As we celebrate New Year’s Eve, let’s look back on the year that was in pro basketball with my annual (and imaginary) Golden Basketball for the top player in 2024.
In the decade since I first awarded the Golden Basketball for performance across all competitions in the calendar year — similar to the previous format of soccer’s Ballon d’Or, which moved from an annual to a seasonal award in 2022 — there has never been such a wide-open field.
The Boston Celtics won the NBA title more thanks to depth instead of individual stardom, and only one of the top five finishers in regular-season MVP voting (Luka Doncic) reached the conference finals. Meanwhile, the 2024 Paris Olympics were a possible final coronation for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, none of whom saw his team win a playoff series.
After all that, can reigning MVP Nikola Jokic become the first repeat Golden Basketball winner since James claimed three in a row from 2016 to 2018, or will he be unseated by Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Let’s run through their cases and pick a winner.
Honorable mentions
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Résumé: NBA Finals MVP
Given the importance of the Finals, the MVP of the series has won the Golden Basketball five of the past nine years. The balanced Celtics gave us an unusual situation where Brown, who also won the Eastern Conference finals MVP, wasn’t the team’s acknowledged best player. Brown also missed an opportunity to pad his Golden Basketball credentials when he was passed over as a replacement on the USA Olympic team for teammate Derrick White.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Résumé: All-NBA second team
Brunson revitalized New York basketball with his leading role in last year’s run to Game 7 of the conference finals, finishing fifth in MVP voting and averaging 32.4 points and 7.5 assists for the short-handed Knicks in the playoffs. He has taken a bit of a step out of the spotlight so far this season, with newcomer Karl-Anthony Towns emerging as New York’s MVP candidate.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Résumé: Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Résumé: FIBA Olympics MVP
From when I first awarded the Golden Basketball in 2014 until 2020, Curry and James combined to win all but one of them. The two future Hall of Famers provided some of this year’s most memorable basketball playing together for the USA in the Olympics, with James winning MVP of the tournament but Curry starring in the final. However, both were not serious Golden Ball contenders after they didn’t play at an MVP level during the NBA season and their teams combined for one playoff win.
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Résumé: All-NBA second team
Similar to Curry and James, Davis’ most important basketball in 2024 came in the Olympics, when he averaged 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field. Davis has stepped to the forefront in L.A. this season, emerging as the Lakers’ leading scorer in addition to an All-Defensive candidate.
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Résumé: All-NBA second team
Believe it or not, Durant has never won a Golden Basketball award despite earning an MVP and two Finals MVPs. Durant finished ahead of Curry and James in All-NBA voting and was another key contributor to the USA gold medal, but Durant’s team also had a quick playoff exit, getting swept in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Résumé: All-NBA second team
During a breakout postseason, Edwards finished second in playoff wins above replacement player (WARP) rating by my metric, leading the Timberwolves to the conference finals for the first time since 2004. Coming off the bench for the Olympic team, Edwards averaged 12.8 points, ranking fourth on the team.
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Résumé: All-NBA first team
Along with White, Tatum was one of two players to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. Alas, he wasn’t as important as expected to either triumph. Tatum’s uneven final two rounds of the playoffs allowed Brown to win MVP of both series, while his lack of playing time in the opening game of the Olympics and the gold medal game became a storyline. That leaves Tatum as the toughest cut from the finalists.
Finalists
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Résumé: All-NBA first team, NBA Cup MVP
Antetokounmpo capped 2024 on a high note, outdueling Gilgeous-Alexander in a dominant NBA Cup final victory by putting up 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists to win game MVP. He was also the leading scorer in the Olympics, averaging 25.8 PPG to lead a Greece team without any other NBA players to the knockout stages.
During the regular-season portion of 2024, Antetokounmpo was as good as almost anyone, finishing fourth in MVP voting during 2023-24 and a close third in the recent 2024-25 straw poll from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. In between, Antetokounmpo missed a chance to make a statement in the playoffs, watching Milwaukee’s first-round loss from the sidelines due to a calf injury. Remarkably, Antetokounmpo was the highest finisher in MVP voting to miss the playoffs due to injury since David Robinson (third) in 1992.
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Résumé: Western Conference finals MVP, third in MVP voting
Through June, Doncic was the clear favorite for this award. Not only did he top all players in playoff WARP while making his first Finals appearance, Doncic played his best regular-season basketball after the calendar turned to 2024. Doncic averaged 33.8 points, 10.2 assists and 9.9 rebounds from Jan. 1 onward, going from fifth in the first 2023-24 straw poll to finishing third and drawing four third-place votes.
The long playoff run meant a short turnaround for Doncic before playing in FIBA Olympics qualifiers, and Slovenia was blown out by Greece in the semifinals. Doncic then got off to a relatively slow start this season, averaging 28.1 points — his fewest since 2020-21 — before suffering a calf strain on Christmas Day.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Résumé: Runner-up in MVP voting
Of all the candidates, Gilgeous-Alexander has perhaps the most complete calendar year. Along with Canadian teammates Luguentz Dort and Dwight Powell, Gilgeous-Alexander was one of just three players to compete in the final eight of the NBA playoffs, the Olympics and the NBA Cup. And he finished as runner-up in MVP voting as well as the 2024-25 straw poll.
Gilgeous-Alexander is missing only a signature moment from the year. It looked like his 39-point performance against Doncic in the NBA Cup quarterfinals could qualify before that was usurped by a rough shooting night (8-of-24) in the championship loss to the Bucks. The idea that he struggles on big stages is clearly untrue, however. Gilgeous-Alexander was terrific as the Thunder lost to Dallas in the NBA playoffs, averaging 32.2 points on 51% shooting, and had a game-high 27 points as Canada was upset by France in the Olympic quarterfinals.
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Résumé: NBA MVP
For the third time in the past four years, Jokic was voted the NBA’s most valuable player, and he’s currently favored for a fourth trophy while averaging a career-high 30.5 points — 3.4 more than any previous season. Jokic leads the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage (49%) and the Nuggets are more dependent on him than ever. Opponents are outscoring Denver by 13.6 points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the bench this season but the Nuggets are plus-9.7 per 100 when he plays, according to NBA Advanced Stats.
After sitting out the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in the wake of the Nuggets’ championship run, Jokic rejoined the Serbia national team for the Olympics and led it to a near-upset of the USA in the semifinals. Jokic then had a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) as Serbia beat the reigning world champions Germany for a bronze medal to go with the silver he won in 2016. Jokic led all players in Olympics WARP rating.
And the Golden Basketball goes to …
The winner: Nikola Jokic
As we close 2024, Jokic remains the NBA’s best player by acclamation, and I don’t think anyone did enough to unseat him as the Golden Basketball winner. Gilgeous-Alexander came close, and perhaps an NBA Cup victory (and likely MVP) would have pushed him over the top, while Doncic might have done it with a stronger start to the 2024-25 season.
Amusingly, this is the first time in Jokic’s three MVP campaigns that he has won the Golden Basketball as those were followed by relatively short playoff runs. After winning the Golden Basketball last year, he finished runner-up for MVP in 2023 en route to Finals MVP.
Past winners: 2014: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2015: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; 2016: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2017: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 2018: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; 2019: Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers; 2020: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; 2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; 2022: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks; 2023: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
