via the AP

And the MVP is…

The MVP race goes down to the wire, a rookie who played less than half the season wins an award and the All-NBA team members are named.

The parity was supposed to be broken with the Warriors configuration of a true “super team” for the 2016–17 season. Yet, we sit here on the eve of the postseason not necessarily slotting both the Cavs and Warriors in the NBA Finals. This could lead to an equally interesting question of whether parity truly leads to better entertainment value, but instead we should focus on what the season was. It was offensively dazzling, overpowering at times with teams posting games that crushed previous records. It was the year where unicorns became real, and mere glimpses of them made you comfortable that the NBA would be in good hands when the old guard eventually fades out. It was the year of the most exciting MVP race ever.

All awards will be covered below, detailed will be the aforementioned MVP race. The race truly is between four players and all of them have merits for serious consideration.

MVP

1. Russell Westbrook
2. Kawhi Leonard
3. James Harden
4. LeBron James
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo

It comes as no surprise that this decision was gut-wrenching. Leonard nearly ended up stealing my vote after many intelligent people and analysts ended up giving compelling evidence for why he deserved it. His contributions on both ends of the floor were unparalleled this season with his defensive advanced metrics being tainted by a random stroke of good 3-point shooting when he was on the court. His efficiency on the season was nearly identical to last season while also bumping up his usage rating a significant amount. My fake award isn’t going to Kawhi, though. It is going to Mr. Triple-Double.

The key distinction I’d like to make before delving into my reasoning for voting for Westbrook is that it isn’t entirely based on the 42 triple-doubles. As many have told before me, the triple-double is an arbitrarily arranged subset of numbers based on something someone thought mattered over 50 years ago. But I don’t really give a shit. The triple-double is and was awesome, but if he had averaged nine rebounds per game, Westbrook would still get my vote and Harden falling short of those numbers didn’t dismiss him from my number one spot.

The Thunder’s roster does not have the offensive talent to explain being ranked 16th in the league, but here we are looking at an average offense that is being pulled to respectability with the herculean effort of Westbrook. In most situations it would be fair to question whether a player is smart to take on that usage level while positively contributing to the team. A divide occurs somewhere in the upper echelon of this metric where the workload becomes too much for any one man and a drop-off of efficiency occurs. That would seem to be the two pronged attack on the weakness of Westbrook’s season. Did he really need to take ALL of those shots and did doing so hurt him in the long-run due to his having the lowest true shooting percentage of the four likely MVP candidates? He did need to take those shots and obviously taking 24 per game will take a couple of ticks off of your shooting percentage.

But Westbrook was efficient by his own standards. His 55.4 true shooting percentage was tied for the highest of his career, largely due to his free throw rate and bumped up 3-point percentage (34.3). He had to carry the largest usage rate (41.7) of any player ever since the stat tracked back to the 1977–78 season, beating the next highest by three percentage points. Posting a career-high in efficiency while crushing the league in usage rate is no easy feat, and doing it all while playing in 81 games might be the most impressive part of it all. The one they call “Brodie” was a man set to destroy the league this year and his rim-crushing dunks and relentless attacks to the basket were just that. Before the season I predicted the Thunder would underperform because they wouldn’t have the shooting to spread the floor for Westbrook and that he wouldn’t be able to sustain a 40 percent usage rate without hurting the team or himself. Half of that was true and it just didn’t freaking matter.

The team cratered completely with Westbrook off the court. When he played the team was a top-10 offense in the league and with him off the floor they were worse than the 76ers offense, by a lot. One team in the NBA (the Hawks) had a winning record while having a bottom-10 offense in the league this season, and it’s fair to say that the Thunder would be deep in the lottery if Westbrook had missed significant time this season. And if the Thunder had capable backups at point guard that were able to keep the team afloat while he was off the court? Well, maybe those 47 wins creep even closer to 50.

Winning is going to be closely analyzed as all MVPs have throughout NBA history. The last time a player won the MVP with a winning percentage lower than Westbrook’s was during the 1981–82 season when Moses Malone won it for the Houston Rockets. But what is interesting is looking at the expected record for the Thunder and seeing four less wins than what they ended up with. The Grizzlies are known as a team that outpaces this number on the regular but teams usually are able to do this with some luck or by having clutch performances when it matters. Westbrook has done this and more this season:

This is what puts the race over the edge for me. Westbrook was the difference maker in these 50–50 games, games that ended up putting the Thunder well over .500 and firmly in the 6th seed in the West.

Rookie of the Year

1. Joel Embiid
2. Malcolm Brogdon
3. Dario Saric

His impact was real, it was felt. Yes, he played 31 games but his effect was so overwhelming and his shadow on the game loomed so large that he will be what is remembered from the rookie class of 2016–17. The 3-point shooting, the dancing, the post moves and the euro steps were on all full display and the progression to superstardom is apparent. Stay healthy, big fella.

Most Improved Player

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Doesn’t matter
3. Doesn’t matter

The step he has taken this season has been monumental. I detailed some of the major improvements he has made this season and how it has propelled him into some seriously strong company. This category should be locked up for the “Greek Freak”.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Draymond Green

2. Rudy Gobert

3. Kawhi Leonard

There’s a good chance that Green ends up coming in 2nd place for the 3rd year in a row, but it’s pretty much a guarantee that Leonard won’t be the one topping him. Gobert has been the staple of the Jazz defense and is a completely deserving candidate of this spot. But Green has kept the Warriors elite defense rolling, even when Durant missed a month of the season. His intensity and do-it-all ethos were on full display for the 2nd ranked defense in the league.

6th Man of the Year

1. Andre Iguodala

2. Eric Gordon

3. Lou Williams

Gordon and Williams have had more eye-popping stats, but Iguodala gets the nod for having possibly his best season as a Warrior. Swept under the rug this season has been the incredible year that he is having with some impressive efficiency. He has a .624 true shooting percentage while posting his lowest turnover percentage of his career at 11.2. His defense has continued to be exemplary and he is as crucial to the death lineup as anybody in the Warriors lineup. The team is +24 per 100 possessions when he is on the floor this season, giving him my stamp of approval for the award.

Coach of the Year

1. Gregg Popovich

2. Erik Spoelstra

3. Quin Snyder

Pop keeps churning out excellent seasons while proving he is the best coach in the league. There’s no one you’d rather having manning the sideline of your favorite team.

All-NBA 1st team

Russell Westbrook

James Harden

Kawhi Leonard

LeBron James

Anthony Davis

All-NBA 2nd team

Steph Curry

John Wall

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Jimmy Butler

Rudy Gobert

All-NBA 3rd team

Chris Paul

Isaiah Thomas

Kevin Durant

Draymond Green

Marc Gasol