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NBA Reveals Finalists For This Year's Awards

On Sunday, the NBA revealed the three finalists for the Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Sixth-Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards.

Brett Siegel

NBA Reveals Finalists For This Year's Awards
NBA Reveals Finalists For This Year's Awards /

Over the course of the NBA Playoffs we will not only witness greatness amongst the teams fighting for the rights to get to the NBA Finals, but we will also find out the recipients of this year’s NBA awards.

Throughout the next several weeks, TNT will announce the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2022 NBA Playoffs and on Sunday, the NBA revealed the finalists for the six major end-of-season awards.

The finalists for these awards were determined based on the voting results of journalists and broadcasters covering the NBA nationwide.

Kia NBA Rookie of the Year:

Finalists: Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors), Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)

There were a ton of amazing rookie performers this year, but Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham really stuck out amongst the rest of the 2021 draft class.

Finishing the year ranking first amongst all rookies in scoring, Cunningham finds himself as a finalist for Rookie of the Year, even though he only played in 64 total games.

However, Mobley and Barnes were each key pieces to their team’s success during the regular season, which resulted in them both helping their teams make the Play-In Tournament and Playoffs, respectively.

Kia NBA Most Improved Player:

Finalists: Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), Dejounte Murray (San Antonio Spurs)

All three finalists for Most Improved Player helped their teams reach the Play-In Tournament/Playoffs this season and Ja Morant has seemed to be the front-runner for this award for quite some time.

Morant was a first-time All-Star this season and led his team to their best record in nearly a decade, but Darius Garland and Dejounte Murray were both first-time All-Stars as well this season.

These three young talents all have very bright futures in the league and have cemented themselves as the focal point for their respective teams moving forward.

NBA Coach of the Year:

Finalists: Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns), Taylor Jenkins (Memphis Grizzlies), Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat)

Monty Williams coached the Phoenix Suns to a 64-18 record this season, their best record in team history, as Taylor Jenkins coached the Memphis Grizzlies to a 56-26 record, tying their best record in team history.

In the Eastern Conference, Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat went 53-29 , claiming the 1-seed in the conference that proved to be the best this year.

Kia NBA Sixth-Man of the Year:

Finalists: Tyler Herro (Miami Heat), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Cameron Johnson (Phoenix Suns)

For months now, Tyler Herro has been the front-runner for the Sixth-Man of the Year award, but Kevin Love stepped into a new role off-the-bench this season and really helped elevate his young Cavaliers squad.

As for Cameron Johnson, he was the best bench player on the best team in the NBA, giving them yet another weapon to utilize during their championship run in the playoffs this year.

Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year:

Finalists: Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics), Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), Mikal Bridges (Phoenix Suns)

The Defensive Player of the Year award has been a toss-up for quite some time now and while three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert finds his name once again on the finalists list for this award, Marcus Smart and Mikal Bridges are both newcomers that are more than deserving of such an honor.

All three players are revered as three of the best overall defenders in the entire NBA and as a result, there will be no shocking results with this award.

Kia NBA Most Valuable Player:

Finalists: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)

Reigning league-MVP Nikola Jokic is looking to win his second straight MVP award, Giannis Antetokounmpo is looking to win his third MVP award in the last four seasons and Joel Embiid is looking to become the first Philadelphia 76ers player to win the NBA’s MVP award since Allen Iverson in 2001.

Very little separates all three players from one another in this race for the MVP award this season. 

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Brett Siegel
BRETT SIEGEL

Brett Siegel worked with Fastbreak on FanNation until May 2023 as a credentialed NBA journalist after previously covering the NBA for NBA Analysis Network and working with Louisville Basketball. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.

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