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The California Post’s NBA awards voting: Why Lakers were fairly represented

Nypost · · 1336 words · By Khobi Price; Melissa Rohlin
NBA Award Voting Criteria Lakers Player and Coach Performance NBA 65-Game Rule Controversy
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What to know about NBA Award Voting Criteria

The NBA’s 2025-26 awards were fully revealed after the Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla on Tuesday became the youngest Coach of the Year winner in over 50 years.

Claims checked 18
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The NBA’s 2025-26 awards were fully revealed after the Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla on Tuesday became the youngest Coach of the Year winner in over 50 years.

Why it matters

Two California Post sports staffers, NBA reporter Melissa Rohlin and Lakers reporter Khobi Price, had two of the 100 ballots that determined the voting for every award — from MVP (Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and Coach of the Year to All-NBA and…

Common ground

Here are insights into their voting process: 1.) What factored into your MVP vote and how did you feel about Luka Doncic’s fourth-place finish?

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/sports/why-lakers-luka-doncic-jj-redick-didnt-dese…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 18 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 8
check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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Claim 1: “The Celtics had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference despite Jayson Tatum missing 66 games”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim.
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Claim 2: “Gilgeous-Alexander... lead the Thunder to a league-best 64-win season”
CORROBORATED
A Wikipedia entry for the 2025-26 OKC season and a roster/stats page both confirm a 64-18 record, which was the best in the league/conference.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 18th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 59th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). For the second time in franchise history, and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Below is a list of draft pick selections made by the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder's previously incarnation was the Seattle SuperSonics formed in 1967…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder_draft_hi…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “LeBron James’ streak of 21 straight All-NBA selections was broken this year because of the 65-game rule”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “the Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla on Tuesday became the youngest Coach of the Year winner in over 50 years”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm Joe Mazzulla won the 2025-26 Coach of the Year and was the youngest winner since Phil Johnson in 1974-75 (over 50 years ago).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Joseph Arthur Mazzulla (born June 30, 1988) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college ba…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Mazzulla
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This list includes the date of hiring and the performance record of National Basketball Association (NBA) head coaches. The league consists of 30 teams, of which 29 are located in the United States an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_NBA_head_coach…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Coach_of_the_Year
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “MVP (Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Eurohoops and a list of 2025-26 NBA Awards, confirm Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP for the 2025-26 season.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2024–25 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven series ended with the Western C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NBA_Finals
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2024–25 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by the reigning MVP and scoring leader Shai Gilgeous-A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NBA_playoffs
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander ( SHAY; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shai_Gilgeous-Alexander
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “the gap between his total minutes played (1,866) compared to Doncic (2,289) and Jokic (2,265)”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific minute counts (1,866 for Wembanyama, 2,289 for Doncic, 2,265 for Jokic) are only found in one source (The California Post).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Checkout the per minute averages of each NBA player for 2025-26 NBA Season and more on Basketball-Reference.com.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2026_per_mi…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... ... player per minute. But the gap between his total minutes played (1,866) compared to Doncic (2,289) and Jokic (2,265), and offensive impact ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/sports/why-lakers-luka-doncic-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — NAME, SEASON, TM, GP, MPG, PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG, FGM, FGA, FG%, 3PM, 3PA, 3P%, FTM, FTA, FT%, TS%, OREB, DREB, TPG, MIN ...
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/compare-jokic-sga-luka-wemb…
info
Claim 7: “him receiving 83 first-place votes”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one specific web search result mentions the exact number of 83 first-place votes for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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web search NEUTRAL — Silver medal – second place.In the 2024–25 NBA season, Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after leading the league in scoring with an average of 32.7 points per game.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shai_Gilgeous-Alexander
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web search NEUTRAL — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the 2026 NBA MVP, securing his second consecutive award after leading the Thunder to the league’s best record. He dominated the voting with 83 first-place votes, finishing …
https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/who-is-2026-nba-mvp-all-abou…
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web search NEUTRAL — Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, is averaging 25.3 points, 5.3 assists and 4.7 boards in 530 career games (521 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers (2018-19) and Thunder.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/sports/basketball/987977/thu…
help
Claim 8: “Doncic (18 games), LeBron James (22) and Austin Reaves (31) missing a combined 71 games”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim.
schedule
Claim 9: “He averaged 20.9 points on 51.5% shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 10: “Hornets wing Kon Knueppel... a Hornets team that won 44 games”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “the Spurs finished with the second-best record in the league”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 12: “I voted for Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 13: “resulted in a 26-win season for the Mavericks”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 14: “Doncic... averaged 37.5 points and led the Lakers to a 15-2 record [in March]”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources (Facebook, a Player of the Month announcement, and a Kia Player of the Month post) confirm Luka Doncic averaged 37.5 PPG and the Lakers went 15-2 in March.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 2, 2026 ... Luka Dončić is putting together a historic scoring season. He's leading the league at 33.6 points per game, the highest scoring average ...
https://www.facebook.com/losangeleslakers/posts/in-a-15-2-mo…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 2, 2026 ... In a 15-2 month for the Lakers, Dončić averaged an NBA-best 37.5 points on 49.2% shooting from the field, 39.2% from 3-point range and 79.4% ...
https://lakers.com/news/luka-doncic-named-nba-western-confer…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 2, 2026 ... Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers! 37.5 PPG, 7.4 APG, 8.0 RPG. Team Record: 15-2 ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1sar05s/nba_your_weste…
info
Claim 15: “Leading the Lakers to a 53-win season”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries for the city of Los Angeles and unrelated community college/dictionary results. No evidence regarding the Lakers' win total or JJ Redick's coaching record was found.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Los Angeles, also known as L.A., [b] is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3.87 millio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Los Rios Community College District is one of the nation’s most respected learning institutions and the second-largest community college district in California, serving the greater Sacramento regi…
https://losrios.edu/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 23 hours ago · What does the abbreviation LOS stand for? Meaning: line of scrimmage.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/LOS
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Claim 16: “Doncic led the league in scoring (33.5 points), was third in assists (8.3) and sixth in steals (1.6)”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 17: “The Pistons went from missing the playoffs last season to finishing with the East’s top record”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 18: “Defensive Player of the Year (Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama)”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia's DPOY list and multiple news reports (Charania, Reddit/Weiss) confirm Victor Wembanyama won the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 NBA playoffs is the ongoing postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2025–26 season. The playoffs began on April 18 and will end with the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Fina…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_NBA_playoffs
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The NBA Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Defensive_Player_of_the_Ye…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Victor Wembanyama ( WEM-bən-YAH-mə; French: [viktɔʁ wɛmbanjama]; born 4 January 2004), nicknamed "Wemby" and "the Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the Na…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Wembanyama
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.