Week 17 offseason recap and Awards Predictions

We are so, so close to the start of the NBA season, and this gives me great pleasure to announce who I think will win awards this upcoming season and the 2025-2026 NBA championship. Let’s dive into the article. 

News Update 

Wednesday, October 15th 

The Kings and forward Keegan Murray agreed on a 5-year $140 million rookie scale extension. Murray will miss the opening of the season with a torn UCL in his thumb. 

Thursday, October 16th 

AJ Green and the Bucks agreed to a 4-year $45 million deal with the Bucks. 

Jaden Ivey will be reevaluated in 4 weeks after a procedure to relieve pain in his right knee. Ivey missed a majority of last season with a broken fibula. 

Saturday, October 18th

Kevin Durant and the Rockets agreed on a 2-year $90 million extension. The 17-year veteran has a player option on the second year of the contract and took less than the max on the contract. The deal likely helps the Rockets sign Tari Eason to a rookie-scale extension before the Monday deadline. 

Awards Predictions 

Now, for everyone’s favorite part of the article, awards time. I will touch on all of the major awards, along with selecting an NBA champion, going into next season. I will give the top three candidates for each of the awards and will pick the finals matchup. I think that will happen. I will not include All-Star, All-NBA, or All-Defensive selections. I pick the finals, MVP, ROTY, DPOTY, MIP, 6MOTY, and COTY.

Finals Prediction

For my finals prediction, I think five teams have a legitimate shot at getting to the NBA finals, 3 in the Eastern Conference and 2 in the West. In the Western Conference, I think the Nuggets and the Thunder are in a tier above the rest of the conference. The Thunder will return everyone from their previous championship roster, and with the team being so young, there’s a good chance all of them improve from last season. Of course, it’s been since the Warriors in 2017-2018 since there’s been a repeat champion in the NBA. Injuries, player movement, and contract disputes have all played a factor in their not being a repeat champion in nearly a decade, and the longest such drought in NBA history. Part of this logic is what plays into my selection for the Western Conference. I think the Nuggets will be the Western Conference champion and play against the Orlando Magic in the 2025-2026 NBA finals. The Nuggets pick to me comes down to a couple of things. First, I loved the Nuggets' offseason this past year. They added Bruce Brown, traded away Michael Porter Jr, for the upgraded version of himself in Cam Johnson. They also added in Tim Hardaway Jr and Jonas Valanciunas to add depth to the bench. This added depth will help keep Jokic, Murray, and Gordon healthy, who all dealt with various injuries throughout this past season. Still with Jokic playing a season-high in minutes played per game, the Nuggets took the Thunder to game 7, where they eventually lost, but I feel with a new voice at the helm in David Adelman, they’ll be able to potentially knock off the Thunder in the West and make it to the finals.

In the Eastern Conference, I have the Orlando Magic advancing through the likes of the Knicks and Cavaliers. Part of this is due to how good I think the Magic will be in the regular season. I think the offense with Desmond Bane improves the dreadful ratings they’ve had over the past 10 seasons, and both Banchero and Wagner learn to play better with each other on the floor. I really like the development of Anthony Black to take a step forward this year, and I think Franz Wagner will finally figure out the hitch in the jump shot this upcoming season as well. The thinking behind this pick is that I believe the Magic will get the number seed in the East, a place where they play very well at and will help them navigate the challenges in the postseason. This team has been up against the Cavaliers and Celtics the past two seasons and has given both their fair share of troubles. With Banchero, Wagner, and Suggs now healthy, add in Bane’s shooting and playmaking, along with Tyus Jones helping facilitate the offense, I think the Magic make the finals this season. 

In the finals, I think the Nuggets will defeat the Magic in 6 games. Making the Nuggets my pick to win the 2025-2026 pick to win NBA championship.   

Most Valuable Player

The MVP has been one of the most discussed topics of the last 5 years in the NBA, with Nikola Jokic winning the award three times and Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning it the other two seasons. This season should be no different, as both SGA and Jokic had amazing seasons last year, with SGA winning his first MVP. Below, I will give my top three candidates in the order I think the voting will go. 

• Nikola Jokic 

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

• Victor Wembanyama

My pick to win the 2025-2026 MVP is Nikola Jokic. I believe the Nuggets' regular-season record will be good enough for them to get the 2nd seed and keep pace with the Thunder. While I said last year there’s a chance the Thunder win 70 games, the same could be applied for the upcoming season as well. However, I think Jokic can continue the season he had last year with an improved record for the Nuggets. I believe they can sniff winning 55 games this season, and with Jokic’s dominance, he’ll get his 4th MVP in 6 years. After Jokic, I believe SGA continues his stellar peak with another 30+ ppg average. Maybe this season, he takes his foot off the gas a little bit as the depth of the Thunder can take over and allow him to rest in some more games this upcoming season. The third position, I believe, will be Victor Wembanyama. Wemby has shown a hunger to win everything possible in just his third season, and I believe he takes a jump into the discussion to be a top 5 NBA player very soon into the regular season. 

