Predictions for major awards in the new season: DPOY is scheduled for Wenpai? Is Brunson expected to compete for MVP?

It is never too early to talk about NBA awards, especially when you add some new ideas to make predictions.

Rather than making routine predictions in each category step by step, we will focus on three categories of candidates worth paying attention to for each honor, namely:

Popular: Players expected to be at the top of most pre-season forecasts.

Dark Horse Choice: Players on the brink of discussion will not appear in the top five (most) pre-season voting.

Variable candidates: those players who will not make the top ten in pre-season voting = statistics.

Let's maintain the reality of this prediction.

Best Rookie

Hot Popular: Cooper Flag Dallas Mavericks

If you choose someone else over Flag as Rookie of the Year, that's really awesome. You are more bold than me and any other NBA forecaster.

Flag's offensive performance may be a bit rough - Mavericks head coach Kidd plans to let him serve as a point guard when Irving is absent, but his performance and defensive ability will surely make people shine. This is almost a foregone conclusion.

Dark Horse candidate: Trey Johnson Washington Wizards

Anyone except Flag can be regarded as a dark horse. The favorite behind Flag may be Ace Bailey. However, Trae Johnson's shooting ability and comprehensive scoring skills will be a huge help to the Wizards' offense, who are still looking for a major scorer.

Variable candidate: Yegor Jamin Brooklyn Nets

Jamin proved in the summer league that he could run without the ball offense, calming some draft nights of doubts about him. Even if the Nets have selected many potential offensive creators in the first round, he will still play a major role in the team and are expected to excel in scoring and assisting.

Key Player of the Year

Popular: Anthony Edwards Minnesota Timberwolves

"Key Mr." of the Year is one of the most difficult major awards to predict. It is a difficult task to predict which teams will frequently use their primary offensive choices at critical moments.

The Timberwolves had always played extremely difficult at critical moments last season, and only two teams played more time at critical moments. If the Timberwolves can improve their winning rate in these situations (20-26) and Edwards can become more efficient, he will be the biggest hit in this award.

dark horse candidate: Trae Young Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young ranked in the top five in usage at critical moments last season. Despite the many progress the Hawks have made, we still know who they will rely on by the end of the game. Better space configuration will help improve his effective shooting percentage of under 45% in the 2024-25 season and earn him more attention.

Variable candidate: Taylor Herro's Miami Heat

Hillo's three-point shooting percentage was only 19% at the critical moment last season, which led to the Heat's poor performance at the critical moment. Powell's addition has made the Heat's second roster more solid, which will create more opportunities for Herro. In addition, the Heat's overall strength is still at the upper and lower level, and it can be predicted that they will continue to lead the league at the game time at critical moments.

Best Sixth Person

Hot Person: DeAndre Hunter&Max Struz Cleveland Cavaliers

The Sixth Person of the Year is no longer just a focus on players who can score quickly. Although high scores still attract people's attention, the judges now attach equal importance to substitutes who are crucial to strong teams. Being able to play at critical moments helps the team secure the victory is also a plus.

No matter which Cavaliers' wing player does not start, there is a chance to compete for this award. Hunter took on the role last year, and Struce's selection was an insurance measure in case head coach Kenny Atkinson changed the roster.

Dark Horse candidate: Scotty Pippen Jr. Memphis Grizzlies Jr. is an excellent offensive playmaker, with a stable three-point shot in the past two seasons and a great defensive end. If it weren't for the arrival of Tay Jerome's role that might have affected his role, he would have ranked higher in the selection. In addition, if Morant misses the game, Pippen may get more starting opportunities.

Variable candidate: Josh Hart New York Knicks

It seems a bit strange to choose a player who started all 77 games in the regular season last season as the "variable candidate". However, former Knicks head coach Thibodeau moved him to the bench during the playoffs, allowing Mitchell Robinson and Towns to form a double tower roster.

Incumbent head coach Mike Brown may adopt the same strategy, especially with Yabussele prioritizing in free markets, who is well suited to serve as a starting lineup for double centers because of his versatility on the bench.

Fastest Progressive Player

Hot Popular: Benedit Mathering& Andrew Nemhard Indiana Pacers

Without Halliburton, the Pacers need at least one of Mathering or Nemhard to explode on the offensive end. Head coach Carlisle revealed in an interview that Mathering will start, which may give him an advantage. But Nemhard should have more control over the entire offense and may make "Nemhard in playoff mode" the norm.

Dark Horse candidate: Trey Murphy New Orleans Pelicans

With the addition of Jeremiah Fells, Derek Quinn and Poole, the Pelicans have placed Murphy in the back of the rotation order. And Zion won't leave either.

Considering the frequent injuries of the team (Queen has been injured), Murphy still has a lot of opportunities. Don't rule out the possibility that he will make a scoring leap in seasons 3 and 4 like Maxi did.

Variable candidate: Reed Shepard Houston Rockets

only seven sophomore players have won the fastest progress award, the last time Monta Ellis won in the 2006-07 season.

Nevertheless, the Rockets' offseason operation seems to be betting that Shepard can take on important roles. Durant should be the team's scoring champion, but he is not good at organizing offense. Shepard should have many opportunities to dominate the game. If he had performed well from the start, that could have earned him more playing time and a breakthrough second season.

Best Defensive Player

Hot Popular: Victor Vinbanyama San Antonio Spurs

Unless you think Vinbanyama will fail to meet the number of games for the third consecutive year, we must admit two things: this award is almost his and may one day be named after him.

Dark Horse candidate: Ivecha Zubac Los Angeles Clippers

Zubac has long been one of the most valuable rim protectors in the league. Last season, he finally got recognition, ranking in the top six in the Defensive Player of the Year.

It will be very difficult to further improve this ranking. The Clippers' signings in the summer are more inclined to offensive players. However, this also provides a clear direction for Zubac: to be the core of the top defense in a team that has slightly downplayed its defense.

Variable candidates: Jaylen Sages Orlando Magic

Since 2000, only three outside players have won the Defensive Player of the Year Award: Artest, Leonard (twice) and Smart. Sargers’ defensive strength is exactly the same as theirs, and the Magic now has enough national television exposure to get people aware of their top five defensive strength.

Regular season MVP

Hot candidate: Nicola Jokic Denver Nuggets

Alexander, the new MVP, performed well enough, but playing for a strong team is not good for him to compete for MVP. By contrast, it is more convincing as the only pillar of the team's hope for the championship. Jokic remains at the heart of the Nuggets and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world today.

Dark Horse candidate: Jaylen Brunson New York Knicks

Brunson ranked fifth in the 2023-24 MVP vote, but fell to tenth place in the 2024-25 season. This is mainly related to the challenges posed by another All-Star player, Towns, and playing for a frustrating team. The Knicks are expected to remain competitive enough to keep Brunson within the competition range of MVP. If he continues to remain among the top 15 players in the league under new head coach Mike Brown and becomes a more balanced and varied offensive core, his value will be greatly improved.

Variable candidate: Paul Bankairo Orlando Magic

No one can rule out the possibility that Magic will eventually become the first or second seed in the East. The Cavaliers and the Knicks may not go all out in the regular season, while the magic of young, fighting spirit and eager to prove themselves is different. If the magic breaks out, Ben Kairo will be a natural candidate for the MVP. And, don't talk about his efficiency anymore, the projection space around him is no longer so bad. If the Magic can be the top two teams in the East, it must be because Ban Keiro has reached the All-Star level.

Original text: DanFavale

Compiled by JayChan