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The NBA’s 2025-26 awards were fully revealed after theCeltics’ Joe Mazzullaon Tuesday became the youngest Coach of the Year winner in over 50 years.
Two California Post sports staffers,NBA reporter Melissa RohlinandLakers reporter Khobi Price, had two of the 100 ballots that determined the voting for every award — fromMVP (Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)and Coach of the Year to All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year (Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama).
Here are insights into their voting process:
Price:With respect for transparency, it’s important to noteI had Doncic third on my MVP ballot. So his fourth-place finish is more than fair. Gilgeous-Alexander was once again the best player on the league’s best team and had a historic season in his own right when factoring in his productivity, efficiency and ability to lead the Thunder to a league-best 64-win season. He was the clear-cut season-long MVP, evident by him receiving 83 first-place votes. It’s nitpicking when deciding between Doncic, Wembanyama and Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic for spots Nos. 2-4. Wembanyama has an argument for the league’s most impactful two-way player per minute. But the gap between his total minutes played (1,866) compared to Doncic (2,289) and Jokic (2,265), and offensive impact/workload favored Doncic and Jokic even with respect to Wembanyama’s defensive dominance. It was splitting hairs when deciding between Doncic and Jokic for second place, but Jokic’s historic production, efficiency and early-season dominance (he was the MVP favorite before getting injured in late December) gave him the slight edge.
Rohlin:There was a very strong field, and this was a hard decision. Doncic had a phenomenal season, and his stats were eye-popping, includinghis unbelievable March in which he averaged 37.5 pointsand led the Lakers to a 15-2 record. But Shai GIlgeous-Alexander was the best player on the league’s best team, Victor Wembanyama was an absolute force on both ends of the court and Nikola Jokic put up video game numbers. While Doncic had a great season, I think his fourth-place finish was fair. The Lakers had an up-and-down season before their surge in the spring, and the competition for this award was incredibly deep.
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Price:Similar to Doncic, it came down to a very competitive field. Redick is clearly already among the upper echelon of coaches. Leading the Lakers to a 53-win season despite Doncic (18 games), LeBron James (22) and Austin Reaves (31) missing a combined 71 games and the role player overhaul made Redick a worthy candidate for votes. But as notedin my story in the aftermath of the voting results being revealed, oftentimes Coach of the Year voting comes down to which team overachieved the most. And Mazzulla’s Celtics, J.B. Bickerstaff’s Pistons and Mitch Johnson’s Spurs were the biggest overachievers of the season. And that’s before getting into Charles Lee’s Hornets and Jordan Ott’s Suns. But it’s clear Redick is on the path to being a great coach, if not already one, who should receive consideration moving forward.
Rohlin:This was another tough one. Redick cemented himself as a great coach this season. He got the Big Three of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James to buy into their roles, including getting James, who’s arguably the greatest player of all time, to embrace being the team’s third offensive option. And then after Doncic and Reaves suffered injuries April 2, he convinced a Lakers team that everyone counted out to believe in themselves, which led to them shocking the basketball world by winning their first-round series against the Rockets. Redick deserves a lot of kudos, but the Celtics, Pistons and Spurs also greatly outperformed their expectations. The Celtics had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference despite Jayson Tatum missing 66 games. The Pistons went from missing the playoffs last season to finishing with the East’s top record. And the Spurs finished with the second-best record in the league, becoming a real powerhouse faster than anyone anticipated. I had Joe Mazzulla at the top of my ballot, followed by J.B. Bickerstaff and Mitch Johnson. But that doesn’t take anything away from Redick’s season.
Price:Not really when factoring in the missed time between Reaves and James. It’s less about punishing players for injuries, but more so acknowledging the natural season-long impact suppression compared to some of their peers.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
