Tim BontempsApr 17, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseTim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what’s impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast.Follow on XMultiple Authors
play1:07Tim Legler: The Wembanyama era begins now with Spurs as a title threatTim Legler discusses why the Spurs are poised to make a deep playoff run and potentially win a championship.
play2:39Flagg or Knueppel? Stephen A. reveals his pick for ROTYStephen A. Smith compares Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel in the NBA Rookie of the Year race.
play0:17Jaime Jaquez Jr. nets a deep 3 to give Heat the leadJaime Jaquez Jr. nets a deep 3 to give Heat the lead
Why Stephen A. likes Luka, Cunningham being eligible for end-of-season awards (2:49)Stephen A. Smith, Kenny Smith and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo react to news of Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham being granted an exception to be eligible for end-of-season awards. (2:49)
Tim Legler: The Wembanyama era begins now with Spurs as a title threatTim Legler discusses why the Spurs are poised to make a deep playoff run and potentially win a championship.
Tim Legler discusses why the Spurs are poised to make a deep playoff run and potentially win a championship.
Flagg or Knueppel? Stephen A. reveals his pick for ROTYStephen A. Smith compares Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel in the NBA Rookie of the Year race.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. nets a deep 3 to give Heat the leadJaime Jaquez Jr. nets a deep 3 to give Heat the lead
After the NBA ruled Thursday that Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham had successfully challenged the 65-game rule for major postseason awards as it applied to them this season, the league sent its official ballots for 2025-26 honors.
As one of those 100 voters, here is my ballot, and the reasons behind each decision. (With a shoutout to ESPN’s Matt “Stats” Williams for all of the information to help inform these choices.) All ballots are due by 3 p.m. ET Friday.
Just as he did in ESPN’s final MVP straw poll of the season, Gilgeous-Alexander sits atop my ballot, and he should become the 16th multiple-time MVP in league history. His individual brilliance, along with driving the Thunder to 64 wins while the team fended off injury issues and the Spurs down the stretch, kept him No. 1.
Jokic became the first player to lead the NBA in rebounds and assists per game and averaged a triple-double for a second consecutive season. Wembanyama, meanwhile, is the first player to average 25 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000, and the Spurs outscored their opponents by a staggering 17 points per 100 possessions with Wembanyama on the court.
Ultimately, I focused on “valuable” here and used the minutes gap between the two as a tiebreaker. Jokic played 2,265 compared with Wembanyama’s 1,866, a significant enough difference to tip the debate slightly toward Jokic.
The NBA’s ruling simplified the final two choices. Doncic led the league in points per game (33.5), 30-point games (28) and 40-point games (14) while keeping the Lakers in the mix for a top-3 seed all season. Cunningham’s breakout powered Detroit to its best season in a generation.
Tim Legler: The Wembanyama era begins now with Spurs as a title threat
Wembanyama would’ve easily won this award last season if a blood clot hadn’t ended his campaign prematurely. That won’t be an issue this year after he reached the 65-game threshold in the second-to-last game of the season.
Not only did he lead the league in blocks, and in combined steals and blocks, and many other categories — he also can do things never before seen on an NBA court. There’s an argument that Holmgren is right there with Wembanyama for this award, as the two of them finished either first or second in several defensive categories. Holmgren also anchored what was by far the league’s best defense in Oklahoma City. (San Antonio was third.)
Though he will not become the award’s first five-time winner, Gobert was an easy choice for third. Minnesota was nearly eight points per 100 possessions worse with him off the court, and the Wolves were several percentage points worse defending at the rim.
This award can always go to one of several candidates, and this season’s race is no exception. Ultimately, my ballot came down to Mazzulla, Bickerstaff, Johnson and first-year Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott.
Though Phoenix’s season far surpassed expectations after massive offseason changes, the other coaches atop the list guided three of the four best teams in the league. And each is a deserving winner. Johnson led the young Spurs to 62 wins and the West’s 2-seed just one season after the franchise missed the postseason. Bickerstaff has Detroit atop the East for the first time in a generation and oversaw impressive development and improvement from Cunningham and the team’s young core.
