2026 NBA Awards Ballot: Victor Wembanyama for MVP, Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year
Here's Kevin O'Connor's official ballot and the reasons behind every single choice.
It's NBA awards time! This is my 10th year as one of the league’s voters, and these were some of the toughest choices I’ve ever had to make. Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, in particular, were incredibly difficult.
Here's my official ballot and the reasons behind every single choice. Rookie of the Year All-Rookie Teams Sixth Man of the Year Defensive Player of the Year All-Defensive Teams Coach of the Year Most Improved Player Clutch Player of the Year Most Valuable Player All-NBA Teams Rookie of the Year 1. Cooper Flagg, Mavericks 2.
Kon Knueppel, Hornets 3. VJ Edgecombe, Sixers Flagg is probably going to be the best player to come out of this draft, probably by a wide margin, and probably will be in the running for an All-NBA team as soon as next season. He dropped 51 in a game, then had 45 two nights later.
He led the Mavericks in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. The last rookie to do that was Michael Jordan. And he did it under conditions that should have buried him.
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