NBA award predictions: Who will win MVP?

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily – NBA Award Predictions: Who Will Win MVP?

Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Dave DuFour (D), Zena Keita (E), Esfandiar Baraheni (B)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the crew of The Athletic NBA Daily unites after a busy offseason to preview and predict the winners of the NBA’s major individual awards ahead of the 2025-26 season. With a special focus on the MVP race, the hosts dive into the most compelling candidates, examining not only player stats and team prospects but also the powerful narratives that often drive award voting. The discussion expands to Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and Rookie of the Year—with lively debate, sharp analysis, and plenty of laughs along the way.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

The MVP Race: Wide-Open and Narrative-Driven

[04:11]

• Dave opens by stating, “I don't think Nikola Jokic can win the award no matter what the Nuggets do...he doesn't have five MVPs,” despite historic production.
• The hosts agree last year’s winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is unlikely to repeat, as voters and teams may catch up to his style.

Zena’s MVP Pick: Luka Doncic

[05:02]

• “Luka has the stage set up for him...Literally, LeBron has warmed up the crowd, told a few jokes, and then went off onto the side of the stage and said, Luka, take it away. You got the spotlight.” – Zena [05:06]
• She cites Luka’s leap to the Lakers, impressive stats (“38% from deep, 60% true shooting”), improved conditioning, and narrative momentum.
• Both Dave and Esfandiar agree the Lakers must reach at least the #3 seed for Luka to truly contend.

Esfandiar’s MVP Pick: Anthony Edwards

[08:48]

• “There is a narrative for another scorer in the Western Conference to win MVP...Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves.” – Esfandiar [08:50]
• He points to Edwards’ potential jump in playmaking/scoring, fans’ love, and the underdog Timberwolves possibly breaking into the top three seeds.
• Zena is skeptical of the Wolves’ supporting cast and defensive demands, questioning whether they can finish higher than fourth.

Dave’s MVP Pick: Jalen Brunson

[13:58]

• “No team would have more narrative juice for an MVP candidate than the New York Knicks. I think Jalen Brunson has a chance.” – Dave [14:00]
• Dave expects the Knicks to be a top-two team in the East and highlights Brunson’s clutch reputation, usage, and potential for easier buckets in Mike Brown’s offense.
• Zena argues for Trae Young as a surprise candidate if the Hawks finish top three; Dave notes this would be a major shock considering his prior reputation.

Other Notable MVP Candidates

• Nikola Jokic & Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Hosts agree team success means they're always in the mix, but voter fatigue may play a role.
• Wild Cards: Kawhi Leonard (if healthy), Giannis Antetokounmpo (if Bucks mount a “last dance”), and Trae Young (if Atlanta overachieves).

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Defensive Player of the Year: Wemby’s Award to Lose?

[16:51]

• All hosts lean heavily toward Victor Wembanyama.
• “I think Wemby will win, but that is discrediting Chet Holmgren...he can go toe to toe.” – Esfandiar [17:08]

If Not Wemby...

• Chet Holmgren: Anchoring OKC’s top defense, rim protection, advanced metrics.
• Dyson Daniels: Disruptive in passing lanes, detailed defensive student (“Not a lot of guards in the league that watch film like he does.” – Zena [18:56])
• Evan Mobley: Hosts realize late they’re sleeping on Mobley’s paint defense for Cleveland (“What are we doing?” – Zena [19:26])

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Most Improved Player: Expect a Pacer?

[20:08]

Esfandiar’s Pick: Andrew Nembhard

• “Opportunity equals...more usage, more shots. He’s going to have tons of responsibility over this Pacers offense.” – Esfandiar [20:38]
• Dave notes Pacers’ play style and Nembhard’s surprising midrange scoring and defense.

Zena’s Pick: Bennedict Mathurin

• Rick Carlisle intends to start Mathurin, giving him more on-ball reps and scoring responsibility, especially with Tyrese Haliburton out.

Other Candidates

• Franz Wagner (Orlando): Shooting may hold him back.
• Amen Thompson (Houston): Betting favorite but must show scoring jump.
• Jalen Johnson (Atlanta): On radar from last season, but already had a breakout; still a contender.

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Coach of the Year: Who Will Lead a Breakout?

[27:24]

Dave: Quinn Snyder (Hawks)

• “I think Quinn Snyder has a really good shot...if they’re the three seed, I think they’ve got a shot.” [27:45]
• Cites Snyder’s offensive innovation and new talent improving the Hawks.

Zena: Quinn Snyder or Jamahl Mosley (Magic)

• Orlando leap to top-five (or ideally top-four) would thrust Mosley into consideration.

Esfandiar: Darko Rajaković (Raptors)

• “Especially if...a team who won 30 games last year, if they end up winning...45 games, that’s a 15 win improvement.” – Esfandiar [30:23]
• Raptors’ young core and coaching improvement could surprise in the East.

Other Mentions

• Mike Brown (Knicks) for a potential one-seed
• JJ Redick (Lakers), Chauncey Billups (Blazers, for his work with young talent), Steve Kerr (Warriors, if they catch fire)

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Sixth Man of the Year: Opportunity & Offense

[33:00]

Dave: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks)

• “Backup point guard who can play next to Trae...Atlanta is going to be a better team.” [33:40]

Zena: Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors)

• “When he has 20 more minutes, his stats are out the roof...18 [points] a game, plus five more rebounds in those 20 or more minutes.” – Zena [35:13]
• Emphasizes Warriors’ veteran needs and Kuminga’s athleticism and improvement on defense.

Esfandiar: Anthony Simons (Celtics, or Peyton Pritchard)

• “The Celtics offense is, you know, juiced-era baseball type of thing...if this is a scoring bias award...one of these two guys is going to average...off the bench.” [38:04]
• Dave jokes about a “pump and dump” strategy: Boston supercharging Simons’ minutes/stats for a trade.

