The NBA's award voting will be much different this season.
According to Indiana Pacers play-by-play announcer Mark Boyle and Chicago Bulls radio announcer Chuck Swirsky, team-employed media members will no longer be allowed to vote on the league's individual awards. It means that MVP candidates such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant, among others, could each lose some key votes in and out of their respective regions.
For instance, last season when Westbrook placed fourth in MVP voting, one of his 29 second-place votes came from Matt Pinto, the radio voice of the Thunder.