NBA awards watch: Pistons, Cavs lead race for individual honors

Welcome to our monthly look at the various individual awards in the NBA and who merits a mention for their performances across the season.

Rookie of the Year

3. Kel'el Ware (Heat): Ware's inclusion on this shortlist speaks volumes about his growth from the start of the season. The big man is averaging 10.8 points, 9.9 boards, and 1.3 blocks since entering the Heat's starting lineup on Jan. 21. Ware's also shooting 52.2% from the field and has six doubles-doubles over that span. The Indiana product has been a nice fit in Miami's frontcourt alongside Bam Adebayo, providing vertical spacing as a lob threat and flashes of 3-point shooting.

2. Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies): Memphis may have got the biggest steal of the draft class when it selected Wells with the No. 39 overall pick. The 6-foot-7 wing has provided steady two-way production as a starter on a contending squad, averaging 11.4 points, 3.2 boards, and 1.6 assists across 60 appearances. His 115 threes lead all first-year players by a fair margin. Malcolm Brogdon is the only rookie since the ABA-NBA merger to win the award as a second-round pick.

1. Stephon Castle (Spurs): The UConn product paces all rookies in points per contest (13.2) and total free-throw attempts (205). While Castle's shotmaking has been inconsistent, he aggressively attacks the rim and effectively plays off the ball as a cutter. The 6-foot-6 guard can also defend multiple positions and has been a solid secondary playmaker. Victor Wembanyama's season-ending injury could make Castle a bigger focal point in the Spurs' offense down the stretch.

Defensive Player of the Year

3. Dyson Daniels (Hawks): Daniels has failed to pick up a steal in just three of his 55 games this season. The last time he didn't record a swipe was in a Dec. 11 win over the New York Knicks. More recently, he tallied seven steals against the Miami Heat on Feb. 24, tied for the second-most in a contest this season. The production also left him just three shy of the 12th triple-double with steals in NBA history.

2. Evan Mobley (Cavaliers): Mobley remains essential to Cleveland's seventh-ranked defense, as his 107 defensive rating ranks second on the Cavs among players with at least 200 minutes. Sam Merrill is the only player with a better rating, but that requires further dissection to truly grasp Mobley's impact. Of Merrill's 985 total minutes this season, 474 have been shared with Mobley, making the latter one of the guard's most frequent on-court collaborators.

1. Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies): Wembanyama was the only other player to impact opponents' shooting on a level comparable to Jackson in 2024-25, but the Spurs star's season-ending deep vein thrombosis diagnosis means he won't reach the 65-game minimum for award eligibility. Opponents' field-goal percentages this season have dropped 6.6% when defended by Jackson or Wembanyama, which ranks atop the NBA among players with at least 40 games played and averaging 10 defended field goals per contest.

Most Improved Player

3. Trey Murphy III (Pelicans): Outright discarding Murphy's notable jump this campaign because of the Pelicans' disastrous season seems ill-advised, especially since there's no wins requirement for the MIP award. The sharpshooting wing is up to 21.8 points per game after averaging just under 15 over his last two seasons. Murphy's 37% clip from distance is the eighth-best mark in the NBA by players who attempt at least eight threes per game, putting him right behind multi-time All-Stars like Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and Stephen Curry.

2. Norman Powell (Clippers): Powell has carried the Clippers offensively even since Kawhi Leonard's return on Jan. 1, with the 31-year-old guard averaging 23.2 points on 50/38.3/79.1 shooting splits in the new year. That includes a 41-point outburst on Feb. 13 against the Utah Jazz. However, Powell's ongoing knee injury absence could prove costly for him and the team. L.A. has gone 1-6 without him in 2025, and Powell must play in 19 of the club's final 22 games to maintain his award eligibility.

1. Cade Cunningham (Pistons): Cunningham's statistical bumps across the board still don't give you the full picture of how much harder it's been to contain him this season. The 23-year-old has eight triple-doubles compared to zero in 2023-24. Also, a bewildering 71.2% of his field goals have been unassisted, the fourth-highest mark by any player with at least 40 games and a massive jump from his 63.7% mark last season.

