Top Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
Going against Jokic isn't an easy choice as the Serbian big man continues to stuff the stat sheet with monster numbers and has maintained his incredible shooting efficiency despite shouldering a larger-than-usual chunk of the Nuggets scoring load this season. What puts Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of Jokic for me is the role he's played in helping the Thunder make the sudden surge from frisky upstarts to one of the best teams in the NBA this season. Gilgeous-Alexander has taken yet another step forward on the offensive end after his remarkable improvement a year ago (31.1 PPG, 54.6 FG%, 37.1 3P%, 57.6 EFG%, 6.5 AST-all of which save for PPG and 3P% are new career highs) while also serving as a key part of the Thunder's defensive identity-averaging 0.9 blocks and a career-best 2.2 steals per game and the even-keeled leader this young group looks to whenever they need to make a play in crunchtime.
Honorable Mentions: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Top Defensive Player: Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
When Minnesota shipped out all of that draft capital to Utah for Gobert in the summer of 2022, the 2023-24 version of Gobert was the player they hoped to be getting. The Stifle Tower has been a wildly effective interior anchor of the Wolves suffocating defense (currently ranked #1 in the league) and returned to form as a premiere shot blocker/post defender/defensive rebounder after an underwhelming inaugural campaign in the Twin Cities.
Honorable Mentions: Bam Adebayo (Heat), Chet Holmgren (Thunder), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Top Rookie: Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
The additional unforeseen hurdle of having to recover from a severe foot injury proved to not be a hurdle at all for the #2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Gonzaga product has defied any reasonable expectations placed upon him heading into his delayed NBA debut season and made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor (16.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 53.5 FG%, 39.3 3P%, 2.6 BPG, 0.7 SPG) for a Thunder squad that previously lacked dynamism in their frontcourt.
Honorable Mentions: Victor Wembanyama (Spurs), Brandon Miller (Hornets), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat)
Top Most Improved: Tyrese Maxey (76ers)
Somebody on the 76ers was going to need step up to fill the major offensive void left by the departure of James Harden and Maxey emerged as that guy right away. Maxey has proven to be a reliable facilitator and elite 2nd scoring option behind Joel Embiid while maintaining the aggressive mentality and smooth touch around the rim he had when he was the lightning-rod #3 in the 76ers offense a year ago. How he fares as the top dog with Embiid remains out indefinitely with a torn meniscus remains to be seen, but he's the runaway winner for this honor at this point of the season.
Honorable Mentions: Coby White (Bulls), Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors)
Top 6th Man: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Mavericks)
One of the bigger surprises in the NBA this season has been just how good Hardaway Jr. has been as the Mavs 6th man. Why the 31-year old is suddenly exceling in a role as a top bench option/spot starter that he's served in for the majority of the past 5 seasons remains a mystery, but his contributions as a spark scorer off the bench (17.3 PPG, 41.4 FG%, 36.5 3P%) have helped the Mavericks win some games that they failed to last year when they didn't have a player they could turn to make buckets whenever Luka or Kyrie weren't on the floor, so the why doesn't really matter.
Honorable Mentions: Malik Monk (Kings), Norman Powell (Clippers), Caris LeVert (Cavaliers)
Top Coach: Mark Daigneault (Thunder)
When Mark Daigneault replaced Billy Donovan as head coach of the Thunder ahead of the 2020-21 season, Sam Presti cited that the then 35-year old was the right man for the job despite his relative lack of experience at the NBA level (at the time, he had been an NBA assistant head coach for 2 years and a G-League head coach for 5). This season, Presti finally gets to do his victory lap for trusting Daigneault to succeed in this tough gig. Daigneault's efforts in developing this young roster and building an identity over the past 3 seasons has finally led to really impressive results as the team has suddenly transformed into one of the best teams in the NBA as they hold a 37-17 record (2nd best record in the Western Conference, 3rd best in the league) at the All-Star break. Their youth might catch up with them come playoff time, but right now it's hard not to be extremely impressed with the job Daigneault has done with a team that was not supposed to be this sharp, tough and well-balanced at this stage of their rebuilding efforts.
Honorable Mentions: Chris Finch (Timberwolves), Tyrone Lue (Clippers), J.B. Bickerstaff (Cavaliers)
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