My NBA Awards
Picks for All Major Awards
The long, but excellent NBA season is over. We witnessed many things, like the emergence of Ben Simmons, LeBron James playing in 82 games for the first time, the Toronto Raptors supposedly getting it all together and chinks in the Golden State Warriors’ armor.
But now, the real season starts. The season where we don’t have to witness the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks tanking, and we can watch basketball where most players play as hard as Russell Westbrook does all season (ok, no one plays as hard as Westbrook, Trip-Doub again!). You know, the season where James consistently plays defense. Yes, the postseason is here, but first, I’m going to honor the regular season with my picks for awards and such.
Rookie of the Year
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers Point Guard Simmons
The award comes down to two guys: Simmons and Donovan Mitchell, shooting guard for the Utah Jazz. Ultimately, it came up with this decision. When we think about MVP, it means the most valuable player, not necessarily the best player. Most agree, James is the best player, but others might be more valuable to their team. Rookie of the Year has nothing to do with value. It’s simply who is the best rookie player of the season.
No one thought Utah had a chance even to sniff the playoffs after small forward Gordon Hayward took his talents to Boston, but they drafted a player in Mitchell who easily filled Hayward’s shoes as a go-to scorer. Both Mitchell and Simmons are the second-best players on their respected rosters, but much more responsibility is on Mitchell’s shoulders to score because the Sixers have Joel Embiid. Jazz center Rudy Gobert is not as much of a scoring threat. So, Mitchell is more valuable, but Simmons had the better season. Simmons is the better player and deserves the award.
Sixth Man of the Year
Winner: Los Angeles Clippers Point Guard Lou Williams
We have another two-horse race between Williams and Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets. Williams was Mr. Do Everything for the Clippers and kept them afloat after the Chris Paul trade in the offseason and the Blake Griffin trade in the middle of the season. Gordon had another stellar season off the bench for the Rockets, but Williams had the best statistical season of his 13-year career and averaged 22.6 ppg and 5.3 apg.
Most Improved Player of the Year
Winner: Indiana Pacers Shooting Guard Victor Oladipo
I don’t want to brag, but I thought Oladipo would turn out to be the best player in the 2013 NBA draft. I wouldn’t say he technically is the best player from the draft (C.J. McCollum, Gobert and Steven Adams were all drafted in 2013), but this season he has been playing like the young Dwayne Wade with a jumper clone, I thought he could become. This season, Oladipo has been arguably the best two-way player in the game. It’s amazing how a player can turn his whole game around in a year. As of right now, the Paul George trade was a complete success for the Pacers.
Defensive Player of the Year
Winner: New Orleans Pelicans Power Forward Anthony Davis
Once Demarcus Cousins tore his Achilles tendon, Davis or The Brow has taken his game to another level, looking like the best player in the NBA during the second half of the season. He is going to be a top-five finisher in the MVP award voting, but he won’t win. So, let’s honor Davis with DPOY. He averaged the most bocks in the NBA this season with 2.6 and had the third highest defensive win shares at 4.9. Gobert is the popular choice here, but I think Davis had been more consistent all season.
Coach of the Year
Winner: Jazz Coach Quin Snyder
As Rookie of the Year, this is a tough category. You can go with Snyder, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, Raptors head coach Dwayne Casey, and even good ol’ Coach Pop.
I am taking Snyder, who led his team to a 48–34 record and finished fifth in the lauded Western Conference with a rookie as his most consistent player and Gobert missing 26 games.
MVP
Winner: Rockets Shooting Guard James Harden
Harden was the most valuable player on the team with the best record in the NBA. This sentence should end the conversation about other worthy candidates like James, Damian Lillard, Davis, and Oladipo. It’s finally Harden’s turn to win the award.
All-NBA Teams:
First Team: G: Harden, G: Westbrook, F: James, F: Davis, C: Embiid
Second Team: G: Lillard, G: Oladipo, F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, F: Kevin Durant, C: Nikola Jokic
Third Team: G: Stephen Curry, G: DeMar DeRozan, F: Jimmy Butler, F: LaMarcus Aldridge, C: Karl-Anthony Towns
(Side Note: It makes me sad to keep Chris Paul off this list, but not enough room.)
First round predictions are next.
