From the Rookie of the Year, first awarded in 1953, to the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, newly introduced in 2023, learn all you need to know about every NBA team and individual award.
Eight new team and individual awards have been introduced by the NBA since the start of 2022, joining the distinguished list of honors including the Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year.
Here's all you need to know about the NBA awards, honors, and trophies.
What are the main NBA awards?
There are a number of awards handed out to individual players and coaches at the conclusion of the season. The highest individual honor is the Most Valuable Player, awarded to the best performing player of the NBA regular season, and is decided by a vote from a panel of sportswriters and media members.
The highest team honor, of course, is the Larry O'Brien Trophy, awarded to each year's NBA champion.
Other key individual awards include Most Improved Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Sixth Man of the Year - awarded to the best performing player as a substitute during the NBA regular season - decided by a panel of sportswriters.
The NBA Finals MVP, which goes to the top-performing player in the NBA Finals each year, may be the most difficult individual honor to achieve.
2024/25 Award Winners
MVP: Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Rookie of the Year: Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
Defensive Player of the Year: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Most Improved Player: Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks
Sixth Man of the Year: Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
Clutch Player of the Year: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Finals MVP: Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
What are the NBA award trophies called?
As of 2022, most every NBA award trophy is named after one of the game's icons. Some of the physical designs of the trophies were changed in recent years, too, notably the repurposed Michael Jordan Trophy awarded to the Most Valuable Player.
MVP: Michael Jordan Trophy (since 2022)
Rookie of the Year: Wilt Chamberlain Trophy (since 2022)
Defensive Player of the Year: Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy (since 2022)
Most Improved Player: George Mikan Trophy (since 2022)
Sixth Man of the Year: John Havlicek Trophy (since 2022)
Clutch Player of the Year: Jerry West Trophy (Since 2023)
Coach of the Year: Red Auerbach Trophy (since 1967)
NBA Finals MVP: Bill Russell Trophy (since 2009)
When are the NBA award winners announced?
There is no fixed schedule for when each year’s NBA awards and honors are revealed, although winners and recipients are typically announced in the few weeks following the conclusion of the regular season in mid-April.
Over the following three days, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Sixth Man of the Year were all announced.
What other NBA awards and honors are there?
Following the conclusion of the NBA season, first, second, and third-team All-NBA are announced, another honor highlighting the best players of the recent season.
The voting is run by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, and has been a point of controversy is recent years as a first, second, or third-team designation can impact a player's contract incentives. Each team is typically comprised of two guards, two forwards, and a center.
First Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Donovan Mitchell, & Jayson Tatum
Second Team: Jalen Brunson, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, & Evan Mobley
Third Team: Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, Karl-Anthony Towns, & Jalen Williams
First and second-team All-Defense and All-Rookie are also revealed during the NBA Playoffs.
First-team All-Defensive: Evan Mobley, Dyson Daniels, Luguentz Dort, Draymond Green, & Amen Thompson
Second-team All-Defensive: Toumani Camara, Rudy Gobert, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen Williams, & Ivica Zubac
First-team All-Rookie: Stephon Castle, Zaccharie Risacher, Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey, & Alex Sarr
Second-team All-Rookie: Matas Buzelis, Bub Carrington, Donovan Clingan, Kel'el Ware, & Yves missi
Executive of the Year has been handed out every year since 1973, with the 2025 winner being Thunder GM, Sam Presti.
The NBA also gives out a Social Justice Champion Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Teammate of the Year, and Sportsmanship Award.
Are there any new NBA awards?
The newest trophy handed out in the NBA is the NBA Cup trophy, given to the team who wins the NBA In-Season Tournament. The first NBA Cup was won by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023.
The Clutch Player of the Year award was introduced in the 2022/23 season and is handed out to the player who “best comes through for his teammates in the clutch” and is named after Jerry West, one of the greatest clutch players in NBA history.
Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP were also introduced in 2022, and were awarded to Jayson Tatum and Stephen Curry, respectively.
The Maurice Podoloff Trophy is the latest team award to be unveiled, and its inaugural winner was the Milwaukee Bucks for having the league’s best regular season record.
Who has won the most NBA awards?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the record holder when it comes to MVP awards as he won six over the course of his career. Michael Jordan and Bill Russell won five each, while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James are both four-time winners.
Jordan, James, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird are all Rookie of the Year winners, too. As only rookies are able to win that particular prize some true legends have missed out in years gone by as the likes of Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant were not regarded as the best newcomers in their first seasons in the league.
Mike Brown became one of just 11 men to win multiple Coach of the Year awards this year as he won his first in 2009. Don Nelson, Gregg Popovich and Pat Riley are the joint record holders with three wins each.
