NBA 2018-19 preseason awards predictions: LeBron James, Giannis split MVP votes; Luka Doncic ROY favorite

Our experts give their picks for 2018-19 NBA awards, including MVP and Coach of the Year

After a summer rife with free agent drama, trade requests and Twitter beef, the 2018-19 NBA regular season is finally about to begin. As teams finish up preseason games and practices, we thought it would be a good time for our CBS NBA experts to dish out their awards predictions for the upcoming season.

As expected, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James received plenty of nods for MVP, but he actually tied for the most votes with the Greek Freak himself, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Slovenian wunderkind Luka Doncic was the runaway winner in the Rookie of the Year category, while new Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard edged out Draymond Green, Joel Embiid and defending title-holder Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year.

Below you'll find our expert predictions for those awards, plus Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. The best part about predictions at this time of the year is that nobody's wrong. Enjoy.

2018-19 NBA Player Awards Predictions

	Most Valuable Player	Rookie of Year	Defensive Player of Year	Sixth Man of Year	Most Improved Player
Raja Bell	Giannis Antetokounmpo MIL PF	Grayson Allen UTA SG	Kawhi Leonard TOR SF	Lou Williams LAC SG	Markelle Fultz PHI PG
Bill Reiter	LeBron James LAL SF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Joel Embiid PHI PF	Terry Rozier BOS PG	Ben Simmons PHI PG
Reid Forgrave	LeBron James LAL SF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Anthony Davis NO PF	Fred VanVleet TOR PG	Brandon Ingram LAL SF
James Herbert	Anthony Davis NO PF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Kawhi Leonard TOR SF	Tyreke Evans IND PG	Cedi Osman CLE SF
Brad Botkin	Anthony Davis NO PF	Trae Young ATL PG	Rudy Gobert UTA C	Marcus Smart BOS PG	Markelle Fultz PHI PG
Colin Ward-Henninger	Giannis Antetokounmpo MIL PF	Deandre Ayton PHO C	Draymond Green GS PF	Marcus Smart BOS PG	D'Angelo Russell BKN PG
Jack Maloney	Giannis Antetokounmpo MIL PF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Rudy Gobert UTA C	Isaiah Thomas DEN PG	Markelle Fultz PHI PG
Michael Bohlin	LeBron James LAL SF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Draymond Green GS PF	Eric Gordon HOU SG	Myles Turner IND PF
DJ Siddiqi	Giannis Antetokounmpo MIL PF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Kawhi Leonard TOR SF	Lou Williams LAC SG	Brandon Ingram LAL SF
Michael Kaskey-Blomain	LeBron James LAL SF	Luka Doncic DAL PG	Joel Embiid PHI PF	Lou Williams LAC SG	Brandon Ingram LAL SF

2018-19 NBA Coach/Executive of the Year Predictions

Expert	Coach of the Year	Executive of the Year
Raja Bell	Luke Walton, Lakers	Magic Johnson, Lakers
Bill Reiter	Brad Stevens, Celtics	Magic Johnson, Lakers
Reid Forgrave	Mike Budenholzer, Bucks	Dennis Lindsey, Jazz
James Herbert	Brad Stevens, Celtics	Masai Ujiri, Raptors
Brad Botkin	Quin Snyder, Jazz	Masai Ujiri, Raptors
Colin Ward-Henninger	Mike Budenholzer, Bucks	Rob Pelinka, Lakers
Jack Maloney	Brad Stevens, Celtics	Masai Ujiri, Raptors
Michael Bohlin	Gregg Popovich, Spurs	Danny Ainge, Celtics
DJ Siddiqi	Brad Stevens, Celtics	Masai Ujiri, Raptors
Michael Kaskey-Blomain	Brad Stevens, Celtics	Bob Myers, Warriors

The 2018-19 NBA season tips off Tuesday night with a doubleheader, beginning with Kyrie Irving's Boston Celtics hosting Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers at 8 p.m. ET. Stephen Curry and the defending champion Golden State Warriors cap off the night hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder at 10:30 p.m. ET. Both games will be televised on TNT.