Way-too-early predictions for the 2022-23 NBA accolades

The aboriginal portion of the 2022-23 NBA play has been a welcomed caller commencement for a fig of astonishment players looking to adhd immoderate hardware to their résumés.

While determination is inactive plentifulness of play left, a fistful of players person hopped into the driver's seats for the NBA's biggest accolades truthful far.

After a down play riddled by injuries successful 2021-22, Luka Doncic has jolted to an aboriginal pb successful this year's MVP contention with career-best and league-leading violative stats, and is doing it each with seemingly little assistance from the remainder of his Dallas Mavericks squad than successful erstwhile years. Still, Doncic volition person immoderate stiff contention to fend disconnected down the agelong with the likes of Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo putting up immoderate eye-catching numbers themselves.

Meanwhile, it's inactive aboriginal for this year's rookie class, but it's looking similar a gangly task for immoderate different first-year subordinate to drawback Paolo Banchero successful the Rookie of the Year race. Banchero enactment up astatine slightest 20 points successful each of his archetypal six games, which included a agelong of back-to-back 30-point performances.

The Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year awards each diagnostic adjacent races truthful far, but determination is clip for different contenders to hop into the speech and for existent contenders to abstracted themselves arsenic well.

Here's a look astatine who the ESPN experts judge person already made a lawsuit for the NBA's biggest accolades this season:

Who is your way-too-early prime for MVP?

Nick Friedell: Luka Doncic. He carries the Mavericks each nighttime and seems to person little assistance astir him than helium did past season. He besides figures to person the communicative connected his broadside this twelvemonth fixed that Giannis Antetokounmpo already won the grant successful 2019 and 2020.

Kendra Andrews: Stephen Curry. The 1 sound against him is that the Warriors are struggling to nutrient wins arsenic a team, sitting conscionable extracurricular of the play-in representation astatine 12th successful the West. But determination is nary denying the level astatine which Curry has started the season. He has scored astatine slightest 30 points successful 10 of his 14 games played this season, including 50 successful a nonaccomplishment to Phoenix connected Wednesday. Earlier this month, Curry was the oldest subordinate to registry consecutive 40-point games since Michael Jordan successful 2002.

Ohm Youngmisuk: Antetokounmpo looks similar he's connected a mission. He scored 30 oregon much points successful six consecutive games -- including 44- and 43-point performances. But the astir important statistic was the Bucks starting the play 9-0.

Tim MacMahon: Doncic has a flimsy pb implicit Antetokounmpo, who has missed a fewer games, which isn't a large contented successful the agelong run, but it's a 4th of the play truthful far. Meanwhile, Doncic is much ascendant than ever, starring the league successful scoring (34.4 points per game) with career-best ratio (60% existent shooting).

Andrew Lopez: Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics had rather the curveball thrown astatine them to commencement the season, but they haven't missed a bushed with Joe Mazzulla astatine the helm. Tatum has been a large portion of that, averaging a career-best 31.1 points per game. No Celtics subordinate has ever averaged 30 points per crippled implicit an full season. Tatum doing that and keeping the Celtics adjacent the apical of the East gives him the aboriginal motion here.

Who is your way-too-early prime for Defensive Player of the Year?

Friedell: Jarrett Allen. The Cavs are rolling, and Allen astatine halfway is simply a large reason. He's a unit down debased and has go a focal constituent of 1 of the astir awesome teams successful the league.

Andrews: Milwaukee is starring the league successful defence close now, and astatine the halfway of it each is Brook Lopez. Lopez is starring the league successful full blocks with 35, and his beingness successful the overgarment is impacting the mode opponents person to play the Bucks. Opponents are taking conscionable 21.2% of their shots astatine the rim against Milwaukee, which is the lowest successful the league, according to Second Spectrum Tracking. And of those shots, they're hitting conscionable 64%.

Youngmisuk: Lopez is connected a helluva run. He already has 9 games of 2 oregon much blocks, including 3 games with 5 oregon much blocks. He leads the league successful blocks with 35 and could precise good clasp connected to this lead.

MacMahon: Lopez. The Bucks person the stingiest defence by a important margin, and Milwaukee has a fewer candidates successful Antetokounmpo, perimeter stopper Jrue Holiday and Lopez. I'll spell with Lopez successful portion due to the fact that Milwaukee was successful the mediate of the battalion defensively past play erstwhile helium hardly played due to the fact that of injury. The Bucks let lone 96.9 points per 100 possessions with Lopez connected the level -- the lowest among their ascendant antiaircraft trio.

Lopez: The Bucks are archetypal the NBA with a 104.9 antiaircraft standing -- much than 3 points amended than second-place (LA Clippers, astatine 107.4). The Bucks could person 3 Defensive Player of the Year candidates successful immoderate fixed play -- Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Lopez -- but let's springiness emotion to Lopez for his commencement to the season. Lopez is 2nd successful the league successful blocks per crippled (2.5) and apical 5 successful stocks (44 combined steals and blocks).

Who is your way-too-early prime for Rookie of the Year?

Friedell: Paolo Banchero. He's making the Magic applicable again, matching the benignant of numbers that lone Shaquille O'Neal enactment up arsenic a rookie successful a Magic jersey. He's the guy. There is nary different enactment if helium stays healthy.

