With the 2024-25 NBA season about to tip off, it’s time to make predictions! Who will win individual awards this year? Our writers weigh in.
Check out our championship predictions here.
Who will be the Rookie of the Year?
Dan Devine: Reed Sheppard. As tempting as it was to pick Zach Edey as the Day 1 starting center on a team with title aspirations, I’m banking on Sheppard’s combination of knockdown shooting, pick-and-roll playmaking and turnover-generating on-ball defense to break through the roster logjam in Houston, earning him big minutes to rack up big production and help propel the Rockets back into the postseason.
Kevin O’Connor: Zach Edey. Edey will play a pivotal role for the Grizzlies as a post presence, a lob threat for Ja Morant, and even as a floor spacer from the corners. On defense, Edey will be an imposing presence around the rim who inhales rebounds.
Vincent Goodwill: Reed Sheppard. This isn’t about best player or best potential, because this wasn’t that kind of draft. But what this is about is who’s in the best possible position to have the ball in his hands immediately and produce. Sheppard is a really good shooter and sound decision-maker. Houston should contend for at least the play-in, and in lieu of a Day 1 superstar, Sheppard can snatch the ROY.
Tom Haberstroh: Zach Edey. I strongly believe Reed Sheppard will be better this year, but Edey has a clearer path to big-time minutes. The Grizzlies need Edey to fill in 30 minutes at the center position whereas Sheppard has Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green ahead of him on the depth chart. Stephen Curry lost to Tyreke Evans for Rookie of the Year in similar fashion.
Dan Titus: Zach Edey. Edey is the only one who projects to earn starters’ minutes from day one. That’s a significant advantage compared to the field because winning Rookie of the Year is about productivity. He’ll play 20+ minutes per night and should average a low-end double-double while being an impactful rim protector defensively. With a draft class that lacks immediate star power, it could only take averaging 10-11 points per game to take home the award like Malcolm Brogdon in 2016-17.
Ben Rohrbach: Reed Sheppard. The kid is an electric shooter, making better than 50% of his 3-pointers as a Kentucky freshman. He will have plenty of opportunities to perform in Houston, where a collection of prospects should propel the Rockets to the play-in tournament. Not often do Rookies of the Year blend individual and team success; he has a shot.
Who will be the Defensive Player of the Year?
Rohrbach: Victor Wembanyama. Let his reign begin. There is a chance nobody else will win this award for at least another decade. Wembanyama is that impactful. He was the league’s best defensive player last season, when his team’s lack of success prevented him from garnering enough votes. This season will be different. This season will be undeniable.
Titus: Victor Wembanyama. Over the past 20 years, players who average at least three blocks and one steal per game in a season typically . Jaren Jackson Jr. (2022-23), Marcus Camby (2006-07) and Ben Wallace (2004-06) were the last to do it and all took home the award. Wembanyama hit those marks as a rookie. Voters won’t be able to use the Spurs’ record as an excuse this year — this award is going to Wemby.
Devine: Victor Wembanyama. Twenty games into last season, Gregg Popovich moved Zach Collins from the starting lineup to the bench, allowing the No. 1 overall pick to slide from power forward to center. From that point on, Big Vic averaged 3.9 blocks, 1.2 steals and 2.9 deflections in 29.5 minutes per game, holding opponents to 53% shooting at the rim. He turned a Spurs defense that was ranked 27th before the lineup shift into a league-average unit afterward — and one that clamped down at a top-two level when he was on the floor. I think he’s going to be even better than that this season; that is absolutely horrifying.
Goodwill: Victor Wembanyama. Is he Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger? Is he omnipresent or frightening in your dreams? Wembanyama will be the league’s nightmare this year, continuing on his nearly five blocks a night showing after the All-Star break. He’s stronger this season and equipped to handle responsibilities at all three levels. Might as well name this award after him, it’ll be etched here for the next decade.
Haberstroh: Victor Wembanyama. Once Gregg Popovich came to his senses and put the 7-foot-4 guy at the center slot last season, it was over. He averaged six stocks (steals plus blocks) per game after the All-Star break, and the Spurs posted a top-12 defensive rating during that time with a ragtag group of contributors. He’s only getting started.
O’Connor: Victor Wembanyama. This will be Victor Wembanyama’s award to lose for the next decade. There has not been a more transformative defender this century.
Who will be the Coach of the Year?
Titus: Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were one of the most injury-riddled teams last season, winning just 27 games. Memphis was a 50+ win team in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and with all of their foundational pieces still intact and mostly healthy, Jenkins will get plenty of credit for rehabbing a bottom-five team into a high-seeded playoff contender. A 20-to-25-game improvement will be an easy sell.
Goodwill: Mike Budenholzer, Suns. Who knows if Bud is truly a better coach than one-and-done Frank Vogel, but there’s no doubt he’s a better fit for this roster construction. The Suns…
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