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Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg’s to Lose

[38:49]

Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)

• “He does seem to be far and away the most NBA ready rookie and seems to be the healthiest of the NBA ready rookies.” – Dave [38:55]
• Esfandiar describes his impressive preseason: “He was phenomenal on both ends...they were obviously asking him to carry the ball, bring it up, you know, play point guard, make decisions. And on top of that, he was wildly good defensively.” [39:17]

Other Candidates:

• Dylan Harper (Spurs): May face crowded backcourt/minutes crunch.
• VJ Edgecombe (Sixers): Defensive versatility, but crowded guard rotation.
• Ace Bailey (Jazz): “He’s gonna have opportunities to make mistakes and come back. And Will Hardy’s a really good youth coach as well…” – Zena [42:17]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On MVP Voter Psychology:
  “This is a very narrative-driven award.” – Dave [08:31]
• On ‘Skinny Luka’:
  “I think he could have been MVP or in the conversation for MVP last year, and now he's...just adds to whatever pounds he lost. Add that into the weight for the conversation for him to be MVP.” – Zena [06:15]
• On Timberwolves’ Hopes:
  “I love the idea that Anthony Edwards is going to come in here with a big chip on his shoulder...but I don’t know if he has enough around him for the entire car to work.” – Zena [11:22]
• On Wemby’s Listing:
  “The Spurs...updated the listing on the website. Officially 7 foot 5. Yeah, officially 7 foot 5. So. Yeah. Insane how tall that guy is.” – Dave [19:37]
• On Coach of Year Trends:
  “It’s more about that, right. It’s that jump from one year to the next that seems to really push the coach of the year stuff." – Dave [29:10]
• On Most Improved Award Philosophy:
  “Most improved is very much a vibes [award].” – Dave [44:53]

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Key Timestamps

• [04:11] — Show begins main award discussion; MVP field and narratives
• [05:02] — Zena picks Luka Doncic for MVP
• [08:48] — Esfandiar backs Anthony Edwards for MVP
• [13:58] — Dave champions Jalen Brunson for MVP
• [16:51] — Defensive Player of the Year: all pick Wemby as favorite
• [20:08] — Most Improved Player: Nembhard, Mathurin, and others
• [27:24] — Coach of the Year: Hawks, Magic, Raptors, others considered
• [33:00] — Sixth Man: Alexander-Walker, Kuminga, Simons/Pritchard
• [38:49] — Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, others
• [43:57] — Hosts wrap with rapid awards chatter (“Clutch Player,” wildcards, award overlap)

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Closing Thoughts

This episode gives listeners sharp, lively predictions and deep insight into the subtle forces shaping NBA award outcomes. The conversation skillfully blends stats, historical trends, roster analysis, and the narratives that define each race. If you want to get a head start on the season’s biggest debates—or impress friends with preseason award wisdom—this episode is required listening.

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(Ad sections, intros, and outros omitted as per instructions.)

Transcript

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[D]

Good morning and welcome back to the NBA Daily presented by ebay. I'm Dave Defour here with Esperahenny and Zena K. Yes, the gang's all here. NBA awards predictions coming up. Good morning, everybody. What's up, guys? Welcome back. We made it back together. Yes. It's been a long summer. I mean, we've been texting a bunch and we've talked a few times. We've had meetings, but this is the first time we've all sat around the microphone all summer. Did you guys have a good summer?

[E]

Oh, yeah, it's great.

[D]

Talk about summer, by the way. We talk about summer like we're still, like, in school. Meanwhile, Xena has eight jobs and worked all summer long. I mean, yeah, WNBA final. Thankfully, it was a sweep. Xena.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

You get like a little bit of a break?

[E]

Not yet. Yeah, not yet.

[B]

All right.

[D]

Yeah, that's right. We're recording this early, but it's looking like a sweep right now. Yeah.

[B]

So you get off a little bit.

[E]

Seven. But yeah.

[D]

Well, it's tough. Ask to do anything fun, man.

[B]

A lot of sightseeing, you know, got to be outdoorsy, go to, you know, Vancouver, Calgary, Banff. A lot of Canadian spots, which I would recommend. Beautiful areas.

[D]

A lot of Canadians staying in Canada, seeing what, what they've got. It's weird.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah. You know, the benefits. Yeah, yeah.

[D]

It's funny.

[E]

Oh, I've missed you guys.

[D]

So we, we've done all of our team previews somehow, you know, and, and this is season two of the show, if you guys have been here. This is actually my seventh season at the Athletic and there's a lot of listeners that have been here the, the entire time. So thanks for sticking around. If you've been around the whole time. If this is year two for you, thanks for coming back. If this is your first time listening, welcome. This is the NBA Daily. We do this show five nights a week and we add the Slam and Jam on Saturdays. We've got the Wednesday morning shoot around and we'll start that once the season kicks off. That'll be live on our YouTube every week. But we'll also throw the AUD audio into the feed. And that's a show where we're just going to kind of kick back, relax a little bit and kick around, you know, a little bit longer on some topics and goof off some. But this is the NBA Awards preview. We take this very seriously. We've all been taking rigorous notes throughout the summer doing these previews. And guys, we're going to start with the big one because MVP is really the award everybody cares about. I mean, there's going to be a bunch of awards that we're going to say, oh, we already know the winner ahead of time, but I find this year's MVP field fascinating. I don't think Nikola Jokic can win the award no matter what the Nuggets do. Wow. I just don't think that because he has had the best season anyone's ever had five years in a row, and he doesn't have five MVPs.

[E]

Right. Right.

