Shootin' It: The ALL 52 NBA Awards

Our basketball writers share who would've received their respective votes for the NBA Awards, including some players who weren't named finalists

Every year, the basketball writers send in their ballots for the NBA Awards, all voting according to their individual values and criteria. In the spirit of the season, ALL 52’s Javon Edmonds and Michael Charles share which players would’ve received their votes.

MVP

Edmonds: Jalen Brunson

No team has done more with less this season than the New York Knicks, and it’s largely due to Brunson. As the leader of the Villanova Knicks (or Manhattan Wildcats), Brunson willed the team to 50 wins and the Eastern Conference’s second seed ahead of teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.

Brunson has always been a playmaker, but he took a major leap as a scorer this season with efficient numbers. He averaged 28.7 points per game on 47.9% shooting from the field, including 40.1% from beyond the arc. All while keeping his teammates involved with 6.7 assists per game.

It’s not easy for a 6-foot, 2-inch point guard to be a No. 1 scoring option on a team filled with catch-and-shoot guys. Somehow, Brunson did it without appearing burned out. Also, of my top five MVP candidates, Brunson has the worst supporting cast. It’s blasphemous he isn’t in the top three of voting.

Charles: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Coming into the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder were projected to win 44.5 games, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Instead, with Gilgeous-Alexander as the catalyst, the team won 57 games and captured the No. 1 seed in a competitive Western Conference. 

Yes, the Thunder have a talented, young core outside of Gilgeous-Alexander but he’s the one that makes it all work. His ability to create his own shot in the mid-range opens the floor for the likes of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. He also continues to improve as a playmaker and his defense was an important part of OKC ending the season top five in defensive rating. 

Gilgeous-Alexander ended the season fourth in the NBA in scoring at 30.1 points per game to go with 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds a night. His efficiency continued to shine, shooting 53.5% from the field — which is impressive considering his shot diet consists of many mid-range pull-ups. He also added two steals per game on the defensive end. This is not to say Nikola Jokić or Luka Dončić are undeserving of this honor, but nobody expected the Thunder to have the season they did and SGA is the biggest reason why.

First Team All-NBA: 

Edmonds: Brunson, Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić

Since the All-NBA teams are now positionless, I don’t have to replace Dončic with a frontcourt player for my First Team All-NBA selections. Instead, I’ll copy my top five for the MVP award race.

Charles: Brunson, Gilgeous-Alexander, Dončić, Jayson Tatum and Jokić

Each of these players, besides Dončić, helped lead their respective team to a top-two seed while putting up prolific numbers and all of them are likely to receive votes for the MVP award. The only real decision came between Brunson and Antetokounmpo for the final spot. Both the Knicks and Bucks had their fair share of adversity to navigate but Brunson had less help on the floor night-to-night and did more in those moments, even as a small guard.

Second Team All-NBA: 

Edmonds: LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Tatum, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis 

James and Davis carried the Los Angeles Lakers through the questionable coaching of Darvin Ham, and their third option is a coin toss every night between D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura. Plus, the Lakers are not a good perimeter-defending team, but Davis’s rim protection masked that problem many times this season. Edwards has reintroduced the NBA to the two-way, shot-creating shooting guard, Tatum is clearly the best player on the team with the best record and Leonard is the battery that makes the LA Clippers work.

Charles: Edwards, Kevin Durant, Leonard, Davis and Antetokounmpo

Third Team All-NBA: 

Edmonds: Stephen Curry, Tyrese Maxey, Durant, Zion Williamson and Domantas Sabonis

Simply put, the Golden State Warriors would be a lottery team without Curry. Maxey became the best perimeter scorer on the Philadelphia 76ers this season, and his dynamic scoring made life easy on Joel Embiid this year in Philadelphia’s first season without James Harden. Durant was the most reliable player on the Phoenix Suns’ point guard-less experiment of banged-up players and Williamson stayed healthy and showed us why we loved him coming out of Duke. Meanwhile, Sabonis had 1,500+ points, 1,000+ rebounds and 500+ assists this season. The only other players in history with those numbers are Jokić and Wilt Chamberlain.

Charles: Curry, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, James and Wembanyama

Defensive Player of the Year:

Edmonds: Davis

As I alluded to earlier, the Lakers do not have perimeter defenders. Gabe Vincent was hurt for most of the season, and James and Taurean Prince are the only other somewhat reliable perimeter defenders on the team. What did that mean? Funnel players to Davis down low. Not only did Davis protect the rim at a high level, but the only three post scorers that had success against him were Jokić, Sabonis and Embiid. Also, Davis did a very good job switching onto guards in the high pick-and-roll. Regardless of whatever myths folks try to tell you about today’s NBA (and many exist), not many big men can switch in the pick-and-roll. 

