Apologies, New Orleans Pelicans’ fans.

There won’t be many Pelicans mentioned in this as I tell you how I voted for the NBA’s postseason awards. Other than votes for rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, there likely won’t be any Pelicans players getting any recognition.

Ballots for postseason awards had to be turned in Friday on the eve of the playoffs.

Here’s a look at who I voted for in all the categories.

MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC Thunder)

You could write the names Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama on a piece of paper, place them in a hat and pull out one and have a legitimate candidate.

Heck, you could probably make somewhat of an argument for Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown, too.

For me, it came down to Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic. I eventually settled on SGA to repeat as MVP. The Oklahoma City guard was consistent and efficient all season long while shooting 55.3 % from the floor. SGA averaged 31.1 points this season, marking the fourth time he’s averaged 30 or more points in a season. The only other players to ever do that? Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson. 

Jokic, who has three MVPs on his resume’, became the first player to lead the league in both rebounds and assists. That made it really hard for me not to vote for him. But SGA was also eighth in the league in defensive rating and is the best player on the NBA’s best team, which tilted me oh-so-slightly in his favor.

Coach of the Year: J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons)

Two seasons ago, the Pistons won 14 games. Bickerstaff, in his second season, has guided the Pistons to a 60-22 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. That should give Pelicans fans some hope on how quickly things can be turned around.

Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)

No, I didn’t base this on how poorly Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel played in the Hornets’ play-in game against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. These awards are supposed to be based strictly on the regular season and I made my mind up before the play-in game that my vote was going to Flagg. The No. 1 overall pick had to do most of the heavy lifting in Dallas and he delivered, including a 2-game stretch where he scored 51 and 45 points. His team wasn’t good, but he was.

Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)

This was one of the easier decisions. Johnson came off the bench and averaged 13.2 points and 5.4 4 rebounds. He’s a big reason the Spurs finished with the second best record in the league.

Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Alexander-Walker spent the first 2 ½ seasons of his career with the Pelicans. He’s now with his fourth different team and his first season in Atlanta. He went from averaging 9.4 points last season in Minnesota to now averaging 20.8 points for the Hawks. The Hawks, who also have former Pelicans’ CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels and Buddy Heild on their roster, finished strong this season to get the sixth seed in the East.

Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama

The Spurs’ big man blocked 3.1 shots per game, over twice more than the league’s second leader in blocked shots (OKC’s Chet Holmgren). This will probably be the first of many times Wemby wins this award.

Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

This is just the fourth year of this award. The NBA defines clutch games as ones where the score is within five points with less than five minutes remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in clutch points and did it while shooting 51 % from the floor down the stretch.

This would give SGA two postseason awards.

Well, make it three if you count the playoff predictions.

Here are my playoff predictions.

OKC over Denver in the Western Conference Finals.

Boston over Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals.

OKC over Boston in six games for the NBA title.

Finals MVP? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

How I voted

MVP

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)

2. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)

3. Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)

4. Luka Doncic (Lakers)

5. Cade Cunnigham (Pistons)

Coach of the Year

1. J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)

2. Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)

3. Quin Snyder (Hawks)

Rookie of the Year

1. Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)

2. Kon Knueppel (Hornets)

3. V.J. Edgecombe (76ers)

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Keldon Johnson (Spurs)

2. Jaime Jaquez (Heat)

3. Naz Reid (Timberwolves)

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)

2. Chet Holmgren (Thunder)

3. Derrick White (Celtics)

Most Improved Player

1. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks)

2. Jalen Duren (Pistons)

3. Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)

Clutch Player of the Year

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)

2. Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)

3. Cade Cunningham (Pistons)

All-NBA

First Team

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)

Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)

Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)

Luka Doncic (Lakers)

Cade Cunnigham (Pistons)

Second Team

Jaylen Brown (Celtics)

Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)

Kevin Durant (Rockets)

Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)

Jamal Murray (Nuggets)

Third Team

Jalen Duren (Pistons)

Jalen Brunson (Knicks)

Tyrese Maxey (76ers)

Chet Holmgren (Thunder)

Jalen Johnson (Hawks)

All-Defensive Team

First Team

Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)

Chet Holmgren (Thunder)

Derrick White (Celtics)

Ausar Thompson (Pistons)

Scottie Barnes (Raptors)

Second team

Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)

Amen Thompson (Rockets)

Bam Adebayo (Heat)

Cason Wallace (Thunder)

OG Anunoby (Knicks)

All Rookie Team

First Team

Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)

Kon Knueppel (Hornets)

VJ Edgecombe (76ers)

Dylan Harper (Spurs)

Jeremiah Fears (Pelicans)

Second Team

Ace Bailey (Jazz)

Derik Queen (Pelicans)

Cedric Coward (Grizzlies)

Maxime Raynaud (Kings)

Collin Murray-Boyles (Raptors)