On Friday morning, the Utah Jazz revealed their “Encore 2019” campaign designed to help center Rudy Gobert win a second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award.

After that night’s demolition of the Sacramento Kings, in which Gobert added four more blocked shots, the ever-improving big man was asked about what the franchise’s bid to sway voters in his favor meant to him, and was partway through his response when Donovan Mitchell interjected.

“You don’t need it,” the second-year guard said. “You’re gonna win anyway.”

“I don’t know, man,” replied Gobert. “I’m not the one voting.”

With the end of the NBA’s regular season approaching, the politicking for awards season has begun in earnest. And while winners won’t be announced by the NBA until June 24, the awards have clearly become a hot topic of conversation.

While some of them have seen obvious favorites emerge — Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year are expected to be relative cakewalks — some of the other categories, such as Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player, don’t yet have such clarity. Gobert certainly is in strong contention for back-to-back awards, while the Thunder’s Paul George has been a favorite for most of the season, and the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo has seen a recent groundswell of support take place given his ability to guard literally every position on the court.

Gobert, at Friday’s morning shootaround, admitted “It would mean a lot” to win again, but avoided discussing whether he believes he deserves it or will win it.

His teammates and coaches acknowledge they are biased, but were willing to be less humble on his behalf.

“I don’t even want to answer [that] question, ’cause I think it’s rhetorical,” said coach Quin Snyder. “… Obviously, we appreciate Rudy. And whether he wins or not, he is who he is, and I think he shows it every night, and hopefully that will get recognized on a high level.”

Mitchell, meanwhile, was less reticent still.

“Rudy, obviously, definitely deserves it,” said Mitchell. “I think he should be Defensive Player of the Year again, there’s no doubt in my mind. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll win the award, as well.”

The following is an analysis of the six major awards, with an overview of the respective candidates’ credentials, an opinion on who should win, a prediction of who will win, and how I would rank the top three players per category. (For the record, I am not one of the 100 media voters with a ballot this season.)

Rookie of the Year

Who should win • Slovenian sensation Luka Doncic (21.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists) hasn’t merely justified all the hype that came his way over the past few years, he’s obliterated any doubts about his ability to play in the league. Play in the league? Yeah, that was an apparent concern for some front-office types in the lead-up to the draft, who argued he was simply not athletic enough to flourish against top-level competition. Those people look beyond silly, now, considering he’s probably not only going to be an All-Star for years to come, but an All-NBA candidate as well. Atlanta’s Trae Young (19.0 ppg, 8.1 apg), meanwhile, has had a phenomenal second half of the season, and has erased plenty of doubts himself. But Doncic has been a force from Day 1.

Who will win • Luka Doncic, Mavericks.

My final order • 1. Luka Doncic, Mavericks; 2. Trae Young, Hawks; 3. Deandre Ayton, Suns.

Sixth Man of the Year

Who should win • Well, now that Jamal Crawford is approaching 40, and (barely) playing for the Suns this season, it would seem the Mr. Sixth Man torch has officially been passed to Lou Williams. He’s certainly deserving, a perpetual microwave off the bench, averaging 20.2 ppg and 5.3 apg this season, and in line for a third Sixth Man award. Is he even the best bench player on his own team, though? Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell is also having a year — putting up 16.6 points and 6.6 boards, while shooting 61.6% from the field. Personally, I’m partial to the work of the Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis, who’s averaged 14.1 ppg and 9.3 rpg on 58.8% shooting, while keeping Indy from sinking after Victor Oladipo’s injury.

Who will win • Lou Williams, Clippers.

My final order • 1. Domantas Sabonis, Pacers; 2. Lou Williams, Clippers; 3. Montrezl Harrell, Clippers.

Most Improved Player

Who should win • A former lottery pick who earned the ire of his first team but became an All-Star with his second? A former lottery pick who went from a “meh” rookie season to a “whoa” sophomore campaign? Or a No. 27 overall selection from a WAC school who has improbably become a big contributor to a title contender? D’Angelo Russell and De’Aaron Fox have both made huge strides, to be sure — but they were supposed to. Toronto’s Pascal Siakam, however, has become more than anyone could have reasonably imagined. When he’s not unexpectedly blowing by defenders to get to the hoop, he’s draining 3s at a 35.8-percent clip. He bumped his scoring up nearly 10 ppg to 17.0 this season, and is also contributing 6.9 boards and shooting 54.6% from the field.

Who will win • Pascal Siakam, Raptors.

My final order • 1. Pascal Siakam, Raptors; 2. De’Aaron Fox, Kings; 3. D’Angelo Russell, Nets.

Coach of the Year

Who should win • Voters in this category typically tend to prefer the narrative of a coach leading a group thought to be mediocre or OK to instead being good over the narrative of a coach taking a team that was already good and making them great. And if that were the case this year, Doc Rivers helming a cast of misfit toys that dealt away its best player at the deadline and still made the playoffs would have a good case. Or the Pacers’ Nate McMillan, improbably keeping Indiana going after Oladipo went down. However, seeing what Mike Budenholzer has done in Milwaukee — taking a group that was foundering under Jason Kidd and leading it to the best record and best defensive rating in the league? That deserves to change things around.

Who will win • Mike Budenholzer, Bucks.

My final order • 1. Mike Budenholzer, Bucks; 2. Doc Rivers, Clippers; 3. Nate McMillan, Pacers.

Defensive Player of the Year

Who should win • For much of the season, OKC’s Paul George was thought to be the favorite, though the narrative of late has been that the Thunder’s post-All-Star break defensive “collapse” would probably shift the vote to Rudy Gobert, who has allowed opponents to shoot just 51.6% on shots within six feet of the hoop, and only 52.9% on shots at the rim. Through Friday’s games, the Thunder’s season-long defensive rating is 106.1 (fourth), the Jazz’s is 104.8 (second); and since the All-Star break, OKC’s is 108.3 (ninth), and the Jazz’s 103.3 (first). Is that a sufficiently dramatic difference? Maybe, maybe not. Individually, both players have compelling cases: George leads the league in steals per game and is second in deflections; Gobert is fourth in blocks and rebounds. As for the more advanced stats: in individual defensive rating, Gobert is third, George 13th; in defensive win shares, Gobert is first, George fifth; in defensive box plus/minus, Gobert is first, and George is not in the top 20. ESPN’s vaunted “Defensive Real Plus-Minus” stat has Gobert first, and George 20th. Perhaps those numbers make it clear after all. But will the voters notice? Will they be inclined to give George this award as his MVP case fell apart? This may be the closest race of all.

Who will win • Rudy Gobert, Jazz.

My final order • 1. Rudy Gobert, Jazz; 2. Paul George, Thunder; 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks.

Most Valuable Player

Who should win • We started these awards with a two-man race, and we’ll finish with one, too. This really comes down to whether you value James Harden’s historic scoring binge, which helped rally Houston from a slow start and a plethora of injuries to a top spot in the West, or the do-it-all brilliance of Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose unmatched excellence on both ends of the court has vaulted the Bucks into contender status. Harden would certainly be a deserving repeat winner, averaging 36.3 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.5 rebounds — plus 4.8 3PM and 11.1 FTA per game. Meanwhile, to reduce Antetokounmpo to the simplistic label “the best player on the best team” is a big disservice to his own spectacular accomplishments — 27.7 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.5 bpg, 1.3 spg, 57.7 FG%. Ultimately, it comes down to defense: Harden is no longer a sieve, true; but the Greek Freak can guard just about anyone — and guard them well, too.

Who will win • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

My final order • 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks; 2. James Harden, Rockets; 3. Steph Curry, Warriors.