The reign of the Davao del Sur pride has emerged, ushering in a new era for the league, after San Miguel star June Mar Fajardo earned the league’s highest individual award in each of the last six seasons.

Thompson is the first Ginebra player to win the PBA MVP title since Mark Caguioa in 2012. The Ginebra guard was statistically the weakest candidate for MVP, but he received overwhelming support from the media, the Office of the Commissioner, and other PBA players.

Thompson received 2836 votes, far more than TNT’s Williams, who received 1332 votes and finished second. With 1295 votes, Bolick took third place, and Abueva came in fourth with 1066.

He was also named the Best Player of the Conference and the Finals MVP of the Governors’ Cup, which was held in the previous season. Looking back on the 2021-2022 season, Thompson had an overall average for the two conferences of 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 steals.

Since March of 2020, the PBA has not previously conducted its Leo Awards ceremony, therefore they resumed it this year.

To complete the PBA’s First Mythical Team joining Thompson are TNT’s Williams, San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo, Magnolia’s Abueva, and NorthPort’s Arwind Santos.

Ian Sangalang (Magnolia), Christian Standhardinger (Ginebra), Matthew Wright (Phoenix Super LPG), Bolick (NorthPort), and CJ Perez (San Miguel Beer) make up the PBA’s Second Mythical Team (San Miguel Beer).

Williams, a fiery guard for TNT, was awarded Rookie of the Year which is expected after leading the Tropang Giga to the Philippine Cup title and winning the Finals MVP award.

The Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award went to NLEX playmaker Kevin Alas, while the Most Improved Player Award went to Terrafirma guard Juami Tiongson.

Meralco’s Cliff Hodge, NorthPort’s Arwind Santos, TNT’s Kelly Williams, Magnolia’s Jio Jalalon, and San Miguel Beer’s Chris Ross comprise the season’s All-Defensive Team.