Locked On NBA Awards results: The race of NBA MVP, DPOY, Coach of the Year and more

NEW YORK — The NBA regular season is in the books, and league media is voting for player awards throughout the coming weeks. 

The Locked On Podcast Network’s NBA channel hosts assembled their own awards ballot this week, naming who each local expert believed was the best selection for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and more.

Locked On NBA hosts named Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid their MVP, with 24 first-place votes and a total of 339 points overall. First-place votes equaled 10 points, second place counted for seven points, third place five points, fourth place three points, and fifth place one point.

Embiid led the NBA in scoring and led the 76ers to 54 wins and the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference after two straight seasons finishing second in MVP voting.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic finished second for MVP, while Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third.

For Defensive Player of the Year, Locked On NBA hosts were slightly more split. Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. earned the most first-place votes and overall points, making him the Locked On NBA DPOY.

Jackson led the league in block rate and Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, while the Grizzlies were a top-five defense.

Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez finished second, and Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley third.

The Locked On NBA Rookie of the Year was No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic in a landslide, with nearly twice as many points as second-place finisher, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams.

Banchero played 72 games, carried a 27 percent usage rate, and scored 20 points per game as the primary offensive option for a young Magic team.

Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler finished third after a preseason trade from Minnesota in the Rudy Gobert deal.

The Locked On NBA Sixth Man of the Year was Immanuel Quickley in a tight race with Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley received 17 first-place votes compared with 16 for Brogdon. The two were separated by just 12 total points.

Quickley played 81 games and averaged 15 points and 3.4 assists per game for the Knicks, while Brogdon played just 67 games and more than 600 fewer minutes, albeit with similar production as Quickley.

Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis finished a distant third in voting.

First-time All-Star Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz was Locked On NBA’s Most Improved Player after an impressive fifth season in which he averaged by far a career-high in scoring with nearly 25 points per game on a career-best 50 percent shooting from the field.

Fellow first-time All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder finished second, and New York Knicks newcomer Jalen Brunson rounding out the top three.

Finishing off the Locked On NBA channel awards ballot was Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown winning Coach of the Year in his first season in Sacramento after leading the Kings to their first playoff appearance in nearly two decades.

The Kings job is Brown’s third head coaching stint, and the win would be his second after claiming the award with Cleveland in 2009.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla rounded out the top three.

NBA award winners will be announced throughout the league playoffs this month.