Back on December 13th, 2022 the NBA announced the renaming and rebranding of the regular season NBA awards that are handed out at the conclusion of each season. These awards have been renamed in honor of some of the best players to have played in the league and that have all been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The complete list of changes are as follows:

• Most Valuable Player has been named after Michael Jordan.
• Defensive Player of the Year has been named after Hakeem Olajuwon.
• Rookie of the Year has been named after Wilt Chamberlain.
• Most Improved Player of the Year has been named after George Mikan.
• Coach of the Year has been named after Red Auerbach.
• Sixth Man of the Year has been named after John Havlicek.

We were also introduced to a couple new awards. These are:

• Clutch Player of the Year, which has been named after Jerry West.
• Team of the Year, which will be a trophy given to the team with the best regular season record, will be named after Maurice Podoloff.

The regular season will come to an end April 9th. The Play-In Tournament will take place from April 11th-14th and then the first round of the playoffs will begin on April 15th. These awards winners will then be announced sometime during the playoffs. For each award, I will list the top candidates and then my prediction of who the winner will be. So here we go.

Most Valuable Player

• Nikola Jokic
• Joel Embiid
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Jayson Tatum
• Luka Doncic
• Ja Morant

Winner prediction: Nikola Jokic

Defensive Player of the Year

• Jaren Jackson Jr.
• Brook Lopez
• Bam Adebayo
• Nic Claxton
• Giannis Antetokounmpo

Winner prediction: Jaren Jackson Jr.

Rookie of the Year

• Paolo Banchero
• Bennedict Mathurin
• Walker Kessler
• Jaden Ivey
• Jalen Williams
• Keegan Murray

Winner Prediction: Paolo Banchero

Most Improved Player

• Lauri Markkanen
• Shai Gilgeous Alexander
• Jalen Brunson
• Tyrese Haliburton
• Nic Claxton

Winner Prediction: Lauri Markkanen

Sixth Man

• Malcom Brogdon
• Norman Powell
• Tyrese Maxey
• Russell Westbrook
• Bobby Portis
• Christian Wood
• Immanuel Quickley

Winner Prediction: Norman Powell

Clutch Player of the Year

• Luka Doncic
• Damian Lillard
• Shai Gilgeous Alexander
• Jimmy Butler

Winner Prediction: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Coach of the Year

• Joe Mazulla (Boston Celtics)
• Jaque Vaughn (Brooklyn Nets)
• Taylor Jenkins (Memphis Grizzlies)
• Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings)
• Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets)
• Willie Green (New Orleans Pelicans)

Winner Prediction: Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings)

Team of the Year/Best Overall Record

Winner Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks