When Are the NBA Awards Announced for 2022?

The NBA Awards are announced annually in June, with the specific date and time varying from year to year. For 2022, the awards are scheduled to be announced on June 26 at 8:00pm ET.

NBA Awards

The NBA Awards are handed out every year to honor the top performers in the regular season. The awards were first handed out in the 1974-75 season. They are typically announced in June. This year, the awards will be announced on June 26, 2022.

Most Valuable Player (MVP)

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until 1963. Until 2011, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since 2012, a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada have been employed to voting for the award.

In 1975–76 Bob McAdoo became the only player in NBA history to win both the scoring title and MVP in back-to-back seasons; Wilt Chamberlain did it in both 1971–72 and 1972–73, but lost out to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for MVP each time. In 1980–81 Larry Bird became just the second player in history to win three MVPs, after Chamberlain achieved the feat seven years earlier. Magic Johnson would win his third two years later. Michael Jordan would achieve his sixth six years after that—no other player has more than three MVPs.

The two most recent recipients are Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, who won their second awards respectively in 2020 and 2021. Bill Russell has won the most awards with 11, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won six times—both men are tied for second-most all-time behind only Jordan. Russell and James are also tied for second-most wins by a player still active with five apiece; only Dirk Nowitzki (4) has more among active players.

Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, each second-place vote is worth three points, and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

To be eligible for the award, a player must be listed on the official roster of an NBA team during the last game of the regular season. A player who is not on this list but was active at some point during the regular season (such as those who were traded or signed to a 10-day contract) is eligible as well. Voting takes place at the end of the regular season before the NBA Playoffs.

The most recent winner of the DPOY Award is Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

Rookie of the Year (ROY)

The Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, named after the former Philadelphia Warriors head coach.

Rookies who are deemed eligible for the ROY award are players who did not play in any professional basketball league prior to entering the NBA, and who have played less than 50 games in their NBA career.

The 2022 NBA Awards will be announced at a later date. Stay tuned for updates!

Sixth Man of the Year (SMOY)

The award is given to the best player coming off the bench as a substitute (must have more games coming off the bench than games starting). The voting panel consists of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each panelist casts one vote for First to Fifth Team and one vote for Sixth Man of the Year.

Most Improved Player (MIP)

The Most Improved Player (MIP) award is given to the player who has shown the most improvement from the previous season. This can be due to increased playing time, development of new skills, or improved performance in various statistical categories. The award is voted on by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Coach of the Year (COY)

The NBA Coach of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the late head coach Red Auerbach. Voting is conducted by respective head coaches in the NBA, who are not allowed to vote for themselves. Each coach submits a list of five players for consideration from their team on ballot cards. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Ten points are given for first place, seven points for second place, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.[1]

The trophy has been awarded to 40 different coaches. Don Nelson and Gregg Popovich have been the only coaches to win the award three times. Rick Carlisle, Bill Fitch, Cotton Fitzsimmons and Gene Shue have each won it twice. Mike D’Antoni, Hubie Brown, Pat Riley, Don Shula and Lenny Wilkens are the only other coaches to have won it once.[2][3] There have been three ties in the award’s history (1966–67, 1979–80 and 2002–03). The most recent recipient is Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns.[4]

When Are the Awards Announced?

The NBA Awards are announced every year during the offseason. The awards recognizes the best players and coaches from the previous season. The 2022 NBA Awards will be announced in the summer of 2022.

MVP

The NBA Most Valuable Player Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.

Until 2011, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since 2012, it has been awarded by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points; each second-place vote is worth seven; each third-place vote is worth five, fourth-place is worth three and fifth-place is worth one. Starting from 2010,[5] one ballot was cast by fans through online voting. The player with the highest point total wins the award. As of May 2021, LeBron James has won the most MVP awards with five.*

DPOY

The awards are announced every year at the end of the regular season. The DPOY is usually announced first, followed by the other awards.

ROY

The 2020 NBA Awards will take place on December 20, 2020. The awards show will air on TNT at 9 p.m. ET.

SMOY

The SMOY Awards will be announced in late July 2022.

MIP

Most Improved Player is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who is considered to have shown the most improvement from the previous season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, each second-place vote is worth three points, and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

The Most Improved Player Award was created during the 1963–64 season. voting for that inaugural award was restricted to head coaches; they were not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The next two seasons saw voting open to all NBA head coaches. Head coaches were banned from voting again beginning with the 1967–68 season; sportswriters and broadcasters took over voting responsibilities from that season until 1980–81 when fans were given the opportunity to vote via written ballots distributed at NBA arenas. From its inception through 2003–04, only players who had played in fewer games or averaged fewer minutes than they did in the previous season were eligible for consideration; this requirement was dropped beginning with 2004–05.

In recent years, voters have been instructed to take into account each player’s individual circumstances such as injuries that might have limited his previous year’s productivity when making their selection. A player cannot win consecutive awards; however, he can become a repeater if he wins either trophy after having already won one another MVP award (MVP, Finals MVP or Defensive Player of the Year). To be eligible for selection, a player must also have played at least 67 games during his team’s 82-game regular season schedule (81 games prior to 1971).

COY

The NBA awards for the 2021-22 season will be announced on Wednesday, June 30th. This is the earliest that the awards have been announced in recent years, as the 2020-21 awards were not announced until July 9th. The league has not yet released a list of nominees for the 2022 awards, but will do so in the coming weeks.