To go with 2.3 blocks per game, Davis added 1.2 steals while playing out of position as the Lakers’ center. Equally as impressive was his ability to avoid foul trouble, averaging just 2.3 fouls per game.

Charles: Wembanyama

While this is usually the Rudy Gobert award, I am giving it to a different Frenchman: Wembanyama. Even while trying to learn the nuances of NBA defense as a rookie, Wemby blocked 3.6 shots per game and was a constant deterrent in the paint. San Antonio allowed 8.5 fewer points per 100 possessions with Wemby on the floor, making him a defense on his lonesome. For context, Minnesota allowed 3.5 fewer points per 100 possessions with Gobert on the floor. They might have to name this award after Wembanyama in a few years at this rate.

First Team All-Defense:

Edmonds: Jrue Holliday, Alex Caruso, Jaden McDaniels, Victor Wembanyama and Davis

Holliday has been the best perimeter defender in basketball since his days with the New Orleans Pelicans, and his versatility as both point-of-attack and off-ball defender made the Celtics a monster in the East this year. Caruso, a combo guard, averaged 1.7 steals and one block per game this year. McDaniels was the Minnesota Timberwolves’ hound dog this season, guarding and frustrating whomever they needed him to. Wembanyama averaged 3.6 blocks per game and there is footage of him stopping a three-on-one fastbreak by himself.

Charles: Caruso, Herbert Jones, Wembanyama, Davis and Gobert

Coach of the Year:

Edmonds: Mark Daigenault

Gilgeous-Alexander may not be my MVP, but Daigenault is my Coach of the Year. For much of the season, Oklahoma City’s roster featured two power forwards and no centers in a conference filled with big men. Somehow, Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams ended up being enough for OKC to be the West’s top seed. Hats off to Mr. Daigenault.

Charles: Daigenault

While Gilgeous-Alexander may be the MVP, Daigneault was equally important to the Thunder’s. OKC finished top 10 in both offense and defense, striking an almost perfect balance between winning and the development of a young team.

Daigneault helped his group play to its strengths, designing an offense that creates quality three-point looks for a team filled with shooters. The Thunder finished the season with the highest percentage in the league from deep at 38.9% on more than 34 attempts per night. He also found a way to navigate the Thunder’s struggles on the glass, understanding that focusing on this aspect of their game could have diminishing results across the board. 

Rookie of the Year: 

Edmonds: Wembanyama

Charles: Wembanyama

Wembanyama was thrown into the fire, navigating the NBA game on the fly and the Jeremy Sochan point guard debacle. Yet, he somehow defied our wildest expectations of what his first season in the league would look like. Last year’s No.1 overall pick finished the season averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 32.5% from deep. He struggled from deep early but by the end of the season, he was shooting deep pull-ups with ease, which is a dangerous proposition for the rest of the league.

First Team All-Rookie:

Edmonds: Brandin Podziemski, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama

Charles: Podziemski, Miller, Jacquez Jr., Holmgren and Wembanyama

Sixth Man of the Year:

Edmonds: Naz Reid

Malik Monk averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists this season on a Kings team that absolutely needs him. However, Reid played nine more games and allowed the Timberwolves to do something more important to their team than what Monk offers: match up.

Reid allowed Minnesota to send either Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert to the bench while not missing a beat defensively and getting more athletic at the same time. As long as Monk is in Sacramento’s high-powered offense, he’ll be in the running for the award. 

Charles: Reid

This race comes down to Monk and Reid, and I am going with the latter. Both players had a fantastic season, but in my opinion, Reid’s campaign was more impressive. The 6-foot-9, 24-year-old backup big man averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 41.4 % from deep on five attempts per night. He displayed a unique ability to put the ball on the floor and finish around the rim with great touch for a player of his size. Reid often provided a needed boost for a Timberwolves group that landed the third seed in the West.

Most Improved Player:

Edmonds: Coby White

White started two of the 74 games he played in 2022-23 and averaged a career-low 9.7 points per game. He started 78 of the 79 games he played this season, with the same coach and roster, and averaged a career-high 19.1 points per game while shooting 37.6% from three on a career-high seven attempts per game. Case closed.

Charles: White

Maxey seems to be the consensus for this award but I don’t see it that way. With James Harden out of the equation in Philly, I expected Maxey to make a big leap and he did just that. However, what White did in Chicago was not on anyone’s bingo card this year and he put the icing on the cake with 42 points, nine rebounds and six assists against the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In Tournament. 

When Zach LaVine went down with a season-ending foot injury, many thought it was time for the Bulls to fall off the map and into the lottery. While the lottery is in the Bulls’ future, Chicago was kept afloat by White’s emergence. Overall, he ended the season averaging 19 points, five assists and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 37.6% from downtown. He eclipsed the 30-point mark seven times this season, displaying infinite range and the ability to create his own shot at all three levels.