NBA 2024-25 Awards predictions

Less than a week remains until the NBA season starts up and on that note, let’s take a look at my predictions for the 2024-25 NBA Award winners.

NBA Champions:

It just feels like this pick has to be the Boston Celtics.

Boston finished with the best record in the NBA last season and they only lost a total of three games on their championship run.

The championship run looked way too easy for Joe Mazzulla’s team and even with teams like the Knicks, Thunder, 76ers and Timberwolves bolstering their rosters in the offseason, it still feels like no team matches up well with the Celtics.

The Celtics retained their entire squad from last year and added Lonnie Walker IV during the offseason. This team is as talented as it gets in the NBA and I’m not sure any team could keep up with the star power that the Celtics have.

Most Valuable Player:

Luka Doncic was one assist as well as one rebound shy of averaging a triple-double and he led the Mavs to his first NBA finals appearance of his career last season.

It seems as if Doncic is a finalist for the award every year but I have a strong feeling that this might finally be the year in which he wins it.

Luka has fallen behind Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic in previous years because of the fact that Dallas has never been one of the top-ranked teams in the NBA but after Dallas’ playoff run last year, his odds are a lot better.

Luka’s bound to put together an MVP season in his career and if he can take the Mavericks to a higher ranking in the West than Denver, the MVP award should be his.

Defensive Player of The Year:

Victor Wembanyama should’ve been the first rookie to ever win the Defensive Player of the Year Award last season. But ultimately the result of the DPOY race was Rudy Gobert winning his fourth DPOY award over the rookie which caused a lot of controversy.

Despite playing on a minutes restriction for much of the season, Wemby forced the most turnovers by a very wide margin with a total of 342 turnovers including 254 blocks which is 64 more blocks than the second-place leader, Chet Holmgren.

Wemby’s not just a disruptor in ball screen situations but his length and timing change the geometry of the floor. No pass or shot is safe around his 8-foot wingspan.

Wemby finished second in DPOY voting in his rookie season and I expect him to take the spot as the league’s best defender in the upcoming season.

Rookie of The Year:

There’s no clear favorite for the Rookie of The Year Award but I think the player that’ll have the best rookie season is Zach Edey.

Edey’s a skilled post-scorer who can run the pick and roll at a very high level. The Grizzlies are pairing him up with Ja Morant which means the pick-and-roll game is going to produce a ton of highlights in Memphis.

The Naismith Player of The Year is also a solid defender as he was one of ten finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of The Year Award in his last year at Purdue.

If I were asked which rookie would make the biggest impact this season, I’d have to say Zach Edey.

Coach of The Year:

Mark my words, the Houston Rockets will make the playoffs and Ime Udoka will win the Coach of The Year Award.

The progression of the young talent in Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr. and the newest addition Reed Sheppard is going to be vital to this team's success for years to come but I truly believe that Houston is one of the biggest risers in the NBA.

The talent on this Houston team is off-the-chart and if they can figure out how to utilize their strengths and play as a team, this team could be dangerous.

The playoffs are seen as a longshot for Houston but an appearance for this team would make Udoka the Coach of the Year Award winner.

Most Improved Player:

This is a pick that I had a ton of fun with and I chose Jaden Ivey.

The explosive young talent has showcased his ability to score and make plays in the preseason thus far under the coaching of J.B. Bickerstaff.

Through four preseason games he’s averaging 18 points and he’s shooting 60 percent from the field which is a very drastic jump from last season in which he averaged 12 points while shooting 44 percent from the field.

You can see the improvements in his game when looking at his vision on the court and the way that he’s finally utilizing his athleticism.

He has the talent to explode and it seems as if he’s got his confidence back, so watch out for a strong season from the former lottery pick.

Sixth Man of The Year:

I thought Malik Monk was snubbed of the award last season but fortunately for him, I think he can win it this year.

Monk led the league in points and assists off the bench as he posted the best season of his seven-year career, averaging 15 points on 44 percent shooting from the field with five assists in 26 minutes off the bench.

He's the first player in 35 years to lead the league in bench points in consecutive seasons without winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award and there is no way that this can continue to go on.

With the Kings acquiring DeMar DeRozan, I expect Sacramento to be a hot team and for Monk to put up strong numbers while impacting the game at a high level off the bench.

Jacob Zacharia is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jjz5612@psu.edu.