OKC Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren headline finalists for NBA awards
The NBA announced finalists for all seven of its individual end-of-season awards on Sunday, and multiple OKC Thunder players are in the running. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award alongside Denver's Nikola Jokic and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama. He's also a finalist for the Clutch Player of the Year award, joining Minnesota's Anthony Edwards and Denver's Jamal Murray.
Chet Holmgren is a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award as well. The other two candidates are Wembanyama and Detroit's Ausar Thompson. Here's a look at the finalists for all seven awards: TAKEAWAYS: OKC Thunder flexes muscles in Game 1 rout vs Suns to start NBA Playoff run Finalists for 2025-26 NBA awards Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , OKC Thunder Nikola Jokic , Denver Nuggets Victor Wembanyama , San Antonio Spurs Defensive Player of the Year Chet Holmgren , OKC Thunder Ausar Thompson , Detroit Pistons Victor Wembanyama , San Antonio Spurs Rookie of the Year VJ Edgecombe , Philadelphia 76ers Cooper Flagg , Dallas Mavericks Kon Knueppel , Charlotte Hornets Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker , Atlanta Hawks Deni Avdija , Portland Trail Blazers Jalen Duren , Detroit Pistons Sixth Man of the Year Tim Hardaway Jr.
, Denver Nuggets Jaime Jaquez Jr. , Miami Heat Keldon Johnson , San Antonio Spurs Clutch Player of the Year Anthony Edwards , Minnesota Timberwolves Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , OKC Thunder Jamal Murray , Denver Nuggets Coach of the Year J. B.
Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons Mitch Johnson, San Antonio Spurs Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics REQUIRED READING: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 'unfinished product' mindset fuels OKC Thunder powerhouse When will 2025-26 NBA awards be announced? Here's a complete list of confirmed announcement dates for the 2025-26 NBA awards. All times are Central.
Monday, April 20: Defensive Player of the Year, 5 p. m. (Peacock and NBCSN) Tuesday, April 21: Clutch Player of the Year, 5 p.