B/R Staff Roundtable: Final Picks for 2023 NBA Awards
It's the final weekend of the 2022-23 NBA regular season, and with nearly 82 games across 30 teams in the books, awards season is officially upon us.
All year, the MVP race has dominated discussions. From TV broadcasts to Twitter timelines, the debate has been, at times, fierce.
But while MVP has stolen much of the spotlight, there are eight major awards we're here to break down:
1. Most Valuable Player
2. Rookie of the Year
3. Defensive Player of the Year
4. Sixth Man of the Year
5. Most Improved Player
6. Clutch Player of the Year
7. Coach of the Year
8. Executive of the Year
To determine our final picks, Bleacher Report asked NBA writers and editors to vote on one player for each category.
We tallied the results, and what follows is a breakdown of each award and who we collectively view as the most deserving winners.
*Special thanks to B/R's Dan Favale, Zach Buckley, Greg Swartz, Andy Bailey, Eric Pincus and Johnny Flores for their votes.
Hit the comments to share your picks for every major 2023 NBA award.
MVP — Nikola Jokić
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Choosing Jokić to earn a third consecutive MVP award and join the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird won't engender any division or hostility. Not one bit. Nope, nope, nope.
Look, this year's MVP can legitimately go to Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo. So much comes down to a matter of preference and interpretation. What does "valuable" in Most Valuable Player mean to you?
Plenty of people will say Jokić hasn't done enough in the playoffs to warrant a third straight trophy, or that it's simply Embiid's turn. You don't have to roll with Jokić. That is your choice. But the aforementioned reasonings are asinine.
Jokić's playoff numbers are really good—certainly no worse than those from Embiid—and this is the first postseason he's entered with a supporting cast healthy enough to warrant unforgiving expectations. Also: The MVP is a regular-season award. Meanwhile, boiling this down to "It's Embiid's turn" is, frankly, an insult to him. He has an authentic case, one that doesn't need a sympathy bump.
Others will cite noticeably higher usage rates from Giannis (38.7) and Embiid (37.3). Jokić's mark of 27.3 checks in 10 points beneath both of them. But this metric doesn't adequately encapsulate the value he provides as a playmaker. Jokić contributes 49.2 points per game when combining his scoring totals with buckets generated off assists. Giannis comes in at 46.1 points and Embiid is at 44.1 points.
This says nothing of Jokić's unreal efficiency. His 70.2 true shooting percentage is the third-highest in NBA history among anyone who has attempted at least 500 field goals through a single season.
Harp on Jokić's defense if you must. Seriously. It's fair. Giannis and Embiid are substantially better at the less glamorous end. But let's not pretend this somehow invalidates Jokić's claim. The Denver Nuggets with him on the floor are better than the Philadelphia 76ers with Embiid and the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis.
This isn't meant to denigrate the latter two. It's more like a friendly reminder: Jokić may not be everyone's pick. That doesn't make him a wrong or undeserving one.
Rookie of the Year — Paolo Banchero
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There are several intriguing award races here, but this isn't one of them.
Paolo Banchero was the consensus choice of the B/R crew, and he should be a no-brainer for NBA voters, too.
All due respect to Jalen Williams, Walker Kessler and Bennedict Mathurin, but Banchero has been running unopposed for a while now. No freshman in this class has numbers that stand next to his: 20.0 points per game (first among rookies), 6.9 rebounds (fourth) and 3.7 assists (third).
Frankly, few first-year players have ever hit those marks. If Banchero maintains these averages, he'll be only the 12th rookie ever to average 20 points, six boards and three dimes.
Banchero even made the Magic more formidable than their 34-45 record entering Thursday would indicate. Remember, this squad stumbled out to a 5-20 start, meaning this group played winning basketball over the past four months (29-25).
Defensive Player of the Year — Jaren Jackson Jr.
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Big men have dominated Defensive Player of the Year for most of the award's history. And after Marcus Smart forced a brief departure from that trend in 2021-22, it appears to be headed back to the bigs. And for good reason.
Jaren Jackson Jr. ranks in the 99th percentile of defensive estimated plus-minus (one of the most trusted catch-all metrics in basketball). His Memphis Grizzlies are third in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions, despite starting Ja Morant and missing Steven Adams for much of the season.
The Milwaukee Bucks, meanwhile, are just 0.2 points per 100 possessions better there, and they feature three All-Defensive contenders in their starting five. Oh, and if you're into more traditional numbers, JJJ's 3.0 blocks per game leads the league, and is 0.5 clear of second place.
Jackson is an eraser. That mostly happens at the rim, of course, but he's also capable of blocking jumpers and making perimeter ball-handlers at least uncomfortable. And he's the driving force behind Memphis' title-caliber defense.
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Sixth Man of the Year — Malcolm Brogdon
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Malcolm Brodgon was the overwhelming favorite among B/R voters, as only Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks (one vote) received any other consideration here.
