Our Picks for the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season Awards
April 11th, 2023
Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid are two of the main candidates along with Denver Nuggets’ superstar center, Nikola Jokic that will compete to try to win the 2022-23 NBA MVP award this year.
(Photo: Associated Press/Marca)
With the NBA regular season having been wrapped up, it is now time to make our picks for who would win the 2022-23 NBA regular season awards. There have been plenty of surprises and disappointments along the way, and it’s been a thrilling ride as we get to the postseason play. While the NBA hasn’t yet released who are the finalists for the awards or who has won them, we have decided to make our picks for these awards. Without further ado, here are our picks.
Our Pick for the 2022-23 NBA MVP Award:
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After much deliberation, Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a terrific season, as he led the Bucks to win 58 games in the regular season and to the first seed in the East, and he is our pick to win the 2022-23 NBA MVP for this season.
(Photo: Morry Gash/Associated Press, via NBC15)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
It was a very close call for us to pick between Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic. Jokic has been putting up tremendous stats all year long, and he’s averaging nearly a triple-double per game. Joel Embiid has played very well against Jokic head-to-head, and has added a reliable outside shot to go along with sterling post play. However, we decided to pick Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks’ legendary, do-it-all superstar.
Giannis has helped Milwaukee win even more games than anticipated, as the Bucks won 58 games in the regular season, and he is a tremendously athletic point forward that did a terrific job of making plays all year long. He put up MVP-numbers and largely has done this without Khris Middleton, so they’ve been the best team in the East without being at full strength. Giannis had to shoulder a much larger load, and the Bucks haven’t really missed a beat, and he’s helped the Bucks get the 1st seed in the East. Therefore, Giannis is our pick to be the 2022-23 NBA MVP for this season.
2nd: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
3rd: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Others Receiving Votes:
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Our Pick for the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award:
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Cleveland Cavaliers’ second-year big man, Evan Mobley from USC (pictured on the left) could be poised to win the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award this year.
(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images, via SB Nation’s Fear the Sword)
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s a very close and competitive race for the Defensive Player of the Year award, and there are plenty of solid candidates. Jrue Holiday has been consistently one of the best defensive perimeter defending guards, so he is the Bucks’ primary defender at the point of attack, and he often takes a lot of difficult assignments. He doesn’t have the luxury to roam, but he’s consistently defended very well, especially on the ball.
Nic Claxton has been the defensive anchor of the Brooklyn Nets, he’s posted very good advanced metrics, and he’s helped the Nets stay afloat defensively and win more games than expected after they traded Kevin Durant away to Phoenix. Jaren Jackson Jr. was another strong candidate, as he’s been a very good defender for Memphis all year long, although the Grizzlies didn’t quite win as many games compared to last season. Jayson Tatum is a tall, athletic wing that has posted very good defensive stats on a very good Boston Celtics’ team. All this said, we decided to pick Evan Mobley by a narrow margin to win our 2022-23 DPOY award.
Cleveland is the best defensive team in the league right now, and Mobley’s arguably their most important defender. He’s a versatile player that can protect the rim and play perimeter defense, so he gives them the versatility to make all their lineups work. In addition, he also has posted great defensive metrics. Therefore, he is our pick to win this award, albeit by a slim margin.
2nd: Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
3rd: Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
Others Receiving Votes:
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies and Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Our Pick for the 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year Award:
Orlando Magic’s rookie forward, Paolo Banchero has very strong odds to win the Rookie of the Year award this season.
(Photo: John Locher/Associated Press, via Click Orlando)
Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
Banchero has been the front-runner to win this award all season long, basically ever since Chet Holmgren went down to a season-ending foot injury that he unfortunately suffered at the CrawsOver while making a play defensively to stop LeBron James on the break. That said, it doesn’t put a damper on our pick for this award one iota.
Paolo Banchero put up very good numbers all year long, and he averaged 20 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game this year. He’s been the lead, go-to scorer of an NBA team, and he’s shown far better playmaking skills than anticipated. Meanwhile, the race for number two was a much closer one, as Keegan Murray, Jalen Williams, and Walker Kessler all have been solid players on competitive teams that either reached the playoffs, or came very close.
2nd: Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
3rd: Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Others Receiving Votes:
Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
Our Pick for the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year Award:
Sacramento Kings’ head coach, Mike Brown led his team to win 48 games in the regular season and to a 3rd seed in the West, which was far more than anticipated, and he is the front-runner for the Coach of the Year award this year.
(Photo: Xavier Mascarenas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS, via The Union Democrat)
Mike Brown, Sacramento Kings
Mike Brown has done a really good job in leading Sacramento, and he’s helped them earn the 3rd seed in the West this year. Before he arrived there, Sacramento had gone almost two decades without making the playoffs. Also, before he got there, people wondered if Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox would be able to co-exist together. Now, that seems like a silly question altogether, as both of them have become bonafide All-Stars on a solid playoff team. Brown has built a good offense and system in place, and he’s also incorporated motion that helped Kevin Huerter to really blossom and thrive for them. Brown is our pick to be the Coach of the Year this year.
2nd: Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City Thunder
3rd: Jacque Vaughn, Brooklyn Nets
Others Receiving Votes:
J.B. Bickerstaff, Cleveland Cavaliers
Our Pick for the 2022-23 Most Improved Player Award:
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
The race for the 2022-23 Most Improved Player award looks to be a two-man race between Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went from being a very good player to an elite producer, and the Thunder has surpassed all expectations to get into the play-in tournament. In any other year, Alexander would be the shoo-in to win this award.
However, our pick went to Markkanen, who may have an even better case. He went from being an above average role player to being a bonafide All-Star on a team that was competitive enough to stay in the playoff hunt for most of the season. He went from being a player who teams yielded very little return on trades to being the most important player on an NBA team that nearly made the playoffs. Markkanen had a terrific season this year, and he could end up being a max level player for Utah in the future.
2nd: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
3rd: De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Others Receiving Votes:
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks and Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Our Pick for the 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award:
Malcolm Brogdon, Boston Celtics
Brogdon gave Boston an extra playmaking dimension, and he gave them an additional ball handler and scorer to make their offense run more smoothly. It helped the Celtics immensely, and Brogdon had a very good season as a result. He was our preseason pick to win this award, and he is our pick to win this award for the 2022-23 regular season.
2nd: Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks
3rd: Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks
Others Receiving Votes:
Derrick White, Boston Celtics
Our Picks for the 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie 1st Team:
F Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
F Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
G Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
C Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
G Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
Our Picks for the 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team:
G Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
G AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
F Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
C Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
F Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs
Others Receiving Votes:
G Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers
Our Picks for the All-Defensive 1st Team:
C Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
F Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
G Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
F Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
F Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
Our Picks for the All-Defensive 2nd Team:
F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
F Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets
F Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
F Herbert Jones, New Orleans Pelicans
G Derrick White, Boston Celtics
Others Receiving Votes:
Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls, Robert Williams, Boston Celtics, and Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
Our Picks for the 2022-23 NBA All-NBA 1st Team:
C Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
F Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Our Picks for the 2022-23 NBA All-NBA 2nd Team:
C Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
F Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
F Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
G Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
G Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Our Picks for the 2022-23 NBA All-NBA 3rd Team:
C Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
F LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
F Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
G De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
This concludes our write-up for our picks for the 2022-23 NBA regular season awards. It will be exciting to watch the NBA playoffs, and the play-in tournament is already underway. Thanks for reading.
