5 bold predictions for 2025 NBA award season: Draymond Green to win Defensive Player of the Year, Luka Doncic to win NBA Finals MVP & more

As the NBA draws closer to the end of the 2024-25 regular season, the focus shifts from the 82-game marathon to the high-intensity sprint of the postseason. However, the end of the season also means it is time for experts to begin thinking about who will be receiving their votes for the end-of-season awards.

There have been a lot of tight races for awards this season, with multiple awards, including the MVP, being debated as we speak. Let's take a step back and pick out the winners of five of the major awards that will be given out later this year. Selections were based on the current odds for the award by BetMGM as well as individual and team success this year.

Here are our picks for five major 2025 NBA Awards.

Draymond Green wins Defensive Player of the Year

For the first half of the season, San Antonio Spurs All-Star center Victor Wembanyama was the runaway favorite to take home this year's Defensive Player of the Year award after finishing second in voting to Minnesota's Rudy Gobert last season. However, Wembanyama bowed out of this year's race thanks to blood clots in his right shoulder that ended his season early.

Without Wembanyama, the Defensive Player of the Year race has come down to two players: Evan Mobley and Draymond Green. Both players are the main frontcourt defensive presence for teams that are set to make the playoffs. However, the separating factor between the two is the fact that Draymond Green has done more with less defensive help around him.

The Warriors helped out Draymond Green at this year's deadline by bringing in Jimmy Butler, but Green has had to shoulder the bulk of the defensive responsibility for the Warriors as they have gone on a tear that has seen them reach the fifth spot in the Western Conference.

Mobley, on the other hand, has been surrounded by Jarrett Allen and other good defensive players, which could indicate that Green's defense has been more impactful to his team's success, giving him the edge in the DPOY race.

Cade Cunningham wins Most Improved Player

Over the last few seasons, the NBA's Most Improved Player award has been given to stars who break into the All-Star game for the first time in their career in that season. While that decision-making process doesn't leave the best taste in the mouths of many NBA fans, it is likely to happen yet again this year.

However boring it may seem, Cade Cunningham more than deserves to take this award home. The former first overall pick has improved across the board, increasing his averages by 3.0 points, 1.7 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game from last season, and he is expected to earn All-NBA honors this season.

The biggest factor that separates Cunningham from the other contenders is the fact that he has been one of the leaders for a Pistons team that has pivoted into contention immediately after one of their worst years ever. Detroit lost 28 straight games last season and now find themselves with a chance to host a first-round series, and Cunningham has played a large part in that.

J.B. Bickerstaff wins NBA Coach of the Year

While Cade Cunningham might have been the on-court leader behind the Detroit Pistons' historic turnaround, the addition of J.B. Bickerstaff as their head coach has been the true catalyst for the team's success. After a rocky year under Monty Williams, the Pistons were looking for a coach who could help them instill a new culture in the team, and Bickerstaff filled that need and then some.

Bickerstaff had success with the Cavaliers but consistently fell short of expectations in the postseason, resulting in his exit after last season. However, he has helped the Pistons triple their win total from last year with six games left in their season. He and Detroit have been marked as one of the more dangerous teams in the playoff picture, thanks largely to his coaching.

Ironically, Bickerstaff's biggest competition for this award is the coach that replaced him in Cleveland, Kenny Atkinson, who has flourished in his first season with the Cavaliers, rekindling Darius Garland's game and unlocking another level to Evan Mobley's.

While the Cavaliers sit atop the Eastern Conference, we think this award goes to Bickerstaff because of his impact both as a coach and as someone who changed the team's culture.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins NBA MVP

Since the season tipped off, the MVP race has largely been between two players from the Northwest Division: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Both players have, with the exception of the brief inclusion of LeBron James in the conversation, set themselves apart from the rest of the NBA when it comes to this award.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic will likely finish first and second in MVP voting this year, like they did last year when Jokic took home the honors. However, we're giving the edge to Gilgeous-Alexander because of the chance he has to lead the Thunder to one of the best records in recent NBA history as they continue to chase 70 wins.

Both players have been the offensive engines behind their teams and are darlings in the eyes of advanced statistics, but there is a 17.5-game gap between their squads at this point in the season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the best player on the best team and should take home his first MVP award.

Luka Doncic wins Finals MVP

Shifting our focus to the most important postseason crown outside the Larry O'Brien trophy, Luka Doncic is among the top contenders to take the award home before the playoffs kick off. The Los Angeles Lakers have had plenty of success since trading for Doncic at the trade deadline, and he is one of the best playoff performers in the league.

The Lakers will have to get through a gauntlet in the Western Conference playoffs, but with Doncic and LeBron James leading the way, Los Angeles will have the top-end talent advantage in almost every series they play in. Doncic was able to lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season and has exchanged Kyrie Irving for LeBron James as his main co-star.

The Slovenian has made a name for himself as a playoff riser and is expected to do so again, this time for the Purple and Gold. The team around him might be better than the squad he led to the NBA Finals last year, with LeBron James, who will likely take pressure off of Doncic as a playmaker.

Both James and Doncic have a "playoff mode" that could propel their team to the championship and could potentially secure an NBA Finals MVP trophy for Doncic along the way.