Sixth Man of the Year

3. De'Andre Hunter (Cavaliers): Hunter leads all bench players in points per game this season (18.4) on an efficient 46.9% shooting. He also boasts a career-best 42.2% clip from three. However, the 27-year-old's output has taken a hit since being traded to the Cavs at the deadline. On a much more competitive team, Hunter is averaging 2.7 fewer minutes, three fewer points, and 3.9 fewer shots than in Atlanta. This move gave him a better chance at an NBA title but hurt his odds of taking home individual hardware.

2. Payton Pritchard (Celtics): Pritchard has scored more points than any other NBA player off the bench this season with 833. He's also logged the most minutes (1,672) by any reserve, made the most threes (193), and is the leader in plus-minus (plus-321). Additionally, Pritchard sits in the top 10 in assists (206) and steals (51) among players on second units. The 27-year-old's 13.9 points per game is good for fifth on the Celtics, and his 41.6% shooting from beyond the arc is the second-best on the team. Boston sitting second in the East will boost his award chances.

1. Malik Beasley (Pistons): Beasley's recent level of play has pushed him into top contention for this award. He averaged 18.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in February on an absurd 49% shooting and 48% from three. Not to mention, the Pistons went 8-1 to close the month. Beasley is having a career resurgence in Detroit, putting up his most points per game (16.7) since the 2020-21 season and shooting a career-best percentage from three (42.7). The Florida State product gets the slight edge over Pritchard because he outplayed him in the Pistons' recent win over the Celtics, pouring in a team-high 26 points.

Coach of the Year

3. J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons): To put into perspective just how dire Detroit had been before Bickerstaff's arrival this campaign, the club totaled 31 victories combined over the past two seasons. The Pistons already have 34 wins this year and are up to sixth in the East, inching closer to the organization's first postseason appearance since 2019. And Detroit is making its playoff push without starting point guard Jaden Ivey, who's been out with a broken leg since Jan. 1. Without Ivey, Bickerstaff has put the ball in Cunningham's hands, allowing him to flourish. The Pistons are 19-9 since Ivey's injury and recently went on an impressive eight-game winning streak.

2. Mark Daigneault (Thunder): The Thunder still have a stranglehold on the West's No. 1 spot and are reaching a point where they can rest players down the stretch. In February, OKC went 11-2 - with one of those losses coming in overtime - and had the league's second-best point differential (plus-16.4). The Thunder are shattering everyone's expectations, even Vegas': Oklahoma is beating the spread by an average of 3.6 points, the third-highest mark in the NBA, per Cleaning the Glass.

1. Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers): The Cavaliers have compiled three double-digit winning streaks this campaign, sit atop the Eastern Conference with the most wins in the Association (50), and own the second-best net rating in the league (11.1). Despite Cleveland having a roster nearly identical to last season's team that got bounced in the playoff's second round, this iteration of the Cavs has already surpassed last year's win total of 48. So what's changed? The coaching. The players have been quick to credit Atkinson for the improvement. Cavs guard Ty Jerome recently said the coaching staff is the biggest difference between this season and last.

Most Valuable Player

Please check out our most recent MVP Rankings for a detailed look at the top 10 candidates for the award.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): The Greek Freak is on track to shoot over 60% from the field for the second straight campaign. However, it's much more impressive this season, as he's attempting 20.3 shots per game. Antetokounmpo is also averaging the second-highest points per game (30.9) of his career, along with 12.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 blocks. He has willed the Bucks to the four-seed in the East.

2. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets): Jokic continues to amaze anytime he steps on a basketball court. The reigning MVP is averaging career highs in points (28.9), assists (10.4), steals (1.8), and 3-point percentage (44.3). Additionally, Jokic is averaging 12.7 rebounds, marking the first time in his career that he's averaging a triple-double. He's led the Nuggets to an 11-3 record over their last 14 games, pushing them to third in the West.

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder): SGA seems primed to become the second Canadian in NBA history to win the MVP award. He's the league's leading scorer with a career-high 32.3 points per game, and he has posted less than 20 points in a contest just once this season. Gilgeous-Alexander is also doing it on the defensive end, averaging 1.8 steals and a block per game. He's recorded 50-plus points three times since the start of 2025, and the Thunder went 11-2 in February. OKC's success is what sets SGA apart from the rest, with the club holding the NBA's second-best record at 49-11.