On Wednesday, the NBA G League announced their award for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season. Their regular season is over as they are currently in both the Eastern and Western Conference Semifinals of the playoffs. Here are the winners for those G League awards.
NBA G League Announces MVP And Defensive Player of the Year
G League MVP – JD Davison (Maine Celtics)
Since being selected in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2022 NBA Draft, JD Davison has received little time at the NBA level. Over three years, he has played in a grand total of 33 games for the Boston Celtics totaling 161 minutes. A two-way player all three seasons, the 22-year-old has appeared in 13 outings for Boston this season. Playing just 4.3 minutes per contest, he has averaged 1.7 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists.
While the 6-foot-1 guard has barely gotten his feet wet in the NBA, he certainly has done so in the G League. His stellar season there culminated in being named the 2024-25 G League MVP. Davison saw action in 45 combined regular season and Tip-Off Tournament games for Maine this season. He posted averages of 25.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks. The Alabama native shot 47.7% from the field, 33.6% from beyond the arc, and 76.2% from the free-throw line.
In 2023-24, Davison was named to the All-NBA G League Third Team. While he did not play in last year’s postseason, he did receive a ring for being a part of Boston’s roster on their championship team. Prior to that, he played one year collegiately for Alabama before declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Notable previous winners of the G League MVP include Mac McClung (2023-24), Paul Reed (2020-21), and Chris Boucher (2018-19).
G League Defensive Player of the Year – Braxton Key
Braxton Key isn’t the most famous basketball player in his family. His second cousin is Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson. Now 28 years old, Key has had to grind in his basketball journey.
After going undrafted out of Virginia in 2020 (the same school Sampson went to), he did not make his NBA debut until more than one-and-a-half years later. He signed a 10-day deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in January of 2022. Last month, Key signed a two-way deal with the Golden State Warriors but has yet to play for them. He appeared in 20 games for the Denver Nuggets in 2023-24 and has played 34 career outings in the NBA.
The 6-foot-8 forward has spent all year playing in the G League for two different squads. He started the year with the San Diego Clippers before joining the Santa Cruz Warriors. In 49 combined regular season and Tip-Off Tournament contests for both teams, Key has averages of 16.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He has been piling up the stocks (steals plus blocks) which helped him earned him G League Defensive Player of the Year. Key has also averaged 2.6 steals and 1.1 blocks during the 2024-25 season.
Notable previous winners of the G League Defensive Player of the Year include Gary Payton II (2020-21) and Chris Boucher (2018-19).
Photo credit: © Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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