-
Tim BontempsESPN
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – NBA reigning most valuable player Giannis Antetokounmpo, four-time winner LeBron James and 2018 MVP James Harden top the list of finalists for the NBA’s six major individual awards, all of which were announced Saturday afternoon.
Antetokounmpo, James and Harden were the three finalists for MVP, with the finalists for each of the six awards – MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year – are determined based on voting results from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters from around the world.
Antetokounmpo, the heavyweight favorite to win the MVP Award for a second consecutive year, also has a chance to compete with Hakeem Olaujuwon and Michael Jordan as the only players to win both the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in to win the same season. The other two finalists for that award were Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert and Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis.
If Gobert wins, he would join Dwight Howard as the only player to have won the award in three consecutive seasons.
Three first-time All-Stars this season – Bam Adebayo, Luka Doncic and Brandon Ingram – were all named finalists for the league for the most improved player, while the top two picks in last year’s NBA Draft – New Orleans Pelicans advance Sion Williamson and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant – were named as two of the three finalists for Rookie of the Year, along with the developed guard Kendrick Nunn of the Miami Heat.
LA Clippers guard Lou Williams, who has been named Sixth Man of the Year three times – including each of the past two seasons – is once again a finalist for the award, joining teammate Montrezl Harrell and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder. Williams and Jamal Crawford are the only three-time recipients of the award.
Last year’s selection for Coach of the Year, Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks, was also nominated again, as were Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse and Thunder coach Billy Donovan. Budenholzer would bind Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson as the only coaches to have won the distinction three different times with another victory.
In recent years, the NBA has shifted from presenting all of its awards individually during the playoffs, as it always did, in favor of having a single award ceremony on TNT after the season was over. However, due to the unusual circumstances presented this season, the league will shift to the old format and announce prize winners during the relaunch of the league in the bubble of the NBA here at the Walt Disney World Resort.
.