My vote went to Mazzulla because of how the Celtics recovered after losing several critical veteran players last summer — Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trade and Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency — and realigned the roster around a new set of talent. Jayson Tatum also missed most of the season while recovering from a right Achilles tear. Tatum’s fairly seamless reintegration into Mazzulla’s lineups has been no small feat, either.
Stephen A. Smith compares Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel in the NBA Rookie of the Year race.
This was a painful decision, one I’ve wrestled with for several weeks. I went with Flagg over his former Duke roommate (and no, not because Knueppel struggled and was benched in Tuesday’s play-in game against the Miami Heat).
The raw statistical argument is in Knueppel’s favor, including leading the league in 3-point shooting this season, and he has had a remarkable rookie campaign. However, Flagg led his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals, something not done by a rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85. Flagg recorded the first 50-point game by a teenager and the most 40-point games by a teen in NBA history. Both feats highlight his all-around ability and talent.
The third spot has been locked in for months. Edgecombe has become an immediate fit in Philadelphia and a critical component on a playoff team. He has earned the trust of coach Nick Nurse and is already beloved by his teammates.
This is a difficult award to decide every year, in part because the criteria are so vague. My choice, by a narrow margin, was Duren. I evaluate this award through the lens of players making the most important leaps of their careers: from good to great.
Duren and Avdija did that this season. Both became first-time All-Stars, and they could also become first-time All-NBA selections. Not surprisingly, both also had massive upticks in their individual production. The edge goes to Duren, whose improvement seemed more unexpected and who carried Detroit effectively down the stretch when Cunningham missed a few weeks after suffering a collapsed lung.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. nets a deep 3 to give Heat the lead
Jaime Jaquez Jr. nets a deep 3 to give Heat the lead
Jaquez gets the nod because he was one of Miami’s main offensive engines, thriving in the up-tempo system Heat coach Erik Spoelstra installed this season. Jaquez scored a career-high 15.4 points per game, was in the top 10 in the NBA in total drives this season and scored the most bench points in the league.
Mitchell is a worthy entrant and was among several options on the Thunder — including Alex Caruso, whose 1,020 minutes this season wasn’t enough for him to get the award in my mind. Mitchell had an outstanding sophomore season for Oklahoma City and should be a big factor in the team’s title defense.
Shead might be an out-of-the-box candidate, but he led the NBA in assists off the bench this season, and Toronto was 5.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court.
Gilgeous-Alexander won this award and MVP, in my opinion, thanks to his clutch shotmaking in wins against the Nuggets and Pistons last month. He averaged 6.5 points in the clutch this season, the most by any player since play-by-play tracking data began in 1997-98. Oklahoma City had the best plus/minus in the clutch (plus-92) in the league.
Cunningham’s Pistons were 21-10 in clutch games he played in this season, and he was seventh in clutch points while shooting 50% from the floor. Edwards, who is eligible for this award because it doesn’t fall under the 65-game rule, shot a blistering 56% in the clutch this season and was sixth in total points.
Doncic and Cunningham being eligible made later choices difficult. (Also, though Doncic had a clear-cut case to win eligibility due to the birth of his child in December, Cunningham’s victory, which centered on his rare injury, was surprising. As a result, I’d expect this grievance process to become annual as players fight to get on the ballot.)
The second team was pretty straightforward because the first four names were all considered for my first team before Doncic and Cunningham returned to eligibility. All had tremendous seasons and were no-brainer second-teamers.
But the debate for the final spot was among Johnson, Holmgren and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. Holmgren’s two-way contributions are the anchor to his case, and Murray finally put together a full season that mirrored his peak playoff performances, scoring 25 points per game on high efficiency.
But I chose Johnson, who carried a massive load for Atlanta during a tumultuous season, which included the Trae Young trade in January. Johnson is one of five players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Holmgren and Murray were automatic picks to top this list, and Duren got the nod for his two-way play and how his partnership with Cunningham pushed Detroit to new heights this season. Maxey led the NBA in minutes for Philadelphia, and he powered the 76ers to a playoff berth while Joel Embiid and Paul George missed significant chunks. Maxey also helped along Edgecombe as his starting backcourt mate.