I am a prediction wasteland.
With that said,
MVP | Joel Embiid
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR | Paolo Banchero
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER | Lauri Markkanen
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR | Jaren Jackson Jr.
CLUTCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR | De'Aaron Fox
COACH OF THE YEAR | Mike Brown
I want Embiid to win because I am sold on the idea that Nikola Jokic must play in the finals to make his three-season MVP reign credible. Maybe this is the time that Jokic would defy the odds but the risk of making him a three-time consecutive MVP with three consecutive early-round playoff exits would be detrimental to his status. This is almost as synonymous with Golden State's 73-9 regular season that fell flat in the finals and Steve Nash's two MVPs despite the awesomeness of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Yes, the Nash thing can be valid but it doesn't help his case that Phoenix failed to claim a finals finish. Inasmuch as having three MVPs is a good thing, it's hard to create a positive Joker conversation if he's not able to finish the season winning or at least battling for a championship.
As for the Most Improved Player, I know Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to send an otherwise laughable Oklahoma City Thunder to the play-in but the same can be said with Lauri Markkanen. With that said, you can say that a one-for-one swap with Donovan Mitchell can make sense at this point in their careers. "The Finnisher" continued his great FIBA run to the NBA and it took a hand injury to destroy their overachieving playoff hopes.
The other three awards I mentioned here are gimmes. Paolo Banchero is the runaway choice for Rookie of the Year because he is a young Orlando Magic player who stayed away from an injury scare. Mike Brown transformed the Sacramento Kings into the team I'm rooting for in the West. And Jaren Jackson Jr. shocked the world by getting an All-Star selection because he is the current leader in stocks.
Steals and blocks.
I guess this is now a thing.
The odd award here is the Clutch Player of the Year award. I guess this is like the NBA's version of UAAP's Maaasahang Player of the Game award in which a cash prize or gift certificate is given to the player who helped his team with a victory. I think this is an award you can have given in an Inside the NBA studio but as a trophy with lineage, this is kind of questionable. With that said, inasmuch as I want to see DeMar DeRozan winning the award, Fox is the only player who brought his game when it was needed but it's not really the clutch baskets... but by making people believe that Sacramento did it right when they sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana instead of him.