2026 NBA Awards: Full ballot, picks including Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama race for MVP

For as long as the NBA has honored me by asking me to be one of the postseason award voters, each year there are a couple of awards that keep me up at night, trying to split hairs between players who all deserve recognition for monster years. For example, Third-Team All-NBA is always brutal. Some years it's the big ones, such as MVP. This year I struggled more with Most Improved Player than other award on the board.

What follows is my official ballot for the NBA's end-of-season awards. [Note, this ballot assumes that the league grants Luka Doncic's challenge and makes him eligible despite having played in 64 games, one short of the league threshold. It would be some frighteningly bad PR for the league to say Doncic is out because he chose to fly to Slovenia for the birth of his child and missed a couple of games — the league is very sensitive to those kinds of image issues.]

NBA Most Valuable Player

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
2. Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
3. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
4. Luka Doncic (Lakers)
5. Jaylen Brown (Celtics)

This is an incredibly deep MVP field, and it had the vibe of a real race for a while over the last month, with all four top players playing at their peak and making their case. However, it was never quite that close in my mind — this is a season-long award, and SGA was the most consistent of this group, both in terms of minutes and efficient production. Wemby returned from an injury earlier in the season in time to meet the 65-game threshold, but that same injury put him on a strict minutes limit and even had him coming off the bench in some games. Jokic dipped from his incredible standards for a stretch after his injury. Doncic was out for a critical final push of the season (and likely the first round of the playoffs) with his hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander just kept scoring, kept defending at a level that put him in All-Defense consideration, and was at his best in the clutch, which is why the Thunder have the best record in the NBA.

If the league does not make Doncic eligible, I will move Jaylen Brown up a spot and slide the Clippers' Kawhi Leonard into fifth. Also, if he had played enough games, Cade Cunningham would have been in my top five.

All-NBA Teams

First Team

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
2. Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
3. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
4. Luka Doncic (Lakers)
5. Jaylen Brown (Celtics)

Second Team

1. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
2. Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
3. Tyrese Maxey (76ers)
4. Kevin Durant (Rockets)
5. Jalen Brunson (Knicks)

Third Team

1. Jalen Johnson (Hawks)
2. Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
3. Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
4. Jalen Duren (Pistons)
5. Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)

It was painful for me to leave Toronto's Scottie Barnes and Portland's Deni Avdija off this list, both had strong seasons and were central to their team's success (and both teams exceeded expectations). Mr. 83 Bam Adebayo from Miami also merited a long look here.

NBA Rookie of the Year

1. Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
2. Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)
3. VJ Edgecombe (76ers)

The betting odds shifted in recent weeks as Cooper Flagg had some monster nights and some talking heads wanted to make this a race — and, to be fair, Flagg was brilliant, would have won the award most years. He will be the best player from this class in a few years. However, Knueppel had the most efficient rookie season in NBA history, played in 10 more games and nearly 200 more minutes, and most importantly, his play lifted his team to the postseason. Knueppel was essential to the Hornets' improvement this season.

I believe the Spurs' Dylan Harper will be the second-best player out of this class in five years, but the award is about this season, and Edgecombe was simply better and more important to his team.

NBA All-Rookie Teams

First Team

1. Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)
2. Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
3. VJ Edgecombe (76ers)
4. Dylan Harper (Spurs)
5. Cedric Coward (Grizzlies)

Second Team

1. Ace Bailey (Kings)
2. Ryan Kalkbrenner (Hornets)
3. Jeremiah Fears (Pelicans)
4. Derik Queen (Pelicans)
5. Maxime Raynaud (Kings)

Ace Bailey almost played his way onto the first team for me, and good on the Kings (and Hornets, and Pelicans) for having two players making All-Rookie. Tre Johnson of the Wizards almost made the cut for me, but was just too inefficient. Also, Brooklyn took five guys in the first round and none of them made the cut... ouch.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
2. Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
3. Ausar Thompson (Pistons)

Not much debate here. Honestly, no real debate about the top two spots on this list in my mind. For the third slot, I went with the best on-ball hawk in the league and a representative of an elite Pistons defense, but Rudy Gobert or Bam Adebayo were also under consideration for that spot.

All-Defensive Teams

First Team

1. Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
2. Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
3. Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
4. Bam Adebayo (Heat)
5. Ausar Thompson (Pistons)

Second Team

1. Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
2. OG Annunoby (Knicks)
3. Derek White (Celtics)
4. Cason Wallace (Thunder)
5. Dyson Daniels (Hawks)

More than many voters (at least I think), I lean more into guards and wings who defend well for this award rather than just listing seven or eight bigs, even though a good rim protector can change a defense (four of my first team selections are bigs). It was hard to leave off Amen Thompson. Also, it was strange not to vote for Draymond Green — and he has a legit case. The Warriors' defense was top five before the Jimmy Butler injury (and others) crushed their depth, and he was quarterbacking it. He also nearly made my list.

NBA Coach of the Year

1. Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)
2. J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
3. Jordan Ott (Suns)

This, to me, is a two-man race, and there is a very good case for Bickerstaff, but I will lean into Mazzula. It's not just because this team was unexpectedly good (remember when this was a "gap" year in Boston?), but also because of the culture he has built and his ability to put in place a system that develops guys like Neemias Queta and turns them into quality rotation players. I think this season he did that better than Bickerstaff. That same logic has me putting in Phoenix's Joran Ott third, just ahead of San Antonio's Mitch Johnson.

NBA Sixth Man of the Year

1. Keldon Johnson (Spurs)
2. Jaime Jaquez (Heat)
3. Reed Sheppard (Rockets)

This was a very close two-man race for me between Johnson and Jaquez. To me, the difference ultimately was Johnson's locker room leadership in San Antonio, which was a foundational part of allowing this San Antonio team to blossom the way it did. It was a tough call giving Sheppard the third spot over Naz Ried or Tim Hardaway Jr.

NBA Most Improved Player

1. Jalen Duren (Pistons)
2. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks)
3. Neemias Queta (Celtics)

This was the hardest choice on the awards list for me this season. There is a tremendous case for Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who in his seventh season took on a new and larger role and thrived. Ultimately, I gave my vote to Duren because he showed significant improvement on both ends of the court, not because his situation changed but because he simply got better. His handle got better, his shot creation improved while his turnovers dropped, and he became a high-level paint protector. Then Duren showed real leadership when Cade Cunningham went out at the end of the season, he had the Pistons going 8-3.

NBA Clutch Player of the Year

1. Shai Gilgeous Alexander (Thunder)
2. Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
3. Tyrese Maxey (76ers)

This was a pretty straightforward call, SGA was brilliant in the clutch, which is also part of why I have him as MVP.