CHICAGO — The time is finally here for the most controversial stretch of the NBA season: the announcement of end-of-year awards.

This year’s voting had a mix of contentious decisions — Nikola Jokić versus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP, Draymond Green’s late push for Defensive Player of the Year — and relatively straightforward ones, such as Clutch Player of the Year.

The voting also highlighted the lack of impact by the Chicago Bulls on the league. The only Bulls player on my ballot was Matas Buzelis, whom I voted for on the All-Rookie second team. Buzelis made a strong impression in his debut season, averaging 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 80 games. He was especially notable in his final 31 games, in which he averaged 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 blocks as a starter.

Buzelis was held back from most rookie conversations by his lack of playing time in the first half of the season, but that deliberateness might pay off for his future success. Still, outside of Buzelis, the Bulls were entirely sidelined from the awards process.

I was surprised by how evenly my ballot was split between the two conferences, considering the West’s dominance. This might be a slight reflection of my viewing habits while covering the Bulls, but mostly it illustrates how individual excellence buoyed the East, which had plenty of talent but little depth below the No. 4 seed.

Here’s how I voted on the main end-of-season awards.

Most Valuable Player: Nikola Jokić

There’s no sugarcoating it — this was a very difficult decision.

Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the league’s most effective and efficient players, leading the NBA in scoring (32.7 points per game) and estimated plus-minus (plus-8.6). The Oklahoma City Thunder have become a buzzsaw with Gilgeous-Alexander helming the offense — which was painfully evident to the Memphis Grizzlies during the first two games of their playoff series.

But Jokić averaged a triple-double (29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists), performing at an all-time high while playing with one of his weakest supporting casts since he became a superstar for the Denver Nuggets. And when the best player in the world is having the best season of his career — career highs in points and assists per game and 3-point percentage (41.7%) — there’s no reason to overcomplicate things.

Defensive Player of the Year: Dyson Daniels

I wasn’t swayed by Green’s late-season campaign. This award had a bit of an open runway after Victor Wembanyama’s midseason injury disqualified him from eligibility, but the Atlanta Hawks’ Daniels ultimately won me over with the sheer breadth and depth of his disruptiveness on defense.

Daniels tallied a stunning 229 steals this season. The next-closest player — Gilgeous-Alexander — finished with 131. Daniels averaged 3.0 steals while also posting a league-high six deflections per game, eclipsing the rest of the NBA with the overall activity of his hands as a defender.

One impressive stat that wasn’t amplified enough during this year’s debate: No one has averaged that many steals since John Stockton — who accomplished the feat 14 years before Daniels was born. Defensive seasons like this just don’t come around that often, and Daniels should be awarded accordingly.

Most Improved Player: Ivica Zubac

One of the most interesting award debates is the definition of “most improved.” Improvement is hard to quantify or compare — in addition to their own progress, players often get better because of a change in their role, a new coach or improved talent around them.

I landed on Zubac because of his growth after nearly a decade in the NBA. It’s rare for a player to take a leap in his ninth season. After being pushed into the Los Angeles Clippers' starting lineup by the departure of Paul George, the 28-year-old averaged 5.1 more points, 3.4 more rebounds and 1.3 more assists than he did in 2023-24.

Even with more playing time, Zubac cut down on fouls and maintained his shooting percentage. And over the course of the season, he cemented his role as the final piece in the Clippers’ central trio alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, lifting them to the fifth seed in the competitive West.

Sixth Man of the Year: Payton Pritchard

There’s something incredibly fun about the unpredictability Pritchard creates for the Boston Celtics. At any moment he’s liable to rip off a quick handful of 3s — the type of flurry that can change a game.

His statistics made a clear argument for Sixth Man of the Year — and he won the award Tuesday. Pritchard led the league in bench points, bench 3-pointers (1,079) and overall plus-minus off the bench (plus-428). He’s also one of the best facilitators and rebounders for the second-best team in the East. And he started only three times this season even as the Celtics battled injuries, a reflection of the stability he provides as the first player off the bench.

Rookie of the Year: Stephon Castle

An early season-ending injury to Philadelphia 76ers breakout star Jared McCain upended what otherwise might have been a cut-and-dried race for Rookie of the Year. This was a relatively weak rookie class, which made for a difficult race given the imperfections of every candidate.

Still, Castle emerged fairly quickly as the outlier. He led all rookies in scoring (14.7 ppg) while averaging 26.7 minutes in 81 games for the San Antonio Spurs. He needs to shore up his shooting, but in a fairly large role on a fairly young team, he proved to be well-rounded enough as a defender and offensive creator to make an impact.

Clutch Player of the Year: Jalen Brunson

Few players were more automatic in the final five minutes of a close game than Brunson, who won this award Wednesday. The New York Knicks guard led the league in clutch scoring (5.6 ppg) and clutch field goals (52).

Brunson shot 51.5% from the field and 84% from the line in clutch situations, and he finished second in total clutch points (156) — only one behind Anthony Edwards despite playing in 14 fewer clutch games than the Minnesota Timberwolves star.

Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson

In his first year in Cleveland, Atkinson led the Cavaliers to the top of the East with a 64-win season. Sure, he benefited from a healthy team after the Cavs suffered disastrous injuries last season. Still, Atkinson revitalized the Cavs offense. He tweaked Donovan Mitchell’s role and figured out how to get the best out of Evan Mobley. As a result, the Cavs are the top seed in the East.

This is another close race. Like many voters, I had no strong prediction for whether Atkinson would beat out J.B. Bickerstaff — who rallied the Detroit Pistons from a 14-win season to a 44-38 record and a playoff spot in his first season — as both are very deserving.

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