NBA NEWS - Finalists announced for 2022-23 NBA season Awards

Giannis Antetokounmpo the the Milwaukee Bucks is an NBA MVP Awards finalist - (Keith Allison photo)   Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics Larry Bird in Game two of the 1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden Date 30 May 1985 - Steve Lipofsky www.Basketballphoto.com ALL TIME NBA 1st TEAM - BREAKING IT DOWN MAGIC JOHNSON & PHAL SAMPHORS

TNT will reveal the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2023 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Those announcements will begin next week - THIS DAY IN THE NBA

NEW YORK, NY USA

Friday April 14, 2023

The NBA today announced the finalists for seven awards that honor top performers for the 2022-23 regular season: Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year and NBA Coach of the Year.

TNT will reveal the winner of each award during its coverage of the 2023 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Those announcements will begin next week. On Sunday, April 16, the NBA will share the announcement schedule for the week of April 17.

The three finalists for each annual award, based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, are listed in alphabetical order below. Each voter’s complete ballot for each award will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

THIS DAY IN THE NBA

April 14, 1962 Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers scored an NBA Finals record 61 points in Game 5 at Boston Garden as the Lakers defeated the Celtics 126-121. Baylor’s 22 field goals made set an NBA Finals record that was tied five years later by San Francisco’s Rick Barry.

April 14, 1975 In Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Golden State defeated Seattle 123-96. Led by Rick Barry’s then playoff record eight steals, the Warriors set an NBA Playoff record with a total of 22 steals for the game.

April 14, 1976 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers won the fourth of his record six NBA MVP awards, after averaging 27.7 ppg and league-leading totals of 16.9 rpg and 4.12 bpg.

April 14, 1985 Mark Eaton of Utah concluded the 1984-85 season with 456 blocked shots for an average of 5.56 bpg, both NBA records. April 14, 1992 New Jersey defeated host Miami 105-100, as Nets Coach Bill Fitch established a record for the most games coached in NBA history (passing Dick Motta), with 1,720. Fitch was later passed in total games coached by all-time leader Lenny Wilkens.

April 14, 1994 Seattle became the second NBA team to have 10 different players score in double figures, during a 150-101 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, as Detlef Schrempf led the scoring parade for the Sonics with 21 points. Seattle also had 10 double-figure scorers in a 135-104 win over Portland on March 30, 1980, with Gus Williams notching a team-high 23 points. Phoenix joined the group on November 23, 1994 during a 140-109 triumph over the visiting LA Clippers, as rookie Wesley Person’s 19 points led 10 double-figure scorers for the Suns.