During any NBA season, one of the most exciting conversations fans and media will have is the one concerning the NBA’s awards. With new rankings for each award being released daily, the conversations never cease to exist when it comes to the MVP, MIP, Rookie of the Year, and so on. Sure, there are the favorites to take home an NBA award every season but it seems every season, a dark horse candidate comes along and inserts himself into the race. The case for the 2022-23 season awards is no different.
After the games conclude on Tuesday, January 10th, most, if not all, NBA teams will have reached the halfway point of the season. The races in each conference are heating up while the races for certain awards are close than they have ever been. Most teams know whether this is going to be a competitive season for their respective teams or not by this point. As for most of these NBA awards, they are still anybody’s game. With some of the most exciting play from the game’s top players, we break down which players we would give every award to if the season ended today at the midway point.
These are the 2022-23 NBA mid-season awards.
Coach Of The Year – Joe Mazzulla
Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Place: Willie Green
3rd Place: Taylor Jenkins
The winner of the mid-season Coach of the Year award is Boston’s Joe Mazzulla. After an offseason filled with disappointment and drama, the Celtics had some exceedingly low expectations for a team that had just made the NBA Finals. After Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire season before it even began, Boston tabbed Mazzulla as their replacement. Mazzulla has the Celtics off to an incredibly hot start to sit 1st in the East and the NBA as a whole.
The runner-up for the award is a candidate deserving of the award himself, Willie Green. Taking over for the Pelicans in 2021-22, Green has enhanced the play of New Orleans by a long shot over his last 2 seasons as coach. The Pelicans are currently 3rd in the West with a 25-16 record. Green has coached the team to the 7th-ranked offense and 5th-ranked defense in the NBA so far this season as well. With all the players singing praise for Green and his methods, look for him to be in the hunt for this award for the remainder of the year.
The 3rd place Coach of the Year candidate is a coach who probably should have won the award last season. Taylor Jenkins of the Memphis Grizzlies has coached his team right back to the top of the Western Conference Standings in 2022-23 with a 27-13 record which gives them 2nd in the West. After a 2021-22 season in which most called a fluke, Jenkins responded by coaching Memphis to the 12th-ranked offense and the best-rated defense in the NBA so far this season. If the Grizzlies end up winning the West, Jenkins could be the coach taking home this trophy after it is all said and done.
6th Man Of The Year – Russell Westbrook
Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Place: Jordan Poole
3rd Place: Bennedict Mathurin
The Sixth Man of the Year award is given to the best player off the bench for the 2022-23 season. After some early-season hiccups, Russell Westbrook was relegated to the bench for the Lakers and has made the most of the decision ever since. Westbrook is currently 15.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 7.9 APG for the Lakers this season in 38 games for Los Angeles in 2022-23, 35 of which came off the bench. With his newfound role and the Lakers’ resurgent season as of late, Westbrook has to be the mid-season Sixth Man of the Year.
Currently, Jordan Poole is the runner-up for the award, having appeared in 40 games for the Warriors so far in 2022-23. The only issue Poole may run into is the fact that he has already started more games than appeared in games off the bench as he fills in for an injured Stephen Curry during the meat of the season. Poole is averaging 20.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 4.4 APG for Golden State in 2022-23. If he can keep up that production when Curry returns, Poole should be in the thick of the race for this award at the end of the year.
The 3rd-place finisher for Sixth Man of the Year is rookie Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers. Of all bench players in 2022-23, Mathurin leads them in scoring with 17.1 PPG on 41.8% shooting. Before the beginning of the season, Mathurin made headlines when he said he was even better than LeBron James already. He hasn’t quite lived up to that billing but he has already proven he belongs in the NBA and will be around for many years to come.
Most Improved Player Of The Year – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Place: Tyrese Haliburton
3rd Place: Lauri Markkanen
One of the more exciting awards given out at the end of each season is the Most Improved Player award. This is given to the player with the biggest breakout season who had perhaps underperformed in years past. So far this season, that award belongs to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shai has rocketed toward the top of the league when it comes to scoring and has officially put himself on the map for the remainder of his career. Through 36 games played this season, he is averaging a career-high 30.8 PPG and dishing out 5.6 APG on 50.1% shooting overall and 34.3% from three, all significant improvements from last year.
The runner-up to the Most Improved Player award has had an incredible breakout season in 2022-23 and that is Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers. After a trade last season sent him into a whirlwind emotionally, Haliburton is making his doubters pay in 2022-23. Haliburton has been the leader on and off the court for the Pacers this season, propelling them to a 23-18 start to the season and 6th place in the East. Haliburton is currently averaging 20.3 PPG, and 4.0 RPG, and is leading the NBA in assists with 10.3 APG. He is also shooting 48.0% from the field overall and 40.2% from the three-point range on 7.5 attempts.
