2023–24 NBA Mid-Season Awards/Predictions
The 2023–24 NBA season is a beautiful time to be an NBA fan — LeBron, KD, Steph, and Kawhi are continuing to put on for the older generation; Jokic, Embiid, Giannis, Luka and Tatum are in the prime of their careers; SGA, Haliburton, Edwards, Brunson and Banchero are coming into their own as legitimate superstars; and Wemby, Chet and Jaquez are leading a promising rookie class.
As we sit just short of the midway mark for the season, we can start to determine who are the favorites for some of the awards such as MVP, DPOY, MIP, etc. Almost every award race is close, but all awards have a clear group of players who are in the mix.
Coach Of The Year: Chris Finch (Minnesota Timberwolves)
The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently first in the Western conference standings owning a 24–9 record — just one of two teams to have less than 10 losses on the season thus far. Minnesota finished as the eighth seed with a 42–40 record for the 2022–23 season.
The Timberwolves are showing major strides as a unit, especially on the defensive end, going from 115.8 points allowed per game last season to 107.8 points allowed per game this season — a league best.
Head coach Chris Finch has done an excellent job figuring out a system that works for this roster, particularly the Rudy Gobert — Karl-Anthony Towns combination. Towns is having an all-star caliber year while Gobert is a DPOY candidate. The Timberwolves-Jazz trade that consisted of five players and four first-round picks for Gobert alone was looking like a big mistake this time last year, but thanks to Finch helping the big find his place with this team, has turned the narrative around quickly.
Honorable Mention: Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City Thunder)
After losing in the Play-In Tournament last season, the fourth-year coach has the third-youngest team in the NBA sitting as the second seed in the Western conference. The Thunder are averaging the third-largest point differential for the season at 8.1 points while averaging 122 points a game — the fourth-highest margin in the league. SGA is an MVP candidate, Chet is a ROY candidate, and Jalen Williams is a MIP candidate all under Mark Daigneault.
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Most Improved Player: Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)
This one isn’t really remotely close. Through trade requests and the James Harden drama, the 76ers refused to get rid of Tyrese Maxey because they saw the potential that we’re all just starting to see. Maxey had a strong case to win MIP for the 2021–22 season and he now has the award almost on lock halfway through the season.
So far this season, the 23-year old is averaging 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 64 assists on 45.8/38.8/87.2 shooting splits. Despite his field goal and three point percentages dropping from last season, Maxey has made a big jump in his offensive production, averaging 5.6 more points and 2.9 more assists from last season while raising his box plus-minus from 4.0 last season to 10.0 this season.
Maxey’s rise to stardom has Philly sitting at the third spot in the Eastern conference standings with a 23–10 record and is expected to be elected as an all-star for the first time in his young career.
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Sixth Man Of The Year: Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings)
Malik Monk is looking to follow up his strong 2022–23 campaign for 6MOY by taking the award this year.
The 25-year old has revived his career after a rocky start with the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers by becoming one of the best bench players on one of the best up-and-coming teams in the league.
Monk is averaging 14.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from three. He holds a 2.5 box plus-minus through 32 games played so far this season, proving his positive value off the bench as a streaky scorer and underrated playmaker.
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Rookie Of The Year: Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)
After missing the entire 2022–23 season with a foot injury, Chet Holmgren has already established himself as a key two-way player on one of the best teams in the league. He provides immense value for this very young Thunder squad that goes beyond the box score.
The №2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft is averaging 17.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and an astounding 2.6 blocks a game — fifth-best in the league. Holmgren has been described as a very confident player and it’s showing as his 54.4/40.7/83.2 shooting splits and 5.7 box plus-minus are very impressive numbers for a 21-year old big man. Chet has a strong chance to make an All-Defensive team as a rookie.
Honorable Mention: Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)
Victor Wembanyama came into this season as arguably the most hyped NBA prospect of all-time. His rookie numbers are better than Holmgren’s numbers, but the only reason why he’s not ahead of Chet is because of the difference in team records.
The 7-foot-4, 20-year old unicorn is averaging 19.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and a league-best 3.2 blocks a game on 44.9/29.1/78.6 shooting splits. Mind you, Wemby commits just 2.3 fouls a game along with his dominant defensive stats — already showing what’s to come for the next 15–20 years barring any serious injuries.
Being drafted to one of the best developing organizations that’s very embrasive of European players, learning from arguably the best coach of all-time in Gregg Popovich for the next five years, along with his natural skillset and drive to improve everyday, he’s bound to end up as one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball.
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All-Rookie First Team: Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat), Brandon Miller (Charlotte Hornets), Brandin Podziemski (Golden State Warriors)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski were selected back-to-back with the 18th and 19th picks in the 2023 NBA draft by their respective teams and are looking like the early-on steals of the draft. Meanwhile, Brandon Miller, the №2 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, is showing flashes of his potential with the Charlotte Hornets but is being outshined by these other dominant rookies.
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Defensive Player Of The Year: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Anchoring the best defense in the NBA at the moment, Rudy Gobert is in line to win his fourth DPOY, which would tie Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for the most DPOY awards won by one player in NBA history.
The 31-year old Frenchman is averaging 2.1 blocks and 0.7 steals a game in 33 games played so far this season. Though the 2.1 blocks is the fourth-lowest average in his 11-year career, he sits second in the NBA in defensive win shares with 0.168, only trailing Evan Mobley by 0.003.
As the Timberwolves currently sit as the first seed in the Western conference and own the second-best record in the league, Gobert should remain the favorite to win the award as long as Minnesota’s early success remains in tact.
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All-Defensive First Team: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks), Alex Caruso (Chicago Bulls), Derrick White (Boston Celtics)
Victor Wembanyam and Brook Lopez are the two leading shot blockers in the league and are right there in contention for DPOY with Gobert. As far as the backcourt, Alex Caruso continues to make his case for best defensive guard in the league time and time again with clutch defensive and hustle plays every single game. Derrick White, a reigning All-Defensive Second Team, has arguably been a more productive defender than his Celtic backcourt teammate Jrue Holiday, who has been arguably the best defensive guard throughout the past decade.
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Most Valuable Player: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Nikola Jokic is the undisputed best player in the world right now — and he just followed it up with a 39-foot near half court game winner to top off an 18-point fourth quarter comeback against the Golden State Warroirs.
Through 35 games so far this season, Jokic is averaging 26 points, 12.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks a game on 56.5/34.5/82 shooting splits. He leads the league in box plus-minus at 13.9 points, his 37.7 efficiency rating ranks second in the league, and his 4.7 value over replacement player is by far the best in the league — all while sitting 16th in the league in usage percentage at 29.8 percent.
To add on to the list of incredible stats, Jokic leads the league in total rebounds with 426 rebounds, is third in assists with 318 assists, and is fourth in points with 909 points.
The Joker is coming off a four-game stretch that saw him miss just five shots out of 44 total attempts — backing up those efficiency numbers and strengthening his case for MVP.
Honorable Mention: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Joel Embiid has just as good of a chance to win MVP as Jokic does — arguably having his best season averaging a league-leading 34.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.0 blocks a game on 53.9/35.3/88.7 shooting splits. Having a historic scoring season, it will come down to the very last game of the season to determine who will win the MVP between himself, Jokic, and SGA.
Speaking of SGA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has entered his name as a unanimous top-10 player and a potential top-5 player in the league today. SGA is averaging 31.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists and a league-high 2.5 steals a game — the only player in the NBA to be averaging at least two steals a game. His scoring numbers have come on an efficient 54.6/33.9/90.4 shooting split and has guided the third-youngest team in the league to a 24–10 record. If the Thunder keep winning games and potentially take the top seed in the West, Shai could end up snagging the MVP at the end of the season.
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All-NBA First Team: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Giannis Antentokunmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Tyrese Haliburton Indiana Pacers)
Giannis Antentokunmpo has been and will continue to be a top-three player in the league. Giannis if averaging 31.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks a game on 60 percent shooting from the field. The Bucks own a 25–10 record and currently sit second in the Eastern conference standings behind the Boston Celtics.
Tyrese Haliburton is having an all-time breakout season. Averaging 24.9 points and an astounding 12.7 assists on 50.1/40.8/86.3 shooting splits, Hali is on pace to have the 10th-highest assist average for a season in NBA history while guiding a historically great Indiana offense. The Pacers currently sit fifth in the East with a 19–15 record.
Honorable Mention: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
It’s tough to leave out a guy who’s averaging 33.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists out of the All-NBA First Team, but between Hali and Luka, one of these two great players is going to miss out. I think this will come down to where their respective teams are sitting in the standings at the end of the season, but as of right now, Tyrese’s assist average and floor general impact on a historically great offense gives him the edge over Luka for me at the moment.