[D]

I find it hard to believe that Shay Gildas Alexander is. Can do enough to win Back to back MVPs after the crazy year that he and the Thunder have last year. So, guys, with that in mind, and maybe you guys disagree with me, but with that in mind, let's talk mvp. Xena, I'm going to give you the first Crack at it. Who's going to win?

[E]

I mean, I feel like I'm a little boring. I agree with you. I did not choose Joe, Joker or Shay. I chose Luca. Luka has the stage set up for him. Literally, LeBron has warmed up the crowd, told a few jokes, and then went off onto the side of the stage and said, luka, take it away. You got the spotlight. Everything has been set up for Luka.

[B]

To take over doing Hennessy commercials.

[E]

I mean, look at the way that. Right. Even. Exactly. Even fantasy commercials. Like, literally, I'm looking at how his body is ripped coming into this season. How much more serious it seems that he's taking this year to prove a point, maybe not only to himself, but especially to his former team. That I'm capable of leading a team and particularly leading a team to a championship. And he's just going to keep building on the numbers that he had last year, like looking up his stats, looking for this. It's like 38% from deep, 60% true shooting. We know Luka can do that. But it's also those 10 assists. It's the rebounds as well. He does it all. He was top three in all those major box stats. Like, that's exactly what Luka has to do in order for the Lakers to be relevant. And we know he can do this. We're not going to be shocked when he does this. And he's now got tools around him as well to help him.

[D]

So.

[E]

Yep, I think he's mvp. I think he could have been MVP or in the conversation for MVP last year, and now he's. I don't know how many pounds down. Just adds to whatever pounds he lost. Add that into the weight for the conversation for him to be MVP.

[D]

They need to be the 3 seed for this to happen.

[B]

Right?

[D]

Like, at least.

[E]

Yeah, I agree. I agree.

[D]

And. And my one concern there is that they don't have the shooting the Lakers don't have. You know, this is not quite a Luka Doncic team yet. You know, s like DeAndre Aiden is going to be a lob threat and obviously Jackson Hayes is, but they just don't. They don't spread the floor quite as much as you want around Luca at this point. I mean, it's still early and we know that this team makes deals.

[B]

Yeah, they have to play a different style than Luca is used to. And I think part of that is the shooting. It's also like they have a lot of ball handlers in Austin Reeves. LeBron's still going to want to handle the ball. And so how does Luka play off of the ball a little bit more? I think that is an interesting task for JJ Redick. I agree with the narrative around Luka because skinny Luka, we're heading into a season where there's tons of anticipation for his first year with the Lakers, first full year with the Lakers. I think it makes tons of sense for him to be one of the front runners if it's not Shai or Jokic. By the way, the NBA GM survey seems to disagree with us because they think it's either going to be Jokic or Shay. When it comes to the mvp. Just putting.

[E]

I can see more of. It's interesting. I can see more of an argument for Jokic because I just feel like it's one similar to Luka. He's just going to continue to produce at an elite level and we're just going to keep getting absurd stat lines out of him. I do feel like maybe the league might catch up to Shay. Right. Especially after seeing a seven game series in which, don't get me wrong, he was still elite in his production, but people were able to figure out how do we guard him, how do we kind of slow him down and how do we lessen the amount of fouls that he can kind of get going into the paint. So I feel like people catch up with Shay. I don't know if anybody's catching up with Jokic. Well, no, never.

[D]

I mean, Jokic will eventually slow down and that's how people will catch up to him and that, that, you know what I mean? He's one of those guys, by the way.

[B]

We're looking at like the two best players in the NBA right now.

[D]

That's who we're talking.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[D]

So the margin is. This is a very narrative driven award, which is where I'm coming at it from. Who's your pick? We got Luca, which I think is. I mean, he's probably what, third in the. The betting odds. I would guess somewhere around there. Yeah.

[B]

Okay, so this is, this is my idea. Last year, Shea won MVP for a litany of reasons. Obviously the Thunder winning a ton of games. He was the title winner for scoring. He led the league in scoring and that was a huge part of it. His efficiency was massive. The three point shooting was there. I think there is a narrative for another score in the Western Conference to win mvp. A guy who people love, by the way, and that is Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves. I think this could be a year where he ends up stepping up as a playmaker for the Timberwolves. Everybody sort of counts out the Timberwolves too. So narrative wise, it feels like if they end up as a top three seed in the west, people will point to Ant as the reason for that. And so I think, look, if he leads the league in scoring, he's efficient, his assists go up, he's still shooting the ball very well. The pull up jumper is still there. There's a pretty clear path for Ant to win MVP this season.

[D]

Can the Timberwolves be a top three seed in the west is really. Because in my opinion, that's what you're going to have to do, right?

[B]

Like 100.

[D]

The. The. The narrative stuff goes out the window with Jokic and Shea because those teams win. And so I do think that they are the front runners like in. In real life. And there's a good chance that both of those guys, one of those guys wins. But I think that if you're going to be someone to break into the. Into the top three like that, you get. Your team's got to be there too. This can't be a thing where he scores you 30 game and there's a four seed or five seed. I think he's got to lead the league in scoring and they got to be a top three seed. I don't know.

[E]

Do you think that you respect Nikhil?

[D]

Go ahead. Sorry.

[E]

No, no, no. Mention that point about Nikhil.

[D]

I don't know. Like, how do you feel about the Timberwolves? Because I do think that this is also partially. You got to win.

