2026 NBA Awards predictions: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and the awards races to watch down the stretch
With less than three weeks to go in the regular season, we asked our NBA voting panel to predict the winner for each individual award.
We’ve entered the final stretch of the NBA’s awards races, where top candidates are making their cases on a nightly basis. Victor Wembanyama, for one, made it clear Monday why he thinks he deserves to be MVP this season. But will he win?
With less than three weeks to go in the regular season, we asked our 10-person NBA voting panel to predict the winner for each individual award to gauge where each race currently stands. Here are the results: [ Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season ] Who will win Rookie of the Year? Voting breakdown Kon Knueppel, Hornets: 90% Cooper Flagg, Mavericks: 10% Is the Rookie of the Year race already over?
What was looking like a tight two-person race between Knueppel and Flagg at midseason has become Knueppel’s award to lose, according to our panel. The Hornets guard is second among rookies in scoring at 19. 1 ppg, behind Flagg’s 20.
3 ppg, and leads the league in 3-pointers made while shooting 43. 4% from distance. But it’s his impact on a playoff contender, plus the fact Flagg missed nearly a month with a foot injury, that appears to have him firmly in the lead.
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