Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers has won Rookie of the Year honours at the NBA Awards.
The guard averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, joining Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to post those numbers in a season.
Simmons helped Philadelphia to a 52-30 record, including ending the season with a 16-game winning streak.
He beat out finalists Donovan Mitchell of Utah and Jayson Tatum of Boston.
Oladipo takes home Most Improved Player award
Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers has won the Most Improved Player at the NBA Awards.
The guard averaged 23.1 points in his first season with the Pacers. He earned his first All-Star berth, too.
Oladipo also led the league in steals for the first time.
He beat out Clint Capela of Houston and Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets.
Gobert named NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year
Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz is the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The centre was the leading vote-getter for the league’s All-Defensive first team.
Gobert anchored a Jazz defence that ranked second in the NBA in defensive rating.
He beat out Anthony Davis of New Orleans and Joel Embiