Chris Mannix’s NBA Awards Ballot: Ranking the Difficulty of Each Vote

The Defensive Player of the Year vote was the easiest by far, but Rookie of the Year was an agonizing decision.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a strong MVP contender. Could he also be a front-runner for another award? | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On Monday, the NBA’s awards reveal debuted with a shocker: Victor Wembanyama is the Defensive Player of the Year. Not really, of course. Wembanyama would have won last year if he had been eligible and is officially the overwhelming favorite to win it every year he hits the 65-game threshold. He became the first unanimous winner in the award’s history. Something tells me he will earn that distinction again. 

I voted for Wembanyama (duh), the easiest of the seven individual awards I voted on this season. Last week I revealed my MVP ballot, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander landing the top spot. The following is the rest of my ballot, along with a degree of difficulty for each vote. A one on this scale is easy, a no-brainer—like Wemby. A 10 is an agonizing decision I’m still not sure about. 

Coach of the Year: Joe Mazzulla, Boston

Rest of the ballot 

2. J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit
3. Mitch Johnson, San Antonio

Degree of difficulty: 7

It pains me that Bickerstaff—who followed up on engineering a 30-win improvement last season to a 60-win, top-seed finish in this one—could miss out on this award for the second straight year. He is responsible for establishing the Pistons’ tough, defensive-minded identity and has continued to show he is among the better player development coaches in the NBA. 

But what Mazzulla did was remarkable. There were zero expectations for the Celtics entering this season. Four of the top nine players from last year were gone and another (Jayson Tatum) wasn’t expected back. Mazzulla rebuilt Boston’s offense around Jaylen Brown, plugged Neemias Queta and Payton Pritchard into bigger roles and developed Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo González until they were ready for new ones. The Celtics’ offensive rating this season (120) is better than the one they had last season (119.5). I projected Boston in the high 30s, low 40s win totals. The Celtics finished with 56. 

Mazzulla may not want the award. But he deserves it. 

Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta

Rest of the ballot 

2. Jalen Duren, Detroit
3. Neemias Queta, Boston

Degree of difficulty: 5

No hesitation voting for Alexander-Walker, who in his seventh season emerged as a bona fide All-Star candidate. Known for his defense in Minnesota, Alexander-Walker more than doubled his scoring average, flirted with 40% shooting from three-point range and was a constant (78 games) in an Atlanta rotation that was overhauled at midseason. 

Duren is the runner-up for similar reasons: He was a reliable defender and interior scorer his first three seasons. This season he expanded his offensive game (25 points per game) while keeping the same efficiency. When Cade Cunningham went out with a lung injury late in the season, Duren elevated his game further, helping Detroit stave off Boston down the stretch. 

I hope Queta gets more than my vote. He has been a huge part of Boston’s success. He spent two seasons toiling in Sacramento and the last two as a reserve in the back of the Celtics’ rotation. This season he averaged 10.2 points in 76 games, anchoring Boston’s fourth-ranked defense. No one outside of the Celtics organization saw this kind of improvement coming. 

Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker was a constant for Atlanta which overhauled its roster at midseason. | David Richard-Imagn Images

Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City

Rest of the ballot

2. Jamal Murray, Denver
3. Kevin Durant, Houston

Degree of difficulty: 3

Gilgeous-Alexander is headed for a convincing win when the MVP vote is revealed next week. This one could be equally wide. Some of the “clutch” categories SGA led this season: most clutch-time points in the league (175), best net clutch-time plus/minus (+93) and most buckets in the clutch (52). Among qualified players, he averaged 64.1 points per 100 possessions in the clutch, tops in the league. 

Murray finished just behind Gilgeous-Alexander in total clutch points, two spots ahead of Durant, who as Game 1 of the Lakers-Rockets series revealed effectively is Houston’s offense.

Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio

Rest of the ballot 

2. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami
3. Naz Reid, Minnesota 

Degree of difficulty: 8

A general rule on my ballots: Ties go to the winner. There’s not much daylight between Johnson and Jaquez. Johnson was a reliable scorer (13.2 points) and rebounder (5.4) while shooting an efficient 51.9% from the floor. Jaquez led all reserves in points, field goals made, 20-point games, points in the paint, fast break points and points off turnovers while posting a +169 plus/minus. Johnson is a more versatile defender. Jaquez a more explosive scorer. 

Ultimately, that Johnson achieved his success on the second-seeded Spurs, spending all season competing in a brutal Western Conference, gave him the slightest of edges on my ballot. 

Rookie of the Year: Kon Knueppel, Charlotte

Rest of the ballot

2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas
3. V.J. Edgecombe, Philadelphia

Degree of difficulty: 10

Remember that whole winner thing? Applies here, too. No one would dispute that Flagg is the best player to come out of last June’s draft. And his scoring binges down the stretch—including 51- and 45-point games in April—were strong closing arguments. But Flagg was uneven to start the season (remember Point Cooper?) and, let’s face it, didn’t play in a meaningful game all season. 

Knueppel faded down the stretch, and I certainly wish I didn’t see that disastrous play-in performance against Miami before I got my ballot. But he was a workhorse (31.5 minutes per game) on a Hornets team that was playing in must-win games back in January. He was one of the NBA’s most efficient three-point shooters and a surprisingly effective three-level scorer. I’d take Flagg to start my team. But Knueppel is my Rookie of the Year. 

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