David Akhaladze

Mamukelashvili among awards candidates

Who will come victorious in a tight battle for the NBA’s MVP this year? Well, as of today, the real favorite is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fro the reigning champion OKC. Luka Doncic is on a tear and probably will come up in the second place. The French sensation from the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is a lock for the third place. Wemby is having a monster season of his own.

And, WEMBY IS A STRONG FAVORITE FOR THE Defensive Player of the Year award too. He just needs to meet the 65-game requirement. Victor should have won the award last year too, but did not have enough games of his own. This season is different, as Victor is averaging 24.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and a league leading 3.0 blocked shots.

Now, on to another award.  Who gets decorated as the league’s best 6th player? He may not be a lock or even a strong favorite, but Sandro Mamukelashvili is having a great season for the Raptors as the sixth man and should get same votes.

For the Coach of the Year our favorites are OKC’s skipper Mark Daigneault and JB Bickerstaff from Detroit.

A solid list indeed.