Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic headline NBA award finalists - ESPN

The NBA unveiled the three finalists for each of its seven major individual awards for the 2023-24 regular season Sunday night, headlined by Nikola Jokic, an MVP finalist for a fourth straight season, and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, a finalist for Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Jokic, whose Denver Nuggets opened the playoffs with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night, won the MVP in 2021 and 2022 and finished second behind the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid last year.

Embiid and the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo were MVP finalists alongside Jokic each of the past two seasons, but they were replaced this season by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.

Jokic concluded the regular season averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists for Denver, which finished tied atop the Western Conference with Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder. Oklahoma City claimed the West's top playoff seed on a tiebreaker.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals this season. Doncic led the league in scoring, averaging 33.9 points, to go along with 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists for the Mavericks, who opened their first-round series against the LA Clippers with a 109-97 loss Sunday.

There were no surprises among the finalists for Rookie of the Year, with the top two picks in the 2023 draft — Wembanyama and Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller — joined by the 2022 second overall pick, Thunder center Chet Holmgren.

Wembanyama set several records in his first season with the Spurs, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals, while Holmgren averaged 16.5 points