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Finalists announced for 2021-22 NBA awards

Published April 18, 2022, 9:00 AMOfficial release
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TNT will announce the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

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.