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After an exciting offseason with a lot of movement, the NBA season opens this week.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat. LeBron James took his talents to the 76ers. Luka Doncic is now the head of the snake for the Lakers. The Knicks are poised to try to repeat as NBA champions after breaking a 53-year title drought. Victor Wembanyama hopes to put his 7-foot-4 body in the way.
There’s a lot of intrigue. A lot could happen. But in the meantime, here are our very early NBA awards predictions:
MVP: Luka Doncic
Doncic has taken over the Lakers after James left in free agency following an eight-season stint in Los Angeles. Last season, Doncic led the league in scoring (33.5 points) and was third in assists (8.3). This offseason, he put his fingerprints all over the roster, including urging the Lakers to acquire Walker Kessler at center. Doncic then hosted a minicamp in Slovenia for the first time in his career to build chemistry. Doncic is all in. He wants to win his first championship. He wants to carry the 17-time championship Lakers back atop the league. And he feels wronged after finishing fourth in the MVP race last season despite his eye-popping stats. Here’s to guessing we’re going to see the best out of him yet.
Sixth Man of the Year: Ajay Mitchell
Did you see what Mitchell did to the Lakers in the second round of the 2026 playoffs when the Thunder swept LA? Mitchell looked like a star. He averaged 22.5 points. He met the moment. Rob Pelinka, Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations, brought him up unprompted as the type of player the Lakers need to find in the draft. In his third season expect him to make even more leaps.
Defensive POY: Victor Wembanyama
No one will compete with Wembanyama for this award for the foreseeable future unless he somehow fails to meet the 65-game threshold. Wembanyama is a beast on defense. He alters shots. He blocks shots. He can run the floor. His 7-4 height and 8-foot wingspan leave stars looking like G League players against him.
Rookie of Year: Cameron Boozer
The hype is real, folks. Boozer might be the No. 1 option on the Grizzlies soon. He’s going to have high usage. He’s going to be a double-double machine with his shooting and rebounding ability. He impressed in summer league play in Las Vegas and the preseason, and he appears poised to make a major statement.
Coach of the Year: Nick Nurse
If he can turn the 76ers into championship contenders, he should win this award. There are so many cooks in the kitchen, including James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Nurse is going to have to figure out how to manage egos, how to keep everyone engaged and involved and how to make a bunch of alpha superstars willing to star in their roles. It’s a tall task. He’s working with some of the world’s top ingredients. Now it’s up to him to see if he can make a cohesive recipe. If he does, props to him. We’ve seen too many other superteams wildly fail, including the Nets, who never made it past the second round of the playoffs with Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant on the roster.
Most Improved Player: Amen Thompson
Thompson made leaps last season and here’s to betting that trend is going to continue this year. Now that Fred VanVleet is back, Thompson is going to get way more scoring opportunities. He apparently dramatically improved his jumper over the offseason. He has the basketball IQ and natural talent to keep transforming his game, and he’s going to play for a very competitive Rockets team. His growth has been marked and should continue rapidly.
Western Conference winner: Spurs
Wembanyama is next in line for the face of the league behind James. He wants to be the best. You can see it in the way he advocates for himself, the way his emotions spill out and the way he plays on both sides of the court. Well, we saw the origin of his villain story develop in real time last postseason when the Spurs blew double-digit leads in each of their four losses to the Knicks in the Finals. Wembanyama isn’t going to allow that to happen again. Most of the greats had to get knocked down before rising to the top. Expect nothing different from Wembanyama, who has a talented team behind him in Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Keldon Johnson, De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Tobias Harris.
Eastern Conference winner: Knicks
No one had the Knicks winning the championship on their bingo card last season. We won’t make that mistake this time around. Jalen Brunson is a superstar. OG Anunoby is now a legend. And the team is returning 10 of its 12 rotational players. The Knicks are the favorites in the East until proven otherwise.
NBA champion: Spurs
Wemby’s time has arrived. You can feel it. It’s similar to how the air feels different ahead of a major storm. We all knew it would be a matter of time before he owned the league. What we didn’t know was how quickly it would happen.