Discover the dominant clutch performer revealed today. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's late-game brilliance and MVP case ignite the race for this prestigious honor.
This week marks the beginning of regular season awards being announced. Victor Wembanyama became the youngest and first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year winner since its inception in 1983. Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace were second and sixth in voting, which bodes well for their All-Defensive chances.
Next up is Clutch Player of the Year. The NBA will release the results at 5 p.m. Central today, and the finalists are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards.
Before diving into cases for each finalist, it’s crucial to understand how voters generally approach this award. De’Aaron Fox, Stephen Curry and Jalen Brunson have won the trophy since its inception a few years ago. Fox and Curry both led the NBA in total clutch points during their respective seasons, while Brunson finished second by one point. All three players had a winning clutch record and a clutch true shooting percentage that was at least 61%.
Here are the cases for each finalist to claim the award.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: The Thunder’s superstar led the NBA in total clutch points despite logging significantly fewer clutch games than other top scorers. Gilgeous-Alexander had a clutch true shooting percentage of 66.8%, and Oklahoma City’s clutch record was 20-7 when he played.
He also produced too many memorable moments to count, although Gilgeous-Alexander’s back-to-back triples to win the MVP showdown against Nikola Jokić’s Nuggets was easily his best moment. Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander was the most reliable late-game player all season and is heavily favored to secure Clutch Player of the Year. It's a key piece of his MVP case.
Jamal Murray: Gilgeous-Alexander’s fellow Canadian ranked second in total clutch points on a blistering 68.6% true shooting. Denver had a 20-18 clutch record when Murray played, but it’s a little misleading. Murray carried the Nuggets when Jokić missed 16 games during the middle of the season with a hyperextended knee and led the team to a 5-1 clutch record sans Jokić. Although it’s likely Gilgeous-Alexander’s award, Murray should finish second in voting. He was a monster all season.
Anthony Edwards: He only finished sixth in total clutch points, but Edwards did so on 68.7% true shooting and led Minnesota to a 15-9 clutch record when he played. His self-created scoring was crucial because the Wolves’ point guard woes often caused the clutch offense to be stagnant and ineffective. Edwards saving Minnesota down the stretch became a broken record.