The NBA will announce individual awards over the next several weeks and OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the heavy favorite to win MVP.

The Defensive Player of the Year race was intriguing after Victor Wembanyama was excluded due to injury, plus a late surge in Coach of the Year.

Every year, a couple of awards and positions on the ballot keep me up at night, trying to make the right call — but rarely is that tough call at the top of the MVP ballot. It was this year. What follows is my official ballot for the NBA's end-of-season awards,