[E]

That's what I was going to. Actually. We're connected here, Dave, because literally we know that the historical criteria for MVP is best player on top three best teams. Not sure how that all broken down, but that usually is the case. And without a Nikhale Alexander Walker, you're putting a lot of pressure on Ant to be the focal point in the offense and defensively as well. And we know what that can do to players that have to try and play both sides of the ball. And while I do love the idea that Anthony Edwards is going to come in here with a big chip on his shoulder after several years of not making it past the Western Conference finals and losing talent around him, that was, you know, helping him, I do feel like that's going to be engine in his gas, I mean, gas in his engine to be able to push him forward. But I don't know if he has enough around him for the entire car to work. And that's where I'm like, could they do top four, top five?

[B]

Sure.

[E]

I don't know if top three will happen, though. That's tough.

[D]

That's. That's my biggest thing about, about ant is, you know, can that team be good enough?

[B]

Yeah, I'll just. Just to, I guess, push back on that. I do think the Timberwolves will be good enough. I think the loss of Nikhil Alexander Walker will be insulated by some of the younger guys stepping up. I like Jalen Clark, I like Terence Shannon Jr. Those guys will be able to kind of facilitate some of those minutes and look a full season where they get a training camp to figure out how to play with Julius Randle full time. They didn't get that last year and they were still a very good team. I think in the west, their continuity will help them end up becoming a top three seed. That's the vision, at least.

[D]

I think that Antwiny 3 spot is wide open, by the way. I think that, you know, we don't know what the Lakers are going to fully look like, but, you know, they could easily be there. Houston could be there. I mean, it's okc, Denver, the two best teams in the NBA, period. They are the two best teams in the NBA. If they meet each other in the conference finals, that's the real finals period. Unless, you know, Cleveland or New York trades for Giannis, in which case, okay, they have a chance. But OKC and Denver, to me are. They're a head above everyone else. Yeah, no one can break into that category without a trade, in my opinion. I don't think any team can be good enough now. Doesn't mean that they're unbeatable. Minnesota has shown that they can beat, in my opinion, both of these teams, but especially Denver. And so. But that three seed it could be, to me, it could be the Lakers, could be the Timberwolves, could be Houston, depending on, you know, how their season breaks, which obviously the. The Van Vliet injury kind of, I think muddles that up a little bit. I don't know. I mean, depending on what happens with Kawhi Leonard in the entire NBA investigation, it could be the Clippers as the three seed. And that would be wild. You know, Leonard guys has a renaissance season, plays 70 games, scores 30 a night, and the Clippers are the 3 seed.

[B]

Well, as aspiration paid him everything.

[D]

Are we sure that is an aspirational goal? I would say.

[E]

Okay, wait, wait, wait, Dave. So with that breaking down your top three.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

Who's your MVP pick?

[D]

Well, I'm actually, I'M not in the Western Conference, guys. I'm going to go to the east where it's a little bit easier. Wow. No team would have more narrative juice for an MVP candidate than the New York Knicks. I think Jalen Brunson has a chance. The Knicks are going to be one of the top two teams in the East. You know, he's going to have the ball a ton. He was in the mix last year for the mvp. I think the narrative, you know, he's a small guard, he does it hard, you know, I mean, he basically plays basketball like he's boxing for 12 rounds. I mean, the guy is kind of crazy. And he hits more clutch shots than anybody else else. He scores more clutch points than anyone else. So he has all these big moments. I think with the improvements that we should see out of the Mike Brown offense there, some of these buckets are going to be easier for him. He's going to be a little bit more open, maybe get some catch and shoot. Like I could see him being the MVP this year.

[B]

I'm not going to lie. When you said the Eastern Conference, I thought your pick was going to be Giannis with the Bucks, because that is, you know, narrative driven. The last dance, if you will, for him.

[D]

Nervous about Giannis coming off of basket and, and being sick in training camp. I just think that's not a great sign. And, and also the other buzz on social media, right.

[E]

As I was opposite you, so when you said Eastern Conference and then you started kind of giving the, the background, I'm not gonna lie, I thought you were talking about Trey Young.

[D]

Oh, that would be amazing. Listen, Trey Young has blown my mind.

[E]

Right? Let's think about what we've said already. We've said top three, right? Maybe we've basically talked about top three in the conferences versus league, but in the Eastern Conference, we. I would not be surprised if Atlanta ends up being top three in the East.

[D]

Trey could go 30 and 12. What you say Trey Young could average 30 and 12?

[E]

Absolutely. Right. And when you were talking about, you know, big time shots, we know he's good for that ball in his hand. We know he's good for that. The assist. I mean, he'll be the middle spoke. Like the middle. What is the term in a wheel? In the middle.

[D]

The hub.

[B]

The hub.

[E]

Thank you.

[B]

Middle spoke is something else. But I, I agree.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

But yeah, he's going to be the hub in the midst of all those spokes that Atlanta just acquired.

[B]

That's what it is.

[E]

And he's going to be Able to make this wheel turn. And I don't know. I feel like Trey Young might have a say. If you're going to put Jalen Brunson in there, I'm putting in Trey Young.

[D]

Wow, that's interesting. Now, look, Jalen Brunson was in the MVP vote last year, so it's not that much of a leap. But if Trey Young. If Trey Young gets MVP votes, it will be the biggest shock in recent NBA guys.

[B]

These guys got to play defense.

[E]

Prediction. I should have kept that. All right.

[D]

Oh, yeah, keep it. Okay, let's do this one will be a little bit quicker. Defensive player of the year. I think we all probably have picked Victor Wembanyama because it just doesn't feel fair. Who would you pick if Victor Wembanyama wasn't an option?

[E]

Easy.

[F]

I'll just.

[E]

I'll.

[B]

I'll go ahead and I'll jump on this. I think Wemby will win, but I think that is discrediting Chet Holmgren.

[E]

Yep.

