The National Basketball Association unveiled finalists for several major individual honors Sunday evening, bringing San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama one step closer to capturing his first Defensive Player of the Year trophy.
Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards also secured recognition despite an injury-shortened campaign, earning finalist status for the league’s Clutch Player award.
Wembanyama’s nomination came as expected after he topped the NBA in blocked shots for his third straight season. The towering center joins Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Detroit’s Ausar Thompson as the three contenders for the defensive honor.
Edwards made the Clutch Player ballot even though he failed to meet the standard 65-game threshold that typically determines award eligibility. While this absence kept him off ballots for MVP and All-NBA recognition, he remained eligible for the Clutch award since coaches select those nominees.
Sunday’s announcement also revealed finalists for Most Improved Player and Sixth Man awards. The league plans to announce MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year finalists later in the evening.
A panel of league reporters and broadcasters submitted their votes last week.
The complete finalist lists include:
Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio), Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City), Ausar Thompson (Detroit)
Clutch Player: Anthony Edwards (Minnesota), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City), Jamal Murray (Denver)
Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Atlanta), Deni Avdija (Portland), Jalen Duren (Detroit)
Sixth Man: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Denver), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami), Keldon Johnson (San Antonio)
Last season, Wembanyama appeared headed for defensive recognition before a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis at the All-Star break ended his campaign early, leaving him short of eligibility requirements.
Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, who was seeking a record-breaking fifth Defensive Player award, will have to wait another year for that milestone.
In clutch situations, Gilgeous-Alexander paced the league in scoring per game, with Edwards ranking second. The league defines clutch performance as points scored during the final five minutes when the score difference is five points or fewer.
For the Sixth Man category, Jaquez posted 15.4 points per game across 74 bench appearances, while both Johnson and Hardaway averaged 13.2 points. Johnson appeared in all 82 San Antonio games as a reserve, while Hardaway came off Denver’s bench in 74 contests.
The eventual Sixth Man winner will claim the honor for the first time.
Among Most Improved candidates, Avdija averaged 24.2 points while helping Portland reach the playoffs. Alexander-Walker, hoping to give Atlanta back-to-back MIP winners following Dyson Daniels last year, averaged 20.8 points—far exceeding his previous career high.
Duren earned his first All-Star selection while averaging 19.5 points, nearly doubling last season’s output despite similar playing time.