Rookie of the Year

Rookie of the year will be a closely watched award this season, as this class will certainly expect to have a couple of All-NBA featured in it. Below is my prediction for this award. 

• Cooper Flagg

• VJ Edgecombe 

• Tre Johnson 

It has been hard for me to limit this list to just three players, as guys like Kon Knueppel and Ace Bailey will likely be featured throughout the regular season as well. However, as good as Cooper Flagg is, I think he will have a shot at making an All-Star team as a rookie this season. He is followed by VJ Edgecombe, who could become the second most important player in Philadelphia. His combination of athleticism and intensity will make him a terrific 3 and D player from the start, with some off-the-bounce juice as well. The third player is Tre Johnson, who is the best shooter in the draft class and will likely be in the starting lineup at some point for the Wizards. 

Defensive player of the year

With Victor Wembanyama’s injury last season, he was ineligible for the award last season; however, he’s back and healthy and at the top of my list to win it this season.  

• Victor Wembanyama

• Evan Mobley 

• Amen Thompson 

The real discussion starts with numbers two and three in this list. I think Wembanyama can be skipped over, given his obvious abilities at this end of the floor. But last season’s winner Evan Mobley checks in at number 2 on this list for me. He’s been an absolute rock at this end of the floor since he entered the NBA and should be able to set up if Wembanyama is ineligible for the award again this season. At number 3, another guy who's been awesome on the defensive end of the floor since he entered the NBA, Amen Thompson. Thompson made an All-Defensive team last year in just his second year and showed why. He can guard comfortably 1-4 and will help the Rockets keep a top 5 defense heading into this year and beyond. 

Most Improved Player 

The most improved player over the last couple of seasons has always come down to a young star player leaping to a super-star or a veteran player becoming more efficient and putting everything together for the first time in his career. Below are my top 3 candidates for most improved player this year. 

• Payton Pritchard 

• Benedict Mathurin 

• Matas Buzelis 

This year’s most improved player selection is wider than expected. The injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton will allow for others on their team to get a piece of the spotlight, and that’s what I think will happen. My pick is Payton Pritchard because I think Pritchard is really freaking good and will have a longer lease and extended ability to shoot more and play make for the Celtics. He’s been slowly increasing his usage rate the last couple of seasons, and I think Joe Mazzulla unleashes him fully this upcoming season, with the focus on Jaylen Brown and Derrick White for their team. In the second spot, I have Benedict Mathurin. Mathurin will not agree to a rookie extension deal with the Pacers before the start of the season, but I think this is where we get the best version of him in a contract season. The preseason has allowed him to expand into a more of an on-the-ball role for the team, and I think the scoring efficiency clicks this season to where he can average over 20 points per game. The third candidate is Matas Buzelis. Buzelis is one of my favorite players to watch for the upcoming season will how much authority he’ll command in the Bulls' offense. He’s shown an ability to have some creative off-the-bounce moves, and the shooting has started to click as well. The final version of him could be an efficient two-way scoring wing, and I think he takes that step for the upcoming season this year as well. 

6th man of the year

This season's 6th Man Award will look a little different with some of the typical candidates now starting for some teams; however, this award always highlights the best players off the bench in the NBA. Below are my top three candidates for the award. 

• Anfernee Simons 

• Naz Reid 

• Jordan Clarkson 

Assuming Anfernee Simons comes off the bench and stays with the Celtics for the whole season, he is my pick to win this year’s 6th man Award. He is absolutely dynamic and should play right into the Celtic’s offensive strengths for this year. Simons could average a smooth 18 points per game with the blend of offensive talent and opportunity in Boston. The second guy on the list is Naz Reid; there shouldn’t be much argument as to why Reid is on the list, as he’s one of the featured players in this section of the awards. He recently signed a 5-year $125 million extension with the Wolves this offseason. The final player is Jordan Clarkson, who I think will have a nice bounce-back season after getting out of Utah and having Mike Brown as a head coach. Brown’s fast-paced offense should suit Clarkson well in New York.

Coach of the Year

The final award is Coach of the Year. With expectations placed on some teams around the league, this award may fall where it hasn’t always in the past. Below are my top three candidates for the award.  

• Jamal Mosley 

• Chauncey Billups 

• Quinn Snyder 

Mosley gets my pick for this year’s coach of the year. I predicted the Magic would be the one seed in the Eastern Conference, and that should garner some attention for this award. The next candidate is Chauncey Billups. I think the Blazers are going to be a lot better than people give them credit for, and that could potentially lead Billups to be in the hunt for this award if I’m correct. The final guy is Quinn Snyder, and with the impressive offseason the Hawks put together, Snyder should be able to have some fun with the Hawks this year. 

That ends the article for this year’s awards predictions. Hope you enjoyed!