I don’t have an awards ballot, but I should… not, I definitely shouldn’t. Good call NBA. But I do have a blog that no one reads so you can’t stop me from making an awards ballot. I’ll do all of the major awards and I’ll finish with my All-NBA teams. Let’s get to it.
MVP
1)Nikola Jolic
2)Joel Embiid
3)Steph Curry
4)Giannis Antetokounmpo
5)Luka Doncic
The MVP is Jokic and it’s not even close. It’s honestly ridiculous that anyone would be complaining about this. The guy played every game, balled on everyone, and led his injury plagued team to a 3 seed. He’s analytically dominant and at 25 is still improving every year s a player. He is perhaps the greatest passing big of all time and not only does this MVP look good now it will age like a fine wine. Put some respect on the man’s name. Sombor Shuffle for life.
This is the year Embiid put it all together. His defense is as good as ever and he still gets to the foul line at an elite level. The big difference this year is that he’s making his jumpers. If he hadn’t gotten hurt perhaps it would have been a great MVP race.
Curry carried a bunch of bums way over their heads this year. He showed this year he’s not just a ceiling raiser, but a floor raiser as well. Just a special season from a special player.
Giannis was great again this year, but his defense did dip as the Bucks tried out a more varied defensive scheme. Also, while his passing improved he still doesn’t have a consistent perimeter game.
Luka also carried a pretty mediocre team to the playoffs. The Mavs dealt with a lot of injuries and COVID absences, but his all around dominant offensive game was enough to keep the Mavs in the playoffs. He also improved as a shooter. On the negative side he complains at the refs too much and struggled for consistency at times.
Defensive Player of the Year
1)Rudy Gobert
2)Ben Simmons
3)Draymond Green
You don’t have to like him, but could we please stop pretending Gobert isn’t the league’s best defender night in, night out. He dominates the rim and contrary to reports is also good coming out to the perimeter. He allows the Jazz to play a bunch of mediocre to bad defenders and still be dominant on that end. Unlike most guys he defends all five guys at once because of his rim protection and size. Also he rebounds and I still care about that.
Draymond may have lost a step, but he is still a genius on the defensive end. His team defense is also off the charts as he always gets everyone, including himself, into the right spots.
Simmons is a legit 1-5 defender. He defends every position at an elite level and is also a menace off the ball. The only hole is that he’s not a rim protector and that is still the most valuable area to defend.
Coach of the Year
1)Tom Thibideau
2)Monty Williams
3)Steve Nash
So I guess the game hasn’t passed him by. The Knicks were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league this year, but somehow ended up with the 4 seed in the east. Not only was their defense superb, but their offense was able to squeeze out enough points to win games. This was just an incredible coaching job and I think this was an easy decision.
Monty just did a good job. It started last year, but the fruits came to bear this year. Yes Chris Paul made the biggest impact, but assimilating him without losing some of the young guys was impressive. The Suns have great vibes and Williams gets the credit for that.
I don’t get why Nash isn’t getting more love for the job he’s done this season. No team had a less consistent roster than the Nets. It seemed like every game he had to chop and change his lineups. He was also able to juggle everyone’s minutes without causing problems in the locker room. There were a lot of questions asked about this hire, but I think he’s done a great job.
Most Improved Player
1)Julius Randle
2)Zach Lavine
3)Jaylen Brown
I’ve never seen anything like this Julius Randle season. The guy just up and learned how to shoot out of the blue. He’s also improved every other aspect of his game. In the middle of his career he went from an empty state guy to an All-NBA player leading his team to a 4 seed. Bravo sir, bravo.
Zach Lavine has become a scoring efficiency machine. He’s cut down on his turnovers and cut out the crummy mid range jumpers. It’s been really impressive to see him reach his all-star potential. Now he needs to up his defense.
Jaylen Brown didn’t necessarily add to his game this year, but he did improve in every area. His scoring averages and efficiency jumped up a lot and he also became an all-star this year. His late injury was unfortunate, but it shouldn’t erase his great season.
Sixth Man of the Year
1)Joe Ingles
2)Derrick Rose
3)Jordan Clarkson
Ingles isn’t your typical 6th man winner, but he deserves this award. He does a bit of everything for the Jazz. He’s an excellent defender, playmaker, and shooter. What else do you people want from the guy?
If Rose had been on the Knicks all year he probably would win this award. He’s been excellent for them this year and when he’s on the floor the Knicks kill people. It’s just a matter of games played for him.
Clarkson certainly looked like he had this award wrapped most of the year, but after a hot start he cooled significantly. He profiles like your typical winner and will probably win, but I just don’t think he does enough as compared to the other two guys.
Rookie of the Year
1)LaMelo Ball
2)Tyrese Haliburton
3)Anthony Edwards
Ball was head and shoulders above all other rookies this year. His playmaking was expected, but his scoring was a pleasant surprise. He played well with his teammates and looks like a certain future all-star.
Haliburton is so damn efficient. He does everything well and plays with an extraordinarily high basketball IQ. For once the Kings nailed it with this one. Good for you Kings.
Edwards is fast becoming one of my favorite players in the league. His personality and interviews are infectious and I hope he can fulfill his massive potential. He is also a walking poster waiting to happen. After an awful start he played much better when Karl Towns came back.
All NBA
1st Team
G- Steph Curry
G- Damian Lillard
F- Luka Doncic
F- Giannis Antetokounmpo
C- Nikola Jokic
Honestly I found the first team pretty easy to put together. Four of these guys were top 5 in my MVP and Lillard would’ve been sixth.
2nd Team
G- Chris Paul
G- Jimmy Butler
F- Kawhi Leonard
F- Julius Randle
C- Joel Embiid
Embiid was the second best player in the league this year, but was also the second best center, so he’s on the second team. Paul and Butler were both excellent and when they played they dominated the court. Randle as I’ve already written about was incredible this season. Kawhi gets the nod over Lebron because of games played. They were pretty even otherwise.
3rd Team
G- Kyrie Irving
G- Brad Beal
F- Paul George
F- Lebron James
C- Rudy Gobert
Kyrie and Beal both had excellent scoring seasons coupled with great efficiency. I just don’t see a case for any other guards over them. Lebron is Lebron, no reason to get into more detail than that. George had another excellent two way season and beats out other forwards because he is excellent on both ends. Gobert was an easy choice for this spot as he dominates one end and impacts on offense with his vertical spacing.
So there you have it. That’s my completely hypothetical awards ballot that goes nowhere and does nothing. At least it was good content? Maybe? Possibly? Anybody?! ANYBODY?!?!?! Hope you enjoyed.