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NBA awards finalists 2025-26: Victor Wembanyama headlines DPOY finalists

The NBA started announcing the the three finalists for each of its end-of-season awards on Sunday, beginning with Defensive Player of the Year.

Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgran and Ausar Thompson are the finalists.

The 2025-26 Finalists for Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Chet Holmgren
Ausar Thompson
Victor Wembanyama pic.twitter.com/C4cMnh1WFu

— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2026

Deni Avija, Jalen. Duren and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are the finalists for Most Improved Player.

The 2025-26 Finalists for Kia NBA Most Improved Player.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Deni Avdija
Jalen Duren pic.twitter.com/cN0ydFsgNK

— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2026

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray are the finalists for Clutch Player of the Year.

The 2025-26 Finalists for Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year.

Anthony Edwards
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Jamal Murray pic.twitter.com/yLXEPZ3gan

— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2026

Tim Hardaway Jr, Jaime Jacquez Jr. and Keldon Johnson are the finalists for Sixth Man of the Year.

The 2025-26 Finalists for Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Tim Hardaway Jr.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Keldon Johnson pic.twitter.com/JRNRtyWBSj

— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2026

Finalists for the rest of the league’s individual end-of-season awards have yet to be announced.

Performance awards will be recognized in seven categories, headlined by NBA MVP.

The other six major awards are Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year and Clutch Player of the Year. The winners for individual honors will be announced throughout the next month during the NBA playoffs.

Check out how Yahoo Sports NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor filled out his 2026 awards ballot.

Caitlin Clark says she's '100% healthy' as Fever begin training camp, plans to 'be smarter' in pushing herself

The Indiana Fever reported for 2026 training camp on Sunday and Caitlin Clark immediately addressed her status for the upcoming season.

The star guard told reporters that she is “100% healthy” after quad, groin and ankle injuries limited her to only 13 games last year. But Clark and Fever head coach Stephanie White have talked about being cautious with how many practice reps she goes through early on in training camp as she works her way back.

“I’m a person that doesn’t want to sit out a single rep, like I want to be in there every single time” Clark said, via the Indianapolis Star’s Brian Haenchen. “But I think just being a little bit smarter with my body… whether that’s recovery, whether that’s precourt treatment, whatever it is.”

Caitlin Clark on her #Fever return:

“I was talking to (Stephanie White) a little bit, and I’m the person that doesn’t want to sit out a single rep. I want to be in there every single time. … None of that has changed, but just being a little bit smarter with my body. …” pic.twitter.com/U2eLdTi2Vl

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) April 19, 2026

Clark added that training and playing with the USA women’s basketball team during the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in March was a good experience, competing against the best players in the sport.

“You want to rise to the level of the people around you and then you also want to beat them, get on the court and compete,” she said.

While preparing for the World Cup qualifiers, Clark admitted that trying to work through her injuries rather than rest and recover properly may have resulted in her playing when she wasn’t fully healthy.

In her 13 games for the Fever last season, Clark averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5 rebounds per game. She shot 28% on 104 3-point attempts.

Stephanie White asked by myself and @RomeovilleKid about the planning for Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell after injuries last year: pic.twitter.com/unkpy0BEp1

— Tony East (@TonyREast) April 19, 2026

“She doesn’t have to be out there every rep, just being mindful,” White said (via Tony East). “Every year that she gets older, she understands the cadence is a little bit different.”

White added that Clark taking it slow also provides an opportunity for the Fever to work in players that they added in free agency, including guard Tyasha Harris and forwards Myisha Hines-Allen and Monique Billings. Indiana also drafted South Carolina guard Raven Johnson with their first-round selection in the WNBA Draft.

Several Fever players dealt with injuries last season, including Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham. Forward Aliyah Boston also sustained a leg injury during the Unrivaled playoffs, but is apparently ready to go for camp.

The Fever brought back the core from last year’s playoff team, re-signing Mitchell, Hull and Cunningham, while also inking Boston to a four-year, $6.3 million contract extension that’s the richest total package in WNBA history.

Indiana finished 24-20, making the playoffs as the sixth seed. The Fever defeated the Atlanta Fever in the first round before losing to the eventual league champion Las Vegas Aces.

Mets DH Jorge Polanco goes to injured list with right wrist contusion

Amid a nine-game losing streak, the New York Mets have placed designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist contusion, the team announced on Saturday.

Polanco, 32, sustained the injury during Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted 0-for-4 in the game with two strikeouts.

“It’s a wrist contusion, like a bone bruise,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters before Saturday’s game with the Chicago Cubs.

The Mets don't have a timetable for when Jorge Polanco will return from the 10-day IL pic.twitter.com/Af3qnr5vZQ

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 18, 2026

"When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn't,” Mendoza continued. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took [Tuesday] night… It just got worse the following day.”

Polanco has also been dealing with bursitis in his left Achilles tendon, but that condition was improving, according to Mendoza. That injury has contributed to the veteran’s slow start to the 2026 season after signing a two-year, $40 million deal with the Mets. He’s played in 14 of the team’s 20 games.

In 61 plate appearances, Polanco has a .179/.246/.286 slash line with three doubles, one home run and two RBI. Though it’s early in the season, that production is far below the 26 homers, 30 doubles and 78 RBI he compiled last year for the Seattle Mariners, batting .265/.326/.495 in 524 PAs.

To take Polanco’s spot on the major-league roster, catcher Hayden Senger was called up from Triple-A Syracuse. In 12 games this season, he has five home runs and 11 RBI to go with a .257/.316/.714 slash line. Mendoza told reporters he wanted Senger as another right-handed catcher that can allow him to use Luis Torrens as a pinch-hitter or put Francisco Alvarez at DH.

The Mets have lost nine consecutive games going into Saturday’s matinee, the team’s longest losing streak since 11 straight defeats in 2004. At 7-13, the Mets are currently last in the National League East, 1.5 games behind the fourth-place Philadelphia Phillies.

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