Kurt Helin
1. Karl-Anthony Towns
2. Kristaps Porzingis
3. Nikola Jokic
If the vote for KAT isn’t unanimous you’ll know what media members don’t watch games, or are biased for their team, or don’t know how to use pull-down menus. Karl-Anthony Towns looks like a franchise cornerstone that Minnesota is going to build on for years. Porzingis is second, based mostly on his red-hot first half of the season. Third could have gone to a few big men — Jokic, Myles Turner, I even like Jahlil Okafor’s season more than most — but Jokic came on strong at the end of the season, and it looks like Denver has a find.
Sean Highkin
1. Karl-Anthony Towns
2. Kristaps Porzingis
3. Nikola Jokic
The only drama with this award will be who finishes third. There are lots of good options—Myles Turner, Devin Booker, even D’Angelo Russell, for all his recent controversy. But Jokic has been impressive as a big man playing a facilitator role in Denver.
Dan Feldman
1. Karl-Anthony Towns
2. Nikola Jokic
3. Kristaps Porzingis
Towns had the best rookie season in years, and he should and will run away with this award. Second is a much closer call. I fully expect Porzingis to finish second, because he excelled early when voters made up their minds, reached higher heights than Jokic and – far too importantly – plays in New York. But I give the slight edge to Jokic, who produced better throughout the season.