[B]

For the type of season that he can have. If he's fully healthy, I think he can go toe to toe with him and try to win the defensive player of the year. If both of those guys are healthy, I mean, the Thunder probably are going to be the best defensive team again in the NBA. Chet, in terms of defensive field goal percentage, rim protection, advanced stats, they all love him. And so I don't know. I think Chet has a good chance even if Wemby has a fully healthy season. So he could have won toe to toe.

[E]

Yeah, he could have won it last year. Yeah, exactly. He anchored the NBA's number one defense. And even when he wasn't having a great scoring night, you didn't have to worry about his defense. 100% elite rim protection. He was switching on the guards.

[D]

Right.

[E]

Like, he was containing guards as well. So I love the fact that he has the versatility. And now maybe because he knows that everyone's like, yeah, Victor's got it run away. Yeah, that's it. Maybe he's like, no, no, let me. Let me put a little bit more highlight blocks.

[B]

You know what?

[E]

I'm.

[B]

I'm actually surprised we didn't mention Wemby for mvp.

[D]

That, you know, funny. I just don't think the spurs are going to be good enough. That's what it is to get him there. But he could have numbers that are ridiculous enough.

[F]

Yeah.

[D]

You know, to. To put him there. But my non. Wemby would. What about Dyson Daniels? You know, I think that with Atlanta is going to get more attention this year, they're going to be a better team. I think that. That he could be a guy that. I mean, you. He just wreaks havoc on. On passing lanes. He's so good at guarding a guy straight up. There's just not a lot of guys in the league that guard that way. I mean, he seems like he should be playing for OKC and he's not.

[E]

A lot of guys in the league. There's not a lot of guards in the league that watch film like he does. Like, I've been able to watch a few YouTube clips of him talking about how you play high side on someone's hip and what you're looking for, the cues to pay attention to. And he's so immensely. Details. I'm gonna let y' all finish, but I realized we just disrespected the hell out of somebody.

[B]

Oh, I feel like I know who it is. Is it Dream.

[D]

Mobley?

[E]

What are we doing?

[D]

I don't know.

[B]

I just thought you were gonna go.

[E]

With the drone in the paint. Like, what are we talking about?

[D]

Well, this more started because we just figured Wemby. This is gonna be the Wemby award, you know. Yeah.

[F]

They.

[D]

By the way, the spurs, they updated the listing on the website. Officially 7 foot 5. Yeah, officially 7 foot 5. So. Yeah. Insane how tall that guy is. Okay. This one a little bit. I think this one larger field. Most improved player. Now, this is tricky because in my opinion most improved, it shouldn't be a guy who's like a top five pick and it's like his third season and he finally has.

[B]

But it always ends up being something like that.

[D]

Yeah, but what if it wasn't? You know, and I think that we probably are going into it the same way. So s. Who's your choice for most improved this year?

[B]

Who.

[D]

Who's going to win it?

[B]

I'm. I'm glad you set it up that way because if you look at the award over the last few years, like Honestly, the last 10 years, it's always been the guy who gets his first all star nod. Dyson Daniels last year was sort of an extent exception in that regard. I'm going to go ahead and say Andrew Nemhard because I think it's opportunity.

[D]

Oh, really?

[B]

Okay, there we go. Yeah. So opportunity equals, you know, basically more usage, more shots he is giving. He's going to have tons of responsibility over this Pacers offense. And without Tyrese Haliburton, I think he's going to have to be more aggressive as a scorer. I think he has the capability to be more aggressive as a scorer and the playmaking still there. He will be one of the best two way guards in the Eastern Conference just because of how good he is defensively. I think there's a pretty clear case if the Pacers are winning basketball games, especially the start season, he could become an all star caliber player. So Andrew Nemhardt.

[D]

Yeah, I mean he's, is he the second most reliable offensive creator that they've got right now? Probably behind Pascal Siakam. And you know, I've mentioned this before, but I think that you know, the, just the touches that he's going to get. They liked having him initiate the offense during the playoffs. You know, I mean Halliburton was playing off the ball a lot. I just think that with the way that he can operate in the pick and roll, with the way that he can, he can literally score in the mid range. It's wild to me that a guy his size can score in the mid range like that in the NBA. But he's got that great first step. He's stronger than he, than he looks very strong. And then the defense, you know, I think he, he's got a shot. You know, if they're winning games, which they might, their style of play lends itself to winning regular season basketball games anyway.

[B]

Totally.

[D]

If they win games, there's a chance he's like down the list of all star guys because the, the east is going to be down. You know, there's a bunch of guys that are perennial all stars that just aren't there. Yeah, I, I, that's why I went with Nemhardt. Zena, did you, did you go with Nemhard or did you go with somebody else?

[E]

Okay. What's so funny about how synced we all are? I did originally go with Nemhardt. Ok. And when I was thinking, I was like trying to look up how he could improve in terms of his stats and I think you guys have laid it out perfectly about all the things that are going to be great evidence as to why he's going to be better. He's going to have more opportunities with the ball in his hands. He's obviously everything's going to be really rotating around him without Tyrese. But the more and more I thought about it, I was like, Ben Matheran is right there.

[B]

Wow, this is a guy.

[E]

It's true.

[C]

That is true.

[E]

Rick Carlisle has literally said this offseason. He expects him to start, he expects him to have the ball in his hands a lot more of Course we know Ben Matheran is good for the isolation scoring. He is an unbelievable playmaker. He comes off the bench for Indiana as like the spark. He ain't probably gonna be coming off the bench more. He's gonna have a lot more burden on his shoulder to be a focal point in their and be that off ball creator now that Tyrese is out. So I'm like, it's. I love Andrew Nemhardt as a pick. I mean, I literally almost made it, but I think that Ben will be the most improved.

[C]

This is.

[E]

This is so career numbers last year, points, rebounds, assists, high. And he was doing that off the bench. So I mean, he gets to the.

