NEW YORK – The NBA today announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers for the 2021-22 regular season: NBA Coach of the Year, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
The three finalists for each annual award, based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, are listed in alphabetical order below:
NBA Coach of the Year
Taylor Jenkins, Memphis Grizzlies
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns
Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year
Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
Kia NBA Most Improved Player
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs
Kia NBA Most Valuable Player
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Kia NBA Rookie of the Year
Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Cam Johnson, Phoenix Suns
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers
TNT will announce the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Each voter’s complete ballot for each award will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.
