Movement. That has been the button word in the NBA, from pundits to fans and to the season itself. Heck, we started off out recent sports show with an update on an actual move. Within the dust storm of all that movement, we found a peaceful moment, and got a clear view of the season we have witnessed so far. Top teams like the Thunder and Cavs have given us blockbuster after exciting blockbuster matchups, players like Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokic have given us (note: continue to give us) reasons not to forget their names in any conversation about individual accolades and it’s all been backed by great staffing, player support and coaching. Time has come for us to get into and extrapolate our views and votes on who’s earned those accolades thus far.

Rookie of the Year (ROTY)

Stephon Castle (San Antonio) – This has been a rough year for rookies. Some names have come alive more as of late including Stephon Castle, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington and Isaiah Collier. I’ll give the nod to Stephon Castle at this point in time as he is one of the few rookies with a positive Win Share (0.5) according to Basketball Reference. He is currently averaging 13.2 points, 3.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. – Coach Craig

Notable votes: Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta), Jaylen Wells (Memphis)

Sixth Man of the Year (6th)

Russell Westbrook (Denver) – Iggy

Notable votes: Spencer Dinwiddie (Dallas), Malik Beasley (Detroit)

Most Improved Player (MiP)

Austin Reaves (LA Lakers) – My vote has “homer” written all over it, but the impact that his improvement has made has led to major win shares on the same team that has Lebron James, had Anthony Davis when on his MVP play and now Luka Doncic who is playing like a man possessed. Hard to show improvement on a team with such offensive prowess. – JR

Notable Votes: Christian Braun (Denver), Dyson Daniels (Atlanta)

Coach of the Year (CotY)

J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit)- I have always been a fan of Bickerstaff. His work with turning the Pistons around from one of the worst teams in the league to currently the #6 seed in the East deserves a ton of love! – Coach

Notable Votes: JJ Redick, Michael Malone

Defensive Player of the Year (DPoY)

Dyson Daniels (Atlanta) – He turns you over. If we’re playing the stat game with these awards, we might as well go all the way down the line. He’s played in almost all games for Atlanta and has nearly 1 block per game. JR

One of my favorite players in the 2022 Draft Class has broken out for the Atlanta Hawks. He has developed into a solid wing defender and is currently averaging 3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Coach

Notable Votes:Evan Mobley as Co-DPoY

Most Valuable Player (MVP)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) – Wins count. I personally cannot pick and choose which stats matter more in an era where this award is based on stats. While Jokic has the better individual stat line, SGA has the bigger impact reflected by wins. It’s rare (Westbrook) when you have an MVP of a franchise that isn’t a clear front-runner.

Notable Votes: Nikola Jokic

That closes out our first week of votes. The best part about this weeks’ voting – How our writers were thinking. If you want a more in-depth look at what we had to say, check our collection of thoughts here. Also, don’t forget to follow us on or various social media platforms. And, lastly, if you have an opinion on your MVP, DPoY or any other award, make sure to comment below! Tune in next week!