NBA REVEALS AWARDS FINALISTS FOR 2018-19 SEASON

– Winners to Be Unveiled at 2019 NBA Awards Presented by Kia on Monday, June 24 on TNT (9 p.m. ET) –

NEW YORK, May 17, 2019 – The NBA today announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers from the 2018-19 regular season: Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player and NBA Coach of the Year.

The winners of these awards will be revealed at the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on Monday, June 24 at 9 p.m. ET on TNT. The third annual NBA Awards will take place at Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.

The finalists for the six annual awards, based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, are below:

Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Kia NBA Rookie of the Year

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Deandre Ayton, , Luka Dončić, , Trae Young,

Kia NBA Sixth Man Award Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers , Milwaukee Bucks , Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder , LA Clippers Rudy Gobert,

Kia NBA Most Improved Player NBA Coach of the Year

De’Aaron Fox, Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee Bucks D’Angelo Russell, Michael Malone, Pascal Siakam, , LA Clippers

Complete voting results for each award will be posted on pr.nba.com the night of the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia.

The 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia will also feature the announcement of the winners for the NBA Executive of the Year Award, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the NBA Sportsmanship Award, the Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Award presented by Kaiser Permanente, the NBA Hustle Award and the fan-voted House of Highlights Moment of the Year.

In addition, basketball icons and Larry Bird will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and broadcasting legend Robin Roberts will be honored with the Sager Strong Award.

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