[D]

Line, you know, never puts pressure on the defense.

[B]

Matheran. Oh, Canada. Just want to put that out there. Just want to put that out there. Guys.

[D]

No. This is a Pacers podcast now at this point, pretty much looking like last season.

[B]

We should. We should probably name a couple of the other players that might crack into this award. Franz Wagner for the Orlando Magic. I think that's a good chance.

[D]

His shooting is, is going to be the thing that holds him back. Right?

[E]

100. Yeah, you're about to say mine. Ask. Go ahead.

[F]

Amen.

[B]

Amen Thompson. I think he's a favorite on basically all betting websites. You got to be able to look at Amen. And then the, the other one who is kind of under the radar here, Jaylen Johnson for the Atlanta Hawks. He only played in 30 ish games last year. We remember him from the NBA Cup. He was awesome in those games.

[D]

If he front runner last year and I do like he was on my, my short list. But I also had the thought that okay, well, he was the most improved front runner last year. So he's already on the radar for, for folks that are voting. So maybe it, it takes him off the most improved list. You know, I'm trying to think about how, how people are approaching this, but yeah, I, I do think Jalen. I mean, again, very high on the Hawks, which we'll come back to after the break.

[A]

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[D]

Okay, time for everyone's favorite award. The how did this team get so good so fast award. The Coach of the Year award, which is really an award about bucking expectations or being the best team in the league. And you know what guys, I'm going to throw mine out there first because we've talked a lot about the Atlanta Hawks and I think Quinn Snyder has a really good shot for being Coach of the year. I mean this is a team that, that it seems like he has had a hand in helping to build. We all expect them to be better if they're the three seed. I think that they've got a shot. Mike Brown is probably high up the list too. Just, you know, because he's, he's new coach of the Knicks and they could improve. But yeah, I'm going with Quinn Snyder. I think the Hawk, I really believe in what the Hawks put together.

[E]

I love that pick. That was actually my pick as well. We know that Quinn Snyder is very offensive focused and look at all the tools that he has available to him now. I feel like they're going to, they could be top five in The NBA offensive rating. I. Absolutely, absolutely. I think they could put up some monster numbers. And I, I'm going to add one more since we are already connected on Quinn Snyder, Jamal Mosley, nice of the Magic. If. I think if Orlando finds a way to break through in the east, get to be like top five, top six, Jamal, even. Yeah, I wouldn't even have to put him that high, but, yeah, top five.

[D]

I think they need to be top four.

[B]

Yeah, I, Yeah, I would even say, to be honest with you.

[D]

Yeah. The expectations for them.

[E]

I'll give you that. I'll give you that.

[D]

Yeah. I think it's just a little bit different, you know, But I will say this. I was looking at the wins and losses. Orlando won 41 games last season. If they get to 50 games this year, I think Jamal Mosley's in the mix. And Atlanta, 40 games last year, obviously. If they get to 50 games, I think they're in the mix. It's. It's more about that. Right. It's that jump from one year to the next that seems to, to really push the coach of the year stuff. Jamal Mosley, though, you know, we'll. We'll talk about this later. I, I think this is like a make or break season, actually for him in Orlando.

[E]

Oh, keep that.

[D]

So. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'll keep that for a later episode. S. Who you got?

[B]

I think those are both really good options, and they're pretty likely. I, I also, in that same vein, expectation wise and, and because I've been around this team for a little bit over the last couple of weeks, watching them and how they respond, I think Darko or Yakovic for the Toronto Raptors has a pretty decent chance, especially if we're talking about bucking expectations, because this is a team that is expected to win like 38, 39. Most people slate them as like the nine or 10 seed, maybe 11 seed.

[D]

As Barahenny, who thinks they can win 45 games.

[B]

Except for me.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah, look, I think I'm. I'm definitely more optimistic on the Toronto Raptors than most people, but I think a lot of that has to do with their coaching. And I think Darko is a really good coach. He runs a good offensive system. He gets the most out of his younger players. I think he has a pretty good chance. If the Raptors, again, a team who won 30 games last year, if they end up winning, like I said, 45 games, that's a 15 win improvement. Coach of the year. It's a pretty clear path if that happens. But Something along the lines of that if they improve by like 10 or more games, win wise, I think Darko has a pretty good chance.

[D]

Yeah, I mean it's, it's, again, it's, it's got to be one of these teams that's going to break through from being outside of the playoffs into the playoffs or play. And I, you know, okc, you can take them out probably. I think you, you probably can take out Adelman in Denver just because the Nuggets have been a good team and they just got.

[B]

What if they win like 70 games? What if the Nuggets win 70 games?

[D]

If they win 70. I don't know.

[E]

I don't know.

[D]

I just don't think Yokage. I think Jokic kind of steals votes from the coach of the year.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

At this point I'm also surprised we haven't mentioned Mike Brown. Like if the Knicks win the, like they did.

[D]

Yeah. Threw him out there is like. But also the Knicks are already a really good team and so like taking them to the next level if they're the one seed, you know, he could probably get some votes. I'll tell you who else. And you know, we, we talked about the Lakers a little bit with Luca JJ Redick, Mike. Yeah, that's a good buzz. Right. I mean he's going to run his offense through chat GPT, it seems like. But, but he is. And I do, I do think we'll have like the NAR and they're gonna, I do think the Lakers are gonna be pretty good, you know and hell, maybe the warriors go nuts and Steve.

[B]

Kirk burning trees in the Amazon to get an out of time out play. That's hilarious, man.

[E]

That's such a Canadian response of you and I, I very much respect it. Thank you. On the Darko route, like if we're gonna have a Darko equivalent in my opinion on the western side.

