The NBA on Wednesday, May 16 announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers from the 2017-18 regular season: Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player and NBA Coach of the Year.
Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis is a finalist for the MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year award. His competition for MVP: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Davis' competition for Defensive Player of the Year: Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.