Brogdon's role was defined and kept consistent as soon as he arrived in Boston via trade, as the 30-year-old came off the bench in all 67 of his games.
After starting every contest the past four years, Brogdon thrived in his new role with 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in just 26.0 minutes, all while ranking fourth in the NBA with a 44.4 percent mark from three. As good as Quickley was this season, his numbers as a reserve (12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists in 25.6 minutes, 35.2 percent from three) were noticeably lower while playing for a worse team.
The third-leading scorer on a Celtics team that's going to finish with the second-best record in the NBA, Brogdon was his usual consistent self in a new role while bumping up his overall shooting efficiency in the process.
Most Improved Player — Lauri Markkanen
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As good as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson were for their respective teams this year, no player outperformed their preseason expectation more than Lauri Markkanen.
Arriving in Utah as part of the Donovan Mitchell trade, the playbook was blown wide open for Markkanen, who displayed an all-around game he wasn't able to showcase while with the Chicago Bulls or Cleveland Cavaliers.
While primarily used as a floor-spacer the year before, Markkanen cut his ratio of three-point attempts to field-goal attempts by nearly 10 percent, putting the ball on the floor more while attacking off the dribble and in the pick-and-roll. The sixth-year pro made his first All-Star Game and is averaging 25.6 points (12th-highest in the NBA), 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists with shooting splits of 49.9/39.1/87.5.
The Jazz were surprisingly good this season even after trading all five of their starters from the year before, with Markkanen serving as the primary reason. Utah is 32-34 with Markkanen in the lineup and just 4-10 without him. His swing rating of plus-10.8 entering Thursday ranked in the 95th percentile this season, per Cleaning the Glass.
Getting three first-round picks for Mitchell was nice, but landing Markkanen turned out to be the best part of the trade for Utah after all.
Most Clutch Player — De'Aaron Fox
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This one's felt like a foregone conclusion for months. Maybe even as far back as the day the Jerry West Award was introduced. All season, De'Aaron Fox has been a flamethrower in the clutch. And lest you think that means he's been firing up shots indiscriminately, that's not the case. His decision-making in the game's highest-leverage moments has been great too.
Fox has a league-leading 194 points in the clutch. That's 35 clear of second place. He's also shooting 52.9 percent from the field and averaging 5.7 assists per 100 clutch possessions. His Sacramento Kings are plus-6.9 points per 100 clutch possessions when he's on the floor, a net rating that outpaces the team's overall mark.
And without all those late buckets and dimes, it's hard to imagine the Kings ending their 16-season playoff drought quite as convincingly.
Coach of the Year — Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings)
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The results were unanimous. Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings was the Coach of the Year. The Kings, who haven't made the playoffs since 2006, finally clinched a berth in Brown's debut season with the franchise.
Often in the NBA, a coach will get two or maybe three shots at the position. Brown had two stints in Cleveland with the Cavaliers and one in Los Angeles with the Lakers. His reputation was that of a strong defensive coach who wasn't particularly strong offensively. With his career seemingly stalled, he spent six years with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant under Steve Kerr.
Given the chance to run a team again in Sacramento, Brown has shown his own growth, with the Kings leading the league in offensive rating at 119.1 points per 100 possessions. The team isn't a defensive stalwart, but Brown got enough out of his squad to win the Pacific Division.
Executive of the Year — Koby Altman (Cleveland Cavaliers)
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The top two executives sat across from each other at the negotiating table this summer, orchestrating the blockbuster that saw the Utah Jazz send All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for (now) All-Star Lauri Markkanen (along with additional players and significant draft compensation). A rare win-win for both franchises. In our vote, Cleveland's Koby Altman barely beat out Utah's Justin Zanik (and Danny Ainge) for the Executive of the Year award.
The Cavaliers have 51 wins, likely tipping the scales to Altman. The Jazz did more for their long-term future but will miss the postseason. Acquiring the still-young Mitchell (currently 26) was well worth the price for the Cavs.
In addition to Mitchell, the Jazz got Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, three future firsts and two pick swaps. The New York Knicks, who missed out on Mitchell, are finishing a strong season, yielding a vote for executive Leon Rose.
Final Awards Tally
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MVP
Nikola Jokić: 3
Joel Embiid: 2
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 1
Rookie of the Year
Paolo Banchero: 6
Defensive Player of the Year
Jaren Jackson Jr.: 4
Evan Mobley: 1
Brook Lopez: 1
Sixth Man of the Year
Malcolm Brogdon: 5
Immanuel Quickley: 1
Most Improved Player
Lauri Markkanen: 4
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 2
Most Clutch Player
De'Aaron Fox: 6
Coach of the Year
Mike Brown: 6
Executive of the Year
Koby Altman: 3
Danny Ainge/Justin Zanik: 2
Leon Rose: 1
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