The NBA announced the finalists for its regular season awards for the 2023-24 season, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. 

The list of finalists for the MVP award includes Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic is looking for his third MVP award, while Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the first-time finalists.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert is looking to add another DPOY award to his resume, having claimed the honor three times so far. He will be challenged by Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and San Antonio Spurs’ rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is also in the running for the ROY award and is the overwhelming favorite to win it. OKC’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller are the two other finalists.

OKC’s Mark Daigneault, Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, and Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley are in the running for the Coach of the Year award. Daigneault led his team to a 57-25 record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while Finch and Timberwolves finished just one win behind OKC with a 56-26 record. Mosley, on the other hand, guided the Magic to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-35 record and the first playoff appearance since 2019–20.

The finalists for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award are Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), and Naz Reid (Timberwolves). Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), and Coby White (Chicago Bulls) are in the running for the Most Improved Player award, while the Clutch Player of the Year award will go to either Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) or Gilgeous-Alexander.

The winners for each award will be announced during the NBA playoffs.

The post NBA Announces Finalists for 2023-24 Regular Season Awards, Including MVP and DPOY appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder fans are still enjoying triple-doubles from their players despite Russell Westbrook leaving in the summer. This season it’s their young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is filling the stats sheet for OKC and putting up some impressive numbers.

On Monday night, Gilgeous-Alexander helped Thunder get a 117-104 win over Minnesota Timberwolves with a triple-double that saw him score 20 points, dish 10 assists, and grab 20 rebounds. By doing so, he became the youngest player in NBA history to have a triple-double that included 20 boards.

Gilgeous-Alexander is also only the fourth player who managed to get 20 points and 20 boards triple-double in his sophomore year. The other three are Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Charles Barkley.

The 21-year-old guard credited his OKC head coach Billy Donovan for pushing him to contribute with an all-around game.

“Coach had challenged me before the game to fill up the stat sheet more and do more things,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Because he thought, as well as myself thought, that I was more capable of what I was doing.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was 11th overall pick in 2018, joined Oklahoma City Thunder in the offseason as part of a blockbuster trade that sent Paul George to Los Angeles Clippers. He was immediately installed as the Thunder’s starting guard and thrived in the role. Gilgeous-Alexander currently averages 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Becomes Youngest NBA Player With 20 Rebounds Triple Double appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The NBA announced the finalists for its regular season awards for the 2023-24 season, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. 

The list of finalists for the MVP award includes Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic is looking for his third MVP award, while Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the first-time finalists.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert is looking to add another DPOY award to his resume, having claimed the honor three times so far. He will be challenged by Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and San Antonio Spurs’ rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is also in the running for the ROY award and is the overwhelming favorite to win it. OKC’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller are the two other finalists.

OKC’s Mark Daigneault, Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, and Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley are in the running for the Coach of the Year award. Daigneault led his team to a 57-25 record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while Finch and Timberwolves finished just one win behind OKC with a 56-26 record. Mosley, on the other hand, guided the Magic to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-35 record and the first playoff appearance since 2019–20.

The finalists for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award are Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), and Naz Reid (Timberwolves). Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), and Coby White (Chicago Bulls) are in the running for the Most Improved Player award, while the Clutch Player of the Year award will go to either Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) or Gilgeous-Alexander.

The winners for each award will be announced during the NBA playoffs.

The post NBA Announces Finalists for 2023-24 Regular Season Awards, Including MVP and DPOY appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder fans are still enjoying triple-doubles from their players despite Russell Westbrook leaving in the summer. This season it’s their young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is filling the stats sheet for OKC and putting up some impressive numbers.

On Monday night, Gilgeous-Alexander helped Thunder get a 117-104 win over Minnesota Timberwolves with a triple-double that saw him score 20 points, dish 10 assists, and grab 20 rebounds. By doing so, he became the youngest player in NBA history to have a triple-double that included 20 boards.

Gilgeous-Alexander is also only the fourth player who managed to get 20 points and 20 boards triple-double in his sophomore year. The other three are Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Charles Barkley.

The 21-year-old guard credited his OKC head coach Billy Donovan for pushing him to contribute with an all-around game.

“Coach had challenged me before the game to fill up the stat sheet more and do more things,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Because he thought, as well as myself thought, that I was more capable of what I was doing.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was 11th overall pick in 2018, joined Oklahoma City Thunder in the offseason as part of a blockbuster trade that sent Paul George to Los Angeles Clippers. He was immediately installed as the Thunder’s starting guard and thrived in the role. Gilgeous-Alexander currently averages 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Becomes Youngest NBA Player With 20 Rebounds Triple Double appeared first on SportzBonanza.