| Award |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Nikola Jokic | Nikola Jokic | Jayson Tatum | Nikola Jokic | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Jayson Tatum | Nikola Jokic |
| Rookie of the Year | Victor Wembanyama | Victor Wembanyama | Victor Wembanyama | Victor Wembanyama | Victor Wembanyama | Chet Holmgren | Victor Wembanyama |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Victor Wembanyama | Victor Wembanyama | Bam Adebayo | Evan Mobley | Evan Mobley | Anthony Davis | Bam Adebayo |
| Most Improved Player | Tyrese Maxey | Ziaire Williams | Tyrese Maxey | Desmond Bane | Mikal Bridges | Devin Vassell | Desmond Bane |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Immanuel Quickley | Chris Paul | Immanuel Quickley | Malik Monk | Derrick White | Malik Monk | Malik Monk |
NBA awards predictions: Expert picks as Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum battle for MVP, two trophies for Wemby?
A new NBA season is upon us, so let's make some predictions
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2 min read
Whatever the results of the forthcoming 2023-24 NBA player awards, let's hope that the race is more wholesome and peaceful than it has been for the past few years. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but now that Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have each earned Most Valuable Player, maybe we can do away with the childishness and name-calling from fans who think things aren't going their way.
Awards are difficult to predict because they're so dependent on team performance and narrative, but our CBS Sports NBA experts bravely decided to give it a shot. The best part of awards races is that they tend to shift from month to month, week to week, even day to day over the course of the NBA season, so these should be fun to track as we go along.
Here are our NBA awards picks for the 2023-24 season:
Many picked Jokic to take away a third MVP award in four seasons, while French sensation Victor Wembanyama is the consensus for Rookie of the Year – though not a unanimous selection. All of the other awards – Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved, Sixth Man, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year – drew vastly different picks from our panel.
Wembanayama, however, was the only player who received votes for multiple awards. The Spurs' No. 1 pick has only built the hype in the preseason, using his 7-foot-4 frame to dominate on both ends of the court.
While the player awards get most of the focus, we're making Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year picks, too. There are no unanimous picks here, either, but Celtics exec Brad Stevens and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault both received at least three votes.
| Coach of the Year | Executive of the Year | |
|---|---|---|
Brad Botkin | Quin Snyder, Hawks | Joe Cronin, Blazers |
James Herbert | Michael Malone, Nuggets | Brad Stevens, Celtics |
Jack Maloney | Mark Daigneault, Thunder | Brad Stevens, Celtics |
Sam Quinn | Joe Mazzulla, Celtics | Brad Stevens, Celtics |
Bill Reiter | Mark Daigneault, Thunder | Jon Horst, Bucks |
Colin Ward-Henninger | Rick Carlisle, Pacers | Brad Stevens, Celtics |
Jasmyn Wimbish | Mark Daigneault, Thunder | Jon Horst, Bucks |
Looking for more NBA preview content? Check out our staff picks for the 2024 champion as well as the complete projected standings. The Nuggets are No. 1 in CBS Sports' initial 2023-24 Power Rankings. And Brad Botkin makes 10 bold predictions for the new season.
