3 Cavs named finalists for end of season NBA awards

Evan Mobley is one of the three Cavs that are a finalist for an end of season award.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had an excellent season and are being rewarded for it. The NBA announced the finalists for the end-of-season awards Sunday evening. Unsurprisingly, the Cavs are well represented.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson was named a finalist for NBA Coach of the Year. Ty Jerome is a finalist for Sixth-Man of the Year. Lastly, Evan Mobley is one of three finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.

Atkinson joins J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons and Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets as finalists for Coach of the Year. Atkinson has already been named coach of the year by the National Basketball Coaches Association on Saturday. It wouldn't be surprising if he captured the award voted on by media members as well.

The Cavs have taken a considerable leap this season without having a major offseason acquisition. They’ve gone from a 48-win team last year to 64 this season. Health plays a role in that, but so do the changes Atkinson has made to the offense since taking over last summer.

Jerome is a Sixth-Man of the Year finalist along with Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics and Malik Beasley of the Pistons. Jerome isn’t likely to win. Pritchard appears to be the favorite, but that doesn’t take anything away from Jerome’s incredible, unexpected season.

Lastly, Mobley is a Defensive Player of the Year finalist alongside Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks. Despite the end-of-season momentum Green was picking up, this is an award Mobley appears likely to win. Even if some voters didn’t have Mobley as their top choice, he should gain enough second-place votes to carry the day without a consensus challenger for the award.

Darius Garland wasn’t named a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year. Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), and Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) were the finalists there.

The winners of these awards will be announced throughout the coming weeks.