The finalists for the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year and Coach of the Year were announced on Sunday's episode of TNT's NBA Tip-Off.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid were named the 2022 NBA MVP finalists.
Antetokounmpo, 27, has 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this year. The Bucks star won back-to-back MVP honors in 2019 and 2020 and earned the 2021 NBA Finals MVP award after leading Milwaukee to a championship title.
Jokic, 27, is averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists this season. Earlier this month, he became the first player in NBA history to accumulate at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season.
Embiid, 28, led the NBA in points per game during the regular season with 30.6. He's also averaging 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season.
Here's a look at the finalists in other categories:
Defensive Player of the Year
- Mikal Bridges, PHO
- Rudy Gobert, UTA
- Marcus Smart, BOS
Rookie of the Year
- Scottie Barnes, TOR
- Cade Cunningham, DET
- Evan Mobley, CLE
Most Improved Player
- Darius Garland, CLE
- Ja Morant, MEM
- Dejounte Murray, SAS
Sixth Man of the Year
- Tyler Herro, MIA
- Cameron Johnson, PHO
- Kevin Love, CLE
Coach of the Year
- Taylor Jenkins, MEM
- Erik Spoelstra, MIA
- Monty Williams, PHO