Jokic in MVP top 3, Murray and Hardaway also finalists for major awards

The Denver Nuggets are well-represented in this year's NBA awards race, with three players named finalists for major regular-season honors

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Apr 19, 2026, 5:49 PM Updated: May 5, 2026, 7:32 pm

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DENVER — The Denver Nuggets are well-represented in this year’s NBA awards race, with three players named finalists for major regular-season honors.

The league announced the finalists for seven awards Sunday on NBC ahead of Game 1 of the Orlando Magic-Detroit Pistons playoff series. Guard Jamal Murray was named a finalist for the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award, and reserve Tim Hardaway Jr. earned a nod for the Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award during the pregame show.

Center Nikola Jokic joined them as a finalist for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award when the remaining finalists — MVP, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year — were revealed at halftime. Jokic, a three-time MVP, was named alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.

It caps a regular season in which the Nuggets finished 54-28, good for third in the Western Conference, and closed with 12 consecutive victories heading into the postseason. Denver posted the NBA’s best offense, recording a franchise-best 122.6 offensive rating.

Jokic averaged 27.7 points per game and led the league in rebounds and assists per game. It was maybe the best offensive season of Big Honey’s career but he is expected to finish behind SGA for the league’s top player for the second-straight season.

Murray, meanwhile, posted the best season of his career, averaging 25.4 points, 7.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game — all career highs.He was second in the league in clutch scoring with 166 total points in tight games down the stretch, doing so with an elite effective field goal percentage of 60.3%. He is joined on the Clutch Player of the Year ballot by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Oklahoma City’s Gilgeous-Alexander.

Hardaway emerged as one of the league’s top reserves, earning a spot alongside Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson for Sixth Man of the Year. Hardaway led the league in made 3-pointers off the bench, tallying more than 200 on nights he didn’t start. He scored the fourth-most points in the league this year off the pine.

The winners of all seven awards will be announced at a later date.