[B]

Chauncey Billups, I thought about that too.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

You know, like Portland could make a jump. Portland could do some things. Portland could surprise some folks young. And I think the same thing of like as soon as you said Darko makes use of his young talent and really emboldens them to come out and play well. I think Chauncey Billups does the same thing and he's going to have to do that this year especially. So just adding that into.

[D]

Okay, six man of the year, guys. This is an award that's a little tricky because of the way the injuries work in the NBA now. Yeah, I, I don't know. It's a It's a tough one. I. I feel like mine's a little bit basic, so I'll start there. I'm going back to Atlanta. I'm going to say Nikhil Alexander Walker. I just think that that is a role that Atlanta has not found someone to fill, that backup point guard who can play next to Trey. Also. I think Nikhil is kind of a perfect fit there, especially with his defense, but also he's got the offensive game for it. I, again, Atlanta is going to be a better team. This is kind of how these awards are. Are picked. What about you guys?

[E]

I feel like we've had some, like, references here to my Bay Area affiliation. This is the one time I'm going to cash in on that. I think Jonathan Kaminga. I think Jonathan Kaminga has the opportunity to be six man of the year. When you think about, let's go function. All right.

[D]

Some.

[E]

Some wisdom being had on the warriors roster. The oldest potential starting lineup in the league. You can imagine that those guys are going to take some seats throughout the season, and they're going to have to count on a Jonathan Kaminga to come in and do damage, and we know he's capable of it. When he has 20 more minutes, his stats are out the roof. So it's like, I think if you give him the stage and you consider the fact that these guys are going to need a little bit more time to rest or whatever it is over the course of the season, Jonathan Kaminga has the opportunity for him to step in and get that six man of the year award.

[D]

So what does that look like? What does that season look like? Give me some numbers on Kaminga, six man, because I actually, look, this is. I was listening to. I watched the preseason game the other night, and this is, like, the oldest starting lineup since one of those Utah Jazz teams toward the end with Carl Malone and John Stockton, probably like the last pretty old. So I tend to agree with you that Kuminga is. Is oddly important to a team that has all these veterans. So what do the numbers look like from him if he's six man of the year? Oh, so he's 18 a game?

[E]

Yeah, he averaged 15 over the last couple.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

Thank you. No, ask. Go ahead.

[B]

No, I was just gonna say he. He averaged 15 last year, 16 the year before that. Did it on, like, 52 year in 20, 23, 2024. So, like, something along the lines of that, but maybe a little bit more scoring. Right?

[E]

Yeah, I think it's got to be aligned with, you know, when Draymond Went out last season or even the year before that, when Draymond went out with the situation with Nurkic and not.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, was it altercation.

[E]

Yeah, yeah, gober and nurkic, etc. The numbers that Jonathan Kaminga was putting up, then he's got to put those numbers up, and that's 18, plus five more rebounds in those 20 or more minutes. Like, I think he's going to have to be in that range, and it's really. I mean, we'll see how people vote. I want to see his defensive rating number go lower. I said go down. But, like, be better. Right?

[F]

Improve.

[E]

I think that's going to be a number, number one thing for Kaminga, because people always complain about, oh, is he paying attention? Is he in the right spot at the right time? So, anyways, I've gone long enough, but I don't.

[D]

I don't hate it. Look, I think that if. If he can do that, that's a great sign for the Warriors. You know, I worry about the individual creation from Kuminga as coming off the bench. They don't have. This is one of the things about this warriors team is they don't have a lot of creators that they could pair with these guys. It's one. It's why, you know, and some of their roster stuff is a little bit funky. Like, there's not going to be a lot of times where you can play Kumingo with the best players on the team because of Draymond and Jimmy Butler and the odd fit with Kaminga there, I think that'll hurt him.

[B]

They also need someone who can get to the rim and there's. He's the best guy on the team at games.

[D]

He's the only guy who could put his head down.

[E]

Well, I would say he's the second best behind Jimmy. I mean, sure, sure.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[E]

But that's the thing is, like, the nights that Jimmy's not available, you need that. On the nights where you're playing the Portlands and you're playing these younger, athletic teams, explosive teams, you're going to need a Jonathan coming. I mean, we, the Port Trailblazers, Golden State warriors, pregame or not? Pregame. Preseason game just happened, and you're seeing Shaden Sharp and Jonathan Kaminga meet at the rim, like those type of matchups, that's what they're going to need him for. And I think there's going to be a lot of opportunity for that this year, this season.

[D]

Yeah, that's who you got.

[B]

Mine is a pretty basic answer. I think Whoever comes off the bench for the Boston Celtics, whether it's Peyton Pritchard or Anthony Simons, I don't know which one of those guys.

[D]

There's no way that it's, it's. It's got to be Anthony Simons.

[B]

Then it's Anthony Simons who wins.

[D]

It's gotta be. Jake said that he expects Peyton Pritchard to start.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

I can't imagine they're not going to start.

[E]

I think Peyton Pritchard has earned that.

[B]

My, basically my, my theory behind this is like the Celtics offense is, you know, juiced era baseball type of thing where they are just going to try and score as much as possible. And so if this is a scoring bias award and we're talking about points per game, one of these two guys is going to average. Like, are you in off of the bench?

[D]

Are you saying that the Celtics might attempt a pump and dump with Anthony Simons, Bring him off the bench, say, score 25 a game, should be 100 the trade deadline. It's like Billy Bean used to do this with closers in baseball, right? Like, because old school baseball gms would look at stats like saves like they mattered. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very smart. I see, I asked. I see what you're cooking up there.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

I see what you're doing there. Okay. This one last one here, Rookie of the year. We all kind of probably feel like Cooper Flag is going to win it. He, he does seem to be far and away the most NBA ready rookie and seems to be the healthiest of the NBA ready rookies. Give me somebody that isn't Cooper Flag. I mean, first of all, actually, let's talk about Cooper Flag. Have you guys seen him at all outside of summer league?