The 3rd and final candidate for the Most Improved Player award is Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz. Much like the 2 players before him, Markkanen is seeking the first All-Star selection of his career, playing for his 3rd team in 3 seasons. Many doubted Markkanen’s ability to play at a high level but he has answered those questions and more so far in 2022-23. Through 40 games, Markkanen is averaging 24.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.9 APG. He is shooting a career-high 52.9% from the field and 41.5% from 3-point range, also a career-high.
Defensive Player Of The Year – Jaren Jackson Jr.
Credit: Allison Farrand-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Place: Brook Lopez
3rd Place: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Defensive Player of the Year is an award that is given to the best interior or perimeter defenders in basketball every season. Jaren Jackson Jr. has flown to the top of the leaderboard with this award after playing just 24 games so far in 2022-23. After leading the NBA in blocks in 2021-22, Jackson is back toward the top in that category averaging 3.3 BPG. He has also added 1.0 SPG and is a big reason why the Memphis Grizzlies have the No. 1 ranked defense in basketball.
The runner-up to this award is not the member of the Milwaukee Bucks you might expect to be in this position. Brook Lopez is having one of the better seasons of his career in 2022-23 and has been a big reason why the Bucks remain toward the top of the standings. He is blocking 2.6 shots per game for the Bucks this season and has been the more dominant interior defender for them through 40 games played. Lopez can still win the award as well but will have to catch up to the much younger Jackson in order to do so.
The 3rd place finisher for the midseason Defensive Player of the Year award is Lopez’s Milwaukee teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo. For the last 4 seasons, no one has been more impactful on the defensive side of the ball than he has but has taken a dip in production in 2022-23. The numbers certainly aren’t as appealing this year with just 0.8 SPG and 0.9 BPG but his impact goes well beyond the numbers. Giannis is a versatile defender who can hang with the best wing players in basketball while still being able to defend bigs on the inside. Giannis may not win this award this season but has done enough to be considered in the Top 3.
Rookie Of The Year – Paolo Banchero
Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Place: Bennedict Mathurin
3rd Place: Jaden Ivey
The Rookie of the Year race is always one of the more exciting races for an award every season. In 2022-23, it has become a two-man race with a 3rd player inserting his name into the fold late. The leader right now is Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick from the Orlando Magic. Banchero has shown since he first stepped on the court earlier this year that he is the most NBA-ready prospect from the draft. He can do it all on the court and is currently averaging 21.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.0 SPG. The Magic may have found their franchise star to build around with Banchero who has them at 15-26 but even more so filled with hope for the future.
The runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award so far in 2022-23 is also in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Bennedict Mathurin is leading all bench scorers with over 17.0 PPG in 2022-23 and has made this award race one of the more fun ones to watch out for in the second half of the season. Mathurin is helping the Pacers continue to fight for a playoff spot as they are currently 6th in the East where the competition is loaded. Mathurin can seriously contend for the award and catch Banchero but it remains to be seen whether he will get it done or not.
The 3rd and final candidate for Rookie of the Year with a chance to challenge for the award is Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are currently reeling without their point guard Cade Cunningham and rumors swirling of Bojan Bogdanovic seemingly headed out of town by the trade deadline. Ivey has been a serious bright spot for the team, appearing in 39 games so far and starting 38 of them. Ivey is averaging 14.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.1 APG for Detroit so far this year and shooting 40.9% from the floor. With the future of the season up in the air, look for Ivey to step up big time and perhaps get the touches Bogdanovic is getting right now should Detroit send him elsewhere.
Most Valuable Player – Nikola Jokic
Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Place: Luka Doncic
3rd Place” Giannis Antetokounmpo
The 2022-23 MVP race is heating up and shaping up to be one of the best MVP races of the last 20 years. The leader for the award for the 3rd season in a row is Nikola Jokic. Once again in 2022-23, Jokic has used his otherworldly offensive abilities to propel the Nuggets to a playoff spot. Not only are they in the playoffs but they lead the West at this point with a 27-13 record. Jokic is currently averaging 25.5 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 9.7 APG on the season. If he can up his assists total to 10.0 APG, he would be just the 3rd player and 1st big man to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Right on Jokic’s heels for the MVP award is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. Earlier in the season, Domncic recorded the first 60/20/10 triple-double in NBA history. It is not only the numbers and scoring that have been so impressive for Doncic as he has led a subpar Mavericks roster to a 23-18 record which is currently 4th in the West. Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring with 34.0 PPG and has also added 8.8 RPG and 8.7 APG. If Doncic can get the Mavs an even higher seed in the West or remain where they are now, he should and will be the biggest threat to Jokic’s three-peat as MVP.
The final MVP candidate for the first half of the season is the consensus best player in the world headed into the year. Giannis Antetokounmpo has once again entered into the MVP race as he leads Milwaukee without his 2nd-best teammate for most of the year. Currently, the Bucks are 26-14 and sit 3rd in the East behind Giannis’ 31.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 5.2 APG. Giannis has put the Bucks on his back through ups and downs in the first half of the year. If he can earn the Bucks a No. 1 spot in the East, there is no reason he shouldn’t be considered as the MVP.
Source: fadeawayworld
