NBA Swing: 2024-25 Award Predictions

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With the 2024-25 NBA season just weeks away, there have been many changes that have taken place over the course of the offseason. Many of these offseason changes are expected to have a significant impact on several teams across the league and play a role in the awards for the 2024-25 season. Even though awards are not handed out until April, many sports media and betting outlets have already made their predictions for the 2024-25 NBA award winners.

Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama

Last season, San Antonio Spurs center and rookie Victor Wembanyama would finish second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. Wemby would average 10.6 RPG (averaging 8.4 defensive rebounds), 3.6 BPG (leading the league), and 1.2 SPG. With the Timberwolves having the best defense last season, many argued that’s the only reason Gobert won the award.

Wemby would receive 19 of the 99 first-place votes, with many arguing the only reason he didn’t win the award was because he was a rookie. Heading into the 2024-25 season, it is expected that Wemby will leap from his already great rookie season. Many expect Wembanyama to win multiple DPOY awards over the course of his career. Vegas Insider has Wembanyama with the highest odds of winning the award by far from five different outlets.

Despite the big difference in odds, Rudy Gobert and Bam Adebayo have the second and third-best odds from most outlets.

Sixth Man of the Year: Donte DiVincenzo

Despite being traded from the New York Knicks just days before the beginning of training camp, Donte DiVincenzo is set for a big year with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his only season with the Knicks, DiVincenzo would average 15.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 81 games. In the 18 games he came off the bench, DiVincenzo would average 7.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.7 APG coming off the bench. While the Knicks were set to have a stacked roster which would’ve limited DiVincenzo’s time on the court, the Wolves are a different story. With veteran Mike Conley projected to be the starting point guard, DiVincenzo is set to be the team’s sixth man, likely picking up more time off the bench to lift the load off the veteran guard and help the second unit.

Via Vegas Insider, DiVincenzo has the fourth-best odds to win the award. The highest odds to win the award currently go to Sacramento’s Malik Monk, followed by 2024 Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid and Cleveland’s Caris LeVert.

Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder played 38 clutch games, going 24-14 in those games. 34 of those clutch games would include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with the team going 23-11 in those games. He would average 3.3 points in the clutch, ranked among some of the best in the league. SGA would finish third in CPOY voting last season behind Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan. With the Warriors possibly taking a step back and DeRozan likely sharing clutch performances with De’Aaron Fox, SGA could be one of the best clutch performers next season. Several outlets have SGA either tied with Steph Curry for the highest odds of winning the award or right behind him.

Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau

No team has had a better off-season than the New York Knicks. A team that had the potential to reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season added one of the league’s best defenders in Mikal Bridges and one of the league’s best shooting big men in Karl-Anthony Towns. Last season, the Knicks would finish with a record of 50-32, second best in the East, with expectations for the team to get better this season. Those expectations lie on head coach Tom Thibodeau. For Thibs, he has led the Knicks to three winning seasons and three playoff appearances in his four seasons coaching the team. If Thibs can lead his team to meet or surpass expectations, he should be the frontrunner for the award. If Thibodeau wins the award, this would be his second time winning with the Knicks in the last five years and his third Coach of the Year award over the course of his coaching career.

Rookie of the Year: Reed Shepard

While the 2024 draft class has been seen as one of the more disappointing draft classes in recent history, the 2024 Summer League showed there are some promising young players in the class. One of those players was Kentucky Guard Reed Shepard. Over the course of the Summer League, Shepard would average 20.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 5.3 APG. Joining a young Houston Rockets team looking to take the next step in a loaded Western Conference, Shepard may be the franchise guard of the future. While he may not get the minutes right away compared to some of the other rookies, Shepard has the highest potential out of the gate.

Despite Shepard’s promise as a rookie, he currently has the second-highest odds to win the award from most sports betting outlets. Most betting outlets have Memphis Grizzlies enter Zach Edey as the rookie most likely to win the award. While Edey may have a more prominent role with the Grizzles as they need a center, he has proven to be limited in his play going back to his time at Purdue. Shepard on the other hand, has proven to be effective on both ends of the court and will have to earn his minutes with the Rockets.

Most Improved Player: Victor Wembanyama

Of all the awards in the NBA, no award is more broken than the Most Improved Player award. Over the last decade, the award has gone from going to players who have seen tremendous improvement from the previous year to players who were already good at becoming All-Stars. While players like Jimmy Butler (2014-15), CJ McCollum (2015-16), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2016-17) all saw tremendous improvement from the previous season, the last five Most Improved Players (Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Ja Morant, Lauri Markkanen, and Tyrese Maxey) were already young stars who became first-time All-Stars the year they won MIP.

Given the recent history of the MIP award, there is no doubt that the 2025 MIP will be Victor Wembanyama. Via Vegas Insider, Wemby has the highest odds of winning the award from five different sports betting outlets. In his rookie season, Wembanyama would average 21.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.6 BPG in 71 games. Having into his sophomore season, Wemby is expected to take a huge leap. It is also highly likely that he will receive his first All-Star nod. If Wembanyama can up his scoring to over 25 PPG and bring the Spurs closer to the playoffs, he will likely finish the season as MIP.

Other names with high odds to win the award include Evan Mobley, Jonathan Kuminga, Scottie Barnes, and Josh Giddey.

Most Valuable Player: Luka Doncic

Heading into his seventh season, Luka Doncic is set for another explosive season, possibly his best season yet. Last season, Luka played 70 games (second most in his NBA career so far), averaging 33.9 PPG (a career-high), 9.2 RPG, and 9.8 APG. He would finish top 10 in MVP voting for the fifth season in a row before leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals. Luka would finish third in MVP voting last season, the highest MVP voting finish of his career so far. With most sports betting outlets having the over/under for the Mavericks at 49 wins, the team is expected to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference, with Luka leading the way. If he can lead the Mavs to similar success compared to last season, Luka should win his first MVP. With many of last year’s MVP candidates unlikely to win the award having stacked rosters, this may finally be the year Luka wins his first MVP.

Currently having the second-best odds from most outlets, many expect Luka to win the award this season unless something happens to him or the Mavs. The only player that currently has higher odds to win MVP than Luka is three-time MVP and current MVP Nikola Jokic. Given the controversy over recent seasons, it would take a record season and record stats from Jokic to win his fourth MVP in five years. Other candidates with high odds include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.