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All your favorite characters are competing for the same NBA award once again. Nikola Jokić is the MVP favorite. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander follows him up. Two-time winner Giannis Antetokounmpo is on their tails, as are Jayson Tatum and Luka Don
ić. Those five made up First Team All-NBA last season. Now, they make up the quintet atop the 2024-25 MVP race.
Christmas isn’t just Santa’s day. It’s also the marker of when NBA talk reaches the public sphere, which means it’s time to discuss the battles for the league’s most prestigious awards.
For MVP, the fight isn’t so bloody. Jokić is the obvious No. 1 today. He’s three-tenths of an assist away from averaging a triple-double; the advanced metrics (which have always painted him as a higher being) are greater than ever; and the shooting splits are out of a video game. On top of it all, he’s nailing a league-leading 51 percent of his 3-pointers.
If the season ended today, a fourth Jokić MVP would be on the way. Of course, there are still more than four months to go.
It’s difficult to infuse a team’s record into any reasonable candidate’s argument right now. Jokić’s Denver Nuggets provide the perfect example.
Denver is 16-11, fifth in the Western Conference. It is only two back of second place in the loss column. Yet, it’s only two up of ninth place in the loss column.
One bad week, and the Nuggets are in the bottom half of the Play-In Tournament, which would bump Jokić down a slot or two. It’s difficult to dub someone MVP if his team isn’t in the playoffs, even if Jokić somehow breaks mathematics as we know them and starts shooting 107 percent from the field.
Gilgeous-Alexander could become the favorite to win his first MVP in that case. His Oklahoma City Thunder are atop the Western Conference, and he’s the leading reason. Or maybe the Milwaukee Bucks go on a run, which inspires a third trophy for Antetokounmpo. Neither Tatum nor Don
ić is out of the race, either.
As of today, my ballot would include those five. Let’s go with:
1. Nikola Jokić
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Luka Don
ić
But the MVP race is not done — nor are others.
The Coach of the Year race
There isn’t a coach with a more difficult job this season than the Spurs’ Mitch Johnson, who had to take over a young team that hasn’t finished above.500 in six years after Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke. Yet, as the Spurs await Popovich’s return, they are 15-14. Just about every player is performing at his capabilities.
And yet, it doesn’t matter when it comes to awards.
Toss Johnson’s résumé into the same bin that held Luke Walton’s in 2016, when the Golden State Warriors went 39-4 after Walton took over temporarily for head coach Steve Kerr, who could not patrol the sidelines during that time because of a back injury. Johnson is not officially the head coach of the Spurs and thus is not eligible for Coach of the Year.
But even without him, there are too many qualified candidates to choose from. At least six coaches could justify first-place votes.
Kenny Atkinson took over a team that underwhelmed a season ago and has helped it to the best record in the NBA. The Cavs are 26-4.
Jamahl Mosley’s Magic have suffered injury after injury. Paolo Banchero, the team’s sole All-Star, has played five games all season. Now, both Wagners (Franz and Moe) are out. Yet, Orlando’s identity is distinct. Battle the Magic and, win or lose, you will leave the arena with a sore back, neck, shoulder, knee — you name it. Most importantly, they’re winning: 19-12, fourth in the East.
Taylor Jenkins has transformed the 20-10 Grizzlies. If you think NBA teams all play the same style nowadays, check out Memphis. Jenkins and assistant Noah LaRoche have implemented an offense based around quirky cutting, stuff few others around the league are running. The Grizzlies use an extended rotation and don’t run their guys for many minutes. No one averages more than 28. It’s working. Memphis is a contender.
After Paul George left in free agency and without Kawhi Leonard even playing a game yet, the Clippers should not be this good, sitting at 17-13 as they await the return of Leonard. They guard like maniacs. Such is the beauty of employing Ty Lue, who has somehow never won this award.
Ime Udoka has the most typical case. The Rockets are the NBA’s surprise team. Their identity could not have adjusted more from its one before Udoka arrived in town. Houston tosses hound after hound at its opponents. It plays as hard as any team in the league. It’s disciplined. No one wants to face the Rockets, who are young, yet are second in the league in points allowed per possession.
Let’s throw reigning Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault into the mix, too. The Thunder are in the process of running away with the West despite a significant injury to rising star Chet Holmgren.
Voters could justify including the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra whenever they want. The New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau helped a renovated, offense-first roster to a 19-10 record. Michael Malone is navigating injuries aplenty and the loss of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out West.
This is unquestionably the most gut-wrenching ballot to fill out right now.
Ballot, as of today:
1. Kenny Atkinson
2. Ime Udoka
3. Jamahl Mosley
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