Andrews: Banchero, astir nary contest. He's averaging 23.5 points per crippled aft six consecutive 20-point games to commencement the year, and registering astatine slightest 30 points successful his past 2 games. He's proving helium was the close No. 1 wide prime successful the draft, and tin beryllium the centerpiece the Magic person been waiting for.

Youngmisuk: There's truthful overmuch to beryllium impressed astir with Banchero. From starting his vocation by scoring 20 oregon much successful his archetypal six games to back-to-back games with 30 oregon much points successful each, Banchero looks similar the runaway Rookie of the Year. Only wounded tin seemingly dilatory him down arsenic an ankle wounded sidelined him recently.

MacMahon: Banchero, and this 1 is beauteous easy. He's starring each rookies successful scoring and rebounding, and helium ranks 2nd successful assists. He's much than surviving up to being the No. 1 wide prime and looks the portion of the semipermanent franchise centerpiece the Magic truthful desperately need. Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin is the lone different existent challenger successful the Rookie of the Year contention truthful far.

Lopez: Banchero is moving distant with this award. He started the play with six consecutive 20-point games, which is tied for the 3rd astir to commencement a vocation successful NBA past down lone Elvin Hayes (10) and Wilt Chamberlain (56). Banchero has precise overmuch looked the portion of the No. 1 prime successful the draught portion averaging 23.5 points per crippled aboriginal successful the season.

Who is your way-too-early prime for Most Improved Player?

Friedell: Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz person been the biggest astonishment successful the league aboriginal successful the play -- and Markkanen is simply a immense reason. The 25-year-old took the momentum helium gained from starring Finland successful EuroBasket and has been rolling aboriginal successful the play averaging a career-high 21.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game.

Andrews: Even aft spending conscionable fractional of a play with the Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton's play and numbers started to leap from the archetypal fractional of the year. And present getting to commencement the play with Indiana, he's primed to support growing. He's already averaging 20.6 points per crippled with a career-best 49.2% shooting percent and is starring the league successful assists (10.4).

Youngmisuk: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA has forced his mode into the treatment for Most Improved Player. We already knew however bully helium is, oregon truthful we thought. Gilgeous-Alexander has taken his crippled to different level to commencement the season, averaging 32.3 points per game. He was seventh successful scoring done his archetypal 11 games. While helium has accrued his scoring each consequent play from the erstwhile year, this year's leap has been dramatic. He has accrued his scoring mean by six points per crippled and is shooting vocation highs of 54.6% from the tract and 90.6% (up from 81%) from the line. But he's besides getting it done connected defense, too, averaging vocation highs of 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks. We'll spot if helium tin support this up and if Oklahoma City volition springiness him the accidental to play successful capable games to triumph this grant oregon if they vessel toward the extremity of the season.

MacMahon: Desmond Bane, who really owns the Most Improved Player trophy from past season, which Ja Morant won but talented to his Memphis backcourt mate due to the fact that helium believed Bane deserved it. Bane has followed that up by making different monolithic leap, putting himself successful the aboriginal All-Star conversation. Bane came into the league arsenic a axenic catch-and-shoot menace but present has developed into an all-around scorer. The bulk of his 3s travel disconnected the dribble now, and he's shooting astatine a 45.1% clip from agelong range.

Lopez: With a afloat play successful Indiana nether his belt, Haliburton is starting to instrumentality off. Haliburton is averaging 20.6 points and a league-best 10.4 assists per game. He's besides shooting a career-best 42.4% from 3-point scope connected 7 attempts per game. Ever since helium was dealt to Indiana past season, Haliburton has thrived and this twelvemonth successful the full-time constituent defender role, he's looking adjacent much comfortable.

Who is your way-too-early prime for Sixth Man of the Year?

Friedell: Malcolm Brogdon. On paper, the acceptable betwixt Brogdon and the Celtics was determination from the beginning. The cardinal for Brogdon was to enactment connected the level and beryllium a calming seasoned power the radical needed. So far, truthful good. Brogdon has been solid, averaging astir 14 points per crippled and helping the Celtics get disconnected to a bully start.

Andrews: Brogdon has been a imagination acceptable for the Celtics, particularly their 2nd unit. The 1 interest for Brogdon is his health. He missed Boston's past 2 games due to the fact that of a hamstring injury, but if helium tin enactment connected the tribunal and support his accumulation level helium could instrumentality this award.

Youngmisuk: Brogdon has been a large acceptable coming disconnected the bench, providing immoderate scoring, playmaking and defence for the Celtics. If helium tin enactment healthy, Brogdon should beryllium a finalist for the award.

MacMahon: Bennedict Mathurin is the aboriginal Rookie of the Year runner-up. He leads each seat scorers successful scoring (19.9 points per game) and has done it efficiently (63% existent shooting) with a blend of acrobatics and long-range marksmanship. Cleveland's Kevin Love, who ranks among the league leaders successful plus-minus, deserves beardown consideration, too.

Lopez: Dallas guardant Christian Wood got disconnected to a blistery commencement to the play with 3 consecutive 20-point games. Wood has enactment up 3 double-doubles disconnected the seat truthful acold and has been the Mavericks' third-leading scorer this play down Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie, putting up 16.7 points per game. He has besides been the team's second-leading rebounder, trailing Doncic, astatine 7.5 a game. The Mavericks mislaid the 2 games Wood missed this play to the Magic and Wizards. With him connected the court, they're 8-4.