[B]

I did. I watched their first game against okc and man, he was phenomenal on both ends. OKC didn't play any of their real guys. For what it's worth, he was going up against Brooke Brooks Barnheiser, which by the way, shout out to Brooke Barnheiser. Good player. Seems like OKC drafted another guy, but Cooper was awesome. They were obviously asking him to carry the ball, bring it up, you know, play point guard, make decisions. And on top of that, he was wildly good defensively. The size that the Mavericks have, this is.

[D]

The other parts of this is huge, are massive.

[B]

They might actually be a very, very good team this year.

[D]

Yeah, the preseason has changed my opinion of the Dallas Mavericks because of how big they are.

[E]

I mean, they are Massars.

[D]

They're a little worried about the dribbling, but d' Angelo Russell. I. I do think that was a really good pickup for them. Cooper flag looks smooth. He's got a lot of Jason Tatum to his game.

[E]

He does.

[D]

Yeah. And I did not expect to see that especially. No, it's. It's. I think it's just kind of the way that he uses his body. Actually.

[B]

Like, the best case for Cooper is that he's still putting up numbers, but the Mavs are also going to win, so nobody else is going to have an argument over him.

[C]

Right?

[D]

Yeah, but. All right, who else. Who else has a shot like Dylan Harper gonna be in the mix?

[E]

Because of who.

[D]

Dylan Harper gonna be in the mix.

[E]

That's a good one.

[B]

I think it'll be tough for Dylan because of how stacked the guards are for the Spurs.

[E]

I was just gonna say, is there opportunity for him?

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

The backcourt is so saturated in San Antonio, and you do need to be able to stand out. Like, Stefan Castle, like, was able to have space to operate because the. They didn't have. I mean, for most of the season, they didn't have a fox available to them. Right now, they've got a fox. They've got Stefan. They've got so many people available to handle the ball, and that's what Dylan's supposed to do, and I don't know where he fits other than as a backup point guard.

[B]

So this is the same reason I'm. I'm kind of wary on VJ Edgecomb, which I. By the way, I'm very high on VJ As a player. As a player, the Sixers have a lot of guards also. And so, you know, between Quentin Grimes, tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, who's hurt right now, but will come back, like, where's the opportunity going to be there? I think VJ will play, but if you're thinking of, like, numbers, box score, et cetera, I don't know if that will be loud enough for him to win Rookie of the Year.

[E]

Do you think that his defensive capability can help him find more minutes?

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[E]

Than the guards that you just listed?

[B]

Absolutely. Yeah, totally. And he can play a little bit bigger than those guys, too, so that.

[E]

Right, exactly. Exactly. So, on that note, someone that has space. Seems like a lot of space to figure it out. Ace Bailey.

[D]

Ace Bailey.

[B]

I like that you brought it up.

[D]

Yes.

[E]

In Utah. I really think that he's gonna have opportunities to make mistakes and come back. And Will Hardy's a really good youth coach as well, so I feel like he'll be able. Like, they'll be able to develop him. And from what we've heard about him, he's incredibly, he's incredibly observant and he's trying to learn. And I know there was a lot of, you know, melee around how the whole draft situation happened. And I don't know if that's in his mind or not, but from what Utah people, media are talking about, all of that is behind him. He is just so locked in on trying to be a good contributor to this team. And I think he has enough.

[D]

You got to play basketball now. I mean, like, you can. Trying to affect where you're drafted is one thing, but now you're there, you got to show up and play. He, you know, put up 25 in a preseason game the other night. Yeah. Against the Rockets. Taking a lot of shots, which to me that's the biggest thing with a rookie in, in summer league and in preseason. I don't even care if you make.

[B]

Them take them, just take them.

[D]

Are you students?

[E]

Right, right, right.

[D]

Because eventually, you know, these guys have knocked down so many shots in the gym that eventually, once they find a rhythm in these NBA games, the speed of the game is so much faster. Not to go into these cliches, but it is true. What, like once the game slows down for them, they just, if the guys who are been confident and shooting, they, they just shoot better. So yeah, I, I like the Ace Bailey pick. And you're right, like he's gonna have a chance because that team stinks. Any, any, any wild card awards that maybe we didn't hit or didn't think of any first time all star coming out off top of your head.

[B]

Oh, clutch. Player of the year will be interesting. I mean, Jalen Brunson will be in that category. I think he'll. He'll do well. I'm just, I'm curious how many of these awards Wemby can get involved in, you know, like.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

What is the max capacity of how many award? Most Improved. What could he do to win Most Improved?

[D]

I don't, you know, I made an argument the year Giannis won his first mvp. I made the argument that he should have won most Improved that season two. Because he made such a huge leap that MVP season. Yeah, but Giannis is, you know that. I mean, that's a massive leap that he made. What if, I don't know if Wimby's in the MVP mix, maybe we could start making the argument that it Most Improved should also go. Go on his mantle.

[E]

I just don't know how. Right. When you. I just don't know what. Statistically peeking it's all vibes.

[D]

Most improved is very much a vibes.

[B]

It is vibes.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[E]

I agree.

[D]

Anyway, all right, it's going to be a great season. Those were our NBA awards predictions. Leave yours in the comments on YouTube or you know, hit us up through email or over on social media like and subscribe to this video and this channel on YouTube. Give us a five star review on itunes. Wherever you listen to podcasts, we're back every single day. NBA season coming up fast. Be back tomorrow with some. We're going to talk about who's under the most pressure and we're going to give our bold predictions. So stay tuned for that.

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