2026-2027 NBA Awards Predictions

The Oklahoma City Thunder face the San Antonio Spurs on Opening Night just about one week from now. Before the first games tip off, I need to go on record with my official forecast for the NBA's biggest individual accolades.

2026-2027 NBA Awards Predictions

Rookie of the Year. The loaded 2026 NBA Draft class has plenty of candidates. Any of the consensus top three picks in AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cam Boozer could take the prize. Caleb Wilson has lived up to his draft hype during preseason. Darius Acuff Jr. has stormed out of the preseason gates and will have the greenest of lights in Sacramento. Yaxel Lendeborg could be the difference between Steph Curry making the playoffs or not. Even the Thunder's #12 overall pick Aday Mara may surprise if he plays a high impact role on the league's best team. Prediction: Darryn Peterson.

Most Improved Player of the Year. Brandon Miller seems to be the current favorite. Dylan Harper is a popular pick, though the #2 overall pick winning in his sophomore season kind of goes against the spirit of the award. OKC could have a few candidates with players taking on bigger roles in Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell or Jared McCain. Prediction: Dylan Harper.

Clutch Player of the Year. The top two candidates are the last two winners. They also happen to be the last two Finals MVPs. Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards are other strong candidates. Voters may not present the trophy to the same player in back to back years but nobody comes up bigger in crunch time currently than the superstar that plays in OKC. Prediction: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Sixth Man of the Year. I firmly believe Ajay Mitchell would have taken home this prize last season had he not been injured and missed the games played requirement. While there's an outside shot he could be named a starter, the most likely scenario is Cason Wallace taking Lu Dort's spot and Mitchell continuing to dominate bench units. Prediction: Ajay Mitchell. 

Coach of the Year. There's a chance that the Utah Jazz could go from the worst record in the Western Conference to the NBA Playoffs. How much of the credit of that should go to tanking and how much should go to Will Hardy is a debate for another day. Prediction: Will Hardy.

Defensive Player of the Year. All due respect to the many all-world defenders in the NBA, but this is a two horse race for the foreseeable future. As long as Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are healthy, they are the two most impactful defensive players on the planet on the two best teams in the league. Prediction: Victor Wembanyama.

Most Valuable Player. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may still be the best player on the team with the best record and may even improve on his MVP numbers of the last two years.. and voters will likely still not give him the threepeat. OKC's back to back winner will try to do something that hasn't been done since Larry Bird. Meanwhile, the media has been ready to crown Victor Wembanyama since before he was drafted. Luka Doncic is always a factor. And you can never count out Nikola Jokic. Prediction: Victor Wembanyama.