NBA midseason awards: Will MVP go to international player again?

The halfway point of the NBA season is here – "time waits for no one … the dreams of the nighttime will vanish by dawn," The Rolling Stones sang – and not only have teams emerged as title contenders but players have emerged as contenders for awards.

Among the messages embedded in the riff on a Chaucer quote: Take advantage of the moment. Keep regrets to a minimum.

So which players are going to put their name in the NBA history book?

Will another international player win MVP? Does Victor Wembanyama begin a lengthy streak of Defensive Player of the Year awards? Is a second-round pick headed for Rookie of the Year? Does a coach with a new team earn Coach of the Year?

Here are the winners for USA TODAY’s NBA midseason awards:

2024-25 NBA midseason awards

MVP: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder rolling with the best record in the Western Conference at 33-6. The MVP runner-up last season, Gilgeous-Alexander, who excels offensively and defensively, is among the top three scorers in the league at 31.4 points per game and also averages 6.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks and shoots 52.8% from the field, 35.6% on 3-pointers and 89.5% on free throws. He’s the key factor on a team that ranks No. 1 offensively and No. 6 defensively. The Thunder are plus-17.5 points better per 100 possessions than their opponent when Gilgeous-Alexander is on the court. If SGA, who was born in Toronto, wins MVP, it would be the seventh consecutive season an international player collected the award.

Rookie: Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells

Of the rookies who have played at least 25 games, Wells leads all first-year players in scoring (11.7 points per game). He has been a decent shooter at 43.8% from the field, 37.8% on 3s and 81.3% on free throws. The 6-7 Wells also averages 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He was the No. 39 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 draft and is trying to become just the second second-round pick in the lottery era (1985-present) to win rookie of the year. Malcolm Brogdon won in 2017.

Sixth Man: Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard

There are a couple of reserves who average more points than Pritchard, however, the fifth-year guard has turned into an indispensable rotation player off the bench for the Celtics. He averages 14.6 points (career high), 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists and has strong shooting numbers: 46.2% from the field, 41.3% on 3s and 84% on free throws. He is on pace to make the most 3-pointers off the bench in a season (the record is 218 set by Wayne Ellington in 2017-18), and Pritchard has 133 3s at the halfway point.

Most Improved Player: Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham

This is the fourth-year guard’s breakout season with career highs in points (24.5 per game), assists (9.4 per game), rebounds (6.6 per game) and shooting percentages from the field (.460) and 3-point range (.382). He has seven triple-doubles this season – after registering just two in his three previous seasons. He's leading Detroit toward a spot in the postseason where the franchise hasn’t been since 2019. He followed up a 22-point, 17-assist, 10-rebound performance against Toronto on Jan. 11 with 36 points in a road victory against New York on Jan. 13. It’s been enjoyable to watch his improvement and emergence.

Defensive Player: San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama

The Spurs star, just in his second season, is headed for what looks like the first of many Defensive Player of the Year awards. Wembanyama protects the rim, leading the league in blocks at 3.9 per game (well ahead of the next player at 2.5). Capable of guarding on the perimeter at 7-foot-3, Wembanyama also averages 1.1 steals and uses his length and wingspan (fourth in contested two-point attempts per game). When he is on the court, the Spurs allow 107.2 points per 100 possessions, which is just behind the top two defensive teams’ overall rating. He is the rare big man who is in the top 20 in deflections per game.

Clutch Player: Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland

Clutch games, defined by the NBA, are contests that are within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, and the Cavaliers are the best clutch team with a 14-2 record. This award is between two Cavs guards – Darius Garland and Donovan Mithcell, both of whom have excelled in clutch games. If we could split the award, we would. Garland gets the nod. In 47 minutes of clutch time, Garland has scored 53 points on 19-for-29 shooting from the field (65.5%), 4-for-8 on 3s (50%) and 11-for-11 on free throws.

Coach: Cleveland Cavaliers' Kenny Atkinson

The Cavaliers were a playoff team last season. Kenny Atkinson has turned them into a championship team with the East’s best record at 34-5. With a similar roster to last season, including the same core four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the Cavs are just a better team – No. 1 offensively, No. 10 defensively and No. 2 in net rating. Cleveland is a much better 3-point shooting team. Garland is back to All-Star level for a variety of reasons, and Mobley is having his best season with Atkinson running the show.

Executive: Oklahoma City Thunder's Sam Presti

Respected Thunder executive vice president Sam Presti has never been named NBA executive of the year. That should change this year. He has assembled a championship-caliber roster, featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Though this award is sometimes an accumulation of what happened in prior years – and Presti’s roster building took time – Presti did work in the recent offseason. He signed Isaiah Hartenstein, acquired Alex Caruso (and signed him to an extension in December), re-signed Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to team friendly deals and drafted second-rounder Ajay Mitchell who is contributing as a rookie on a deep team. Presti constructed a team that can win now and for the next several seasons.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA midseason awards: USA TODAY picks MVP, rookie, coach of year