rookie of the Year

Candidates: Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller

Who should win: Victor Wembanyama. He might end up being the greatest player we've ever seen. Every night he does something that makes you rethink what is possible in the game of basketball. A clear ROY, and likely an MVP candidate every year going forward. Wemby finishes his rookie season with averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks per game.

Most Improved Player

Candidates: Tyrese Maxey, Coby White, Cam Thomas

Who should win: Coby White. No player came out of nowhere this season and ran away with MIP. Hawks forward Jalen Johnson made a huge leap, but didn't reach the 65 games threshold necessary to win major NBA awards. Maxey, meanwhile, became the second option on one of the NBA's best teams, but that followed a rational trajectory - he was already really good. Thus, Coby White gets the nod here, as it looked like his career was on a downward trend after 2022-23, but instead of fizzling out as an NBA player, White came back with by far the best season of his career. White averaged 19.1 points (previous high: 15.1), while also averaging a career-high in both rebounds (4.5) and assists (5.1).