The NBA Awards will be handed out on Monday night during a star-studded (well, Snoop Dogg will be there) ceremony in Los Angeles.
While some of the winners seem like a lock, a handful of awards are sure to surprise some. Be more specific, you say? Here’s a closer look at this year’s nominees and a prediction of who will walk away with the hardware:
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
The nominees: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis
The winner: Harden.
In what could be the least dramatic category of them all, the Houston Rockets superstar gets the easy nod over the competition. LeBron led the league in minutes in his 15th season and is the sole reason why the Cavaliers finished in the top-four in the East, and Davis was dominant on both ends of the floor, carrying the Pelicans into the post-season despite New Orleans losing DeMarcus Cousins for the year — but Harden’s scoring prowess separates him from the pack. Harden led the league with 30.4 points per game and topped 40 points on 11 occasions, including three 50+ point performances and an NBA-high 60 points (albeit against Orlando) in late January.
The Rockets finished with the league’s best record thanks to Harden’s dominance. This season featured the largest gap between the leading scorer and second-place (Russell Westbrook) since Kevin Durant averaged 32 points per game in the 2013-14 season. Yes, Durant earned MVP honours that year, too.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The nominees: Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Joel Embiid
The winner: Gobert.
He was the NBA’s best rim protector last season and an anchor for one of the most surprising teams in the West. Utah was 18-26 at the time when Gobert was forced to miss a month of action due to injury — the biggest knock against him —but his impact on the floor was unmistakable once he returned to the Utah lineup and the Jazz went 30-8 to close the season.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The nominees: Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum
The winner: Mitchell.
In the closest race of them all, Mitchell gets the slightest edge over Simmons, who was in his second pro season after missing the entirety of his true rookie year to a foot injury. Simmons was outstanding and probably has the highest upside of the bunch — a monster compliment given Tatum’s vaulted ceiling — but Mitchell defied expectations of the 13th overall pick to carry Utah to the West’s fifth seed. In the process he led all rookies in scoring, and even broke the NBA’s rookie record for three-pointers in a season while showing the foundations of a bona fide go-to star.
If you’re picking for the future, he’d likely be taken third in this group, but based on last season alone Mitchell deserves the nod.
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
The nominees: Fred VanVleet, Eric Gordon, Lou Williams
The winner: Williams.
VanVleet’s inclusion on the list is a huge testament to what he’s been able to accomplish in just two seasons since being undrafted, and Gordon’s production off the bench goes a long way to making the Rockets an extremely tough beat, but none held a candle to what Williams accomplished this season.
In his 13th season Williams topped 20 points per game for the first time (22.6) and successfully took on a role as the Clippers go-to player, nearly leading them to the playoffs in what amounted to a transition year in L.A.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
The nominees: Clint Capela, Spencer Dinwiddie, Victor Oladipo
The winner: Oladipo.
He went from ‘draft bust’ to all-star in the span of a year. In the process, the Indiana Pacers improbably walked away as winners in the Paul George trade with Oklahoma City, and found a leader on both ends of the floor and true backcourt star to build around.
COACH OF THE YEAR
The nominees: Dwane Casey, Brad Stevens, Mike D’Antoni
The winner: Stevens. Casey and D’Antoni would both be deserving winners, but Stevens was able to overcome a string of devastating injuries to veteran stars and rely on a group of young players yet didn’t skip a beat in remaining competitive in the East.
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