Chris Broussard's NBA awards ballot

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The NBA regular season is over, but before the playoffs officially begin on Saturday, there were some votes to be cast.

FOX Sports' Chris Broussard has been an official voter for the NBA's awards for over two decades, and he revealed who he picked for each major award on Tuesday's "First Things First."

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Here is how Broussard voted for MVP and who he selected for his three All-NBA teams.

MVP

1. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
3. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
5. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers



Broussard's thoughts: "Mitchell had a number of 40-point games. A great year in Cleveland that included a 70-point game. I've got to give him love. Jayson Tatum was one of the front-runners early. He kind of faded, but he could be a unanimous No. 4 among the voters. Jokić had a fantastic year. A fantastic year. To win three straight MVPs — which Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar never did, even though they had tremendous years where they could've won three straight — you've got to be like head and shoulders above your challengers. He was very good, but not head-and-shoulders-above-everyone-else good. 

"Giannis Antetokounmpo had a great year, but I went with Joel Embiid for several different reasons. He's the first center, other than himself last year, to lead the league in scoring since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000. That's almost 25 years. He's the first center to average [33.1 points per game] in a season since Bob McAdoo almost 50 years ago in 1975. He's the first center with three 50-point games in a year since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972. He's a great defender. I really took into account that he gets to the free-throw line 12 times per game, just like Giannis, but he makes 85% of them while Giannis makes 65%. 

"This was the big one for me: In clutch play, which is the last five minutes of the game when the score's within five points or less, Embiid was the best of the MVP candidates."

All-NBA First Team

G: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
G: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
F: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
C: Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets



Broussard's thoughts: "I got the three main MVP candidates in my front court and in my backcourt, I've got Mitchell and Tatum. Mitchell broke LeBron's single-season franchise record for most 40-point games (13) in his first year with the Cavaliers. Tatum was absolutely outstanding, averaging 30 points and eight rebounds."

All-NBA Second Team

G: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
G: De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
F: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
F: Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
C: Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers



Broussard's thoughts: "I really took games played into consideration and I wanted to have Steph Curry on here, but he only played 56 games. Gilgeous-Alexander had a great year and played in 58 games. Fox played in 73 games. For Brown, nothing needs to be said. Anthony Davis only played 56 games, but he was very impactful, obviously. And if you look at the centers, he was just the one that was left.

"Luka led the Mavericks in rebounds (8.6 per game). That's a forward's [stat]. I was surprised, but pleasantly surprised, so I could put him here on my second team. I take [team success] into consideration when I make my All-NBA teams, but not as much as I do with MVP. Damian Lillard had a great year, but his team was so bad. At least Gilgeous-Alexander was in the play-in and Dončić got close."

All-NBA Third Team

G: Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors
G: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
F: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F: Julius Randle, New York Knicks
C: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings



Broussard's thoughts: "I wanted to have Steph on my first team, but he played in 56 games. Ja was tough. He played 61 games but had the issue off the court, and it didn't really seem to hurt his team on the court, so I'll give him that. 

"I didn't go in thinking I was going to have LeBron on here. But when I looked at the forwards, it was like, he's obviously great when he played, and he played in 55 games, one fewer than Steph and Davis. Randle averaged 25-10-4 and the Knicks were the fifth seed, so I had to give him some love. And Sabonis just had a great season for Sacramento."

ADDITIONAL AWARDS

Defensive Player of the Year: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Most Improved Player: Lauri Markannen, Utah Jazz
Rookie of the Year: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
Clutch Player of the Year: De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Coach of the Year: Mike Brown, Sacramento Kings
Sixth Man of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon, Boston Celtics 




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