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2023 NBA Awards: 1 dark horse candidate to win each honor

By Jacob Ellerbee

Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns and 76ers C Joel Embiid (Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports)
Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns and 76ers C Joel Embiid (Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports) /
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NBA Awards
NBA Awards contender Nikola Jokic accepts the 2021 MVP Trophy (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

With four teams already engaged in training camp and preseason games being played in just a few days, it’s time to declare the NBA offseason officially over. The Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, and Washington Wizards are already participating in camp with the rest of the NBA beginning camp on September 27.

The segment between training camp and the start of the regular season is the perfect time to start predicting and forecasting which players are projected to show the most improvement, which teams are likely to take a step backward, and begin formulating which storylines to watch in the new NBA season.

Who are the sneaky candidates for each of the 2023 NBA Awards?

One preseason ritual that’s always a delight is to predict who’s most likely to win the awards and accolades for the upcoming season. But, to do something a little different, I’m identifying one dark horse candidate to win NBA MVP, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player of the year, etc.

The following players and team personnel I’ve identified are, indeed, long shots. They are not likely to be considered a favorite or frontrunner to win, but it’s someone I think has a chance to get in the mix and make a compelling argument to win the respective award.

Let’s start with the award for the league’s top executive, which has historically been awarded to the top General Manager or President of Basketball Operations. Last year it went to Zach Kleiman, General Manager of the Memphis Grizzlies.