The 2025-26 NBA season is upon us, opening night was Tuesday, October 21st. It is time to make predictions for the season. Who should you bet on to win the major regular season awards?

Most Valuable Player

The Most Valuable Player award is the most prestigious individual award in the NBA and because of that, it is the most debated award. Last season the debate was between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

Gilgeous-Alexander won the award last season after the Thunder had the best record in the NBA, 68-14. SGA led the league in scoring with 32.7 points per game and was the leading force behind the Thunder being a top five ranked team on both offense and defense.

Jokic had another amazing season, averaging a triple-double, 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game while shooting 57% from the floor and 41% from three point range. This was the best season from a non-MVP winner in history.

There are a lot of fans and media members that believe Jokic was robbed of the MVP award and that’s the reason I believe he will win it, this season. The Nuggets improved their roster in the offseason and should finish with a better regular season record. If Jokic continues to put up these absurd numbers with Denver improving their record, he will win the award.

Jokic is the betting favorite at (+220) and my dark horse pick is Victor Wembanyama at (+1000). Wembanyama has a chance to win it, if the Spurs are a top six team in the west because of his impact on both ends.

Defensive Player of the Year

If healthy, Victor Wembanyama wins this award, the rim protection he provides is heads, shoulders, and elbows above anyone else in the league. He would of won it last year, if he was able to play to minimum amount of games.

If Wembanyama is not able to play 65 games, that is when things can get interesting. I like Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks to win the award. He is an outstanding perimeter defender, who creates turnovers at an extremely high rate. For the bettors, Daniels is (+2200) and Wembanyama (-175)

Coach of the Year

There are a lot of teams that could take a big jump in wins from last season. Those teams that take that leap usually have a great shot at winning coach of the year. One of the teams that should take a big leap is the Orlando Magic.

The Magic went 41-41 last season after dealing with their best players missing a significant portion of the season due to injury. Paolo Banchero only played in 46 games, Jalen Suggs played in 35 games. Orlando also had trouble scoring the ball last season. They were 28th in offense, scoring 105.4 points per game.

They were able to stay in games because of their excellent defense, they were ranked first in opponents points per game, only giving up 105.5 points. Their defense should be just as good while their offense should improve with their players being healthy and the addition of dynamic score Desmond Bane.

Bane averaged 19.2 points per game, while shooting 48% from the floor and 39% from three, last season. The addition of Bane along with the maturity of Banchero and Franz Wagner should propel this team to new heights, leading to their coach Jamahl Mosley winning coach of the year. Mosley is the betting favorite at (+600).

Be on the lookout for part two of my NBA Award Predictions.