By Oliver Carter
Now that Cooper Flagg has been awarded this season’s Rookie of the Year, every major NBA award category other than the coveted MVP has been handed out.
Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama
This season’s DPOY is maybe the least surprising award ever to be handed out as Victor Wembanyama became the first ever unanimous recipient of the award.
Alongside the Frenchman, Chet Holmgren and Ausar Thompson were named finalists for the award, neither had a real chance at winning.
Wembanyama averaged a league-leading 3.1 blocks per game alongside 11.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals.
The 2023 first overall pick also had some incredible advanced stats that helped him earn all 100 first-place votes.
The only way Wemby could’ve lost out on the award was missing the league’s mandatory 65-game minimum to be eligible as he only just managed exactly 65 games through the season.
When accepting the award he joked: “The real struggle might have been getting to 65 games.
“But I’m super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous,” he continued.
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Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
MVP hopeful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was just four votes off becoming the first unanimous recipient of the young CPOTY award.
The Canadian superstar became just the fourth person to win the award since it was added in the 2022-23 season.
Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray also earned nominations for their exceptional performances in high-pressure situations.
However, SGA is somewhat inevitable in late-game scenarios.
‘The Clutch’ is defined as the last five minutes of games when the score is separated by five points or less.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot a staggering 51.5% from the field and guided his team to a 20-7 record in these scenarios.
He also managed a stretch of over 10 games in which he did not miss a single shot in the fourth quarter.
Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson
The San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson becoming this season’s Six Man of the Year has left a lot of fans divided.
Johnson has been a two-way spark plug off the bench for the Spurs as they earned the second seed in the Western Conference averaging 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while playing in all 82 games of the season.
However, runner-up Jamie Jaquez Jr of the Miami Heat managed the most total points of any bench player in NBA history while also averaging more points, assists and combined steals and blocks.
The impact of Johnson winning against the raw scoring stats of Jaquez Jr has divided fans on who they believe should have won the award.
The voters awarded 63 first-place votes to Johnson to Jaquez’s 34, with Johnson’s total award points at 404 and Jaquez’ at 331.
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Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Cousin of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker became the second member of the family to win a 2025/26 NBA award.
Since signing with the Atlanta Hawks in the off-season, Alexander-Walker has seen an unprecedented rise in almost every stat category.
Last season, as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, he averaged 9.4 points, 2.7 assists and 0.6 steals as he played 25.3 minutes per game across all 82 games, with just 10 coming as a starter.
This season, however, he has increased those numbers to 20.8 points per game, a staggering rise of over 10 points per game, alongside 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals as his usage rate shot up.
He started 71 of his 78 games featuring for 33.4 minutes per night.
Alexander-Walker winning the award is a welcome break from the precedent set by the past three years of winners.
High draft picks taking the expected next-step in their career, as opposed to a seven-year NBA veteran earning a new role on a team and jumping at the opportunity.
Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg
Possibly the most contested NBA award so far, Flagg managed to edge out his college roommate Kon Knueppel.
The divide on who you believe deserved this award depends heavily on how you view the candidates.
Flagg, the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, has been the first option on a losing team all season, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.1 combined steals and blocks.
Knueppel on the other hand has impacted winning massively, helping the Hornets to improve their record from 19-63 last season to 44-38.
He did this while leading the NBA in three-pointers made as well as averaging 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Flagg also struggled with efficiency as he shot 46.8% from the field and just 29.5% from three – compared to Knueppel’s 47.5 fg% and incredible 54.8 three-point percentage.
While Flagg was the bigger scoring threat and far stronger defender, Knueppel’s impact on winning and three-point heroics have left fans divided once again.
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Liberty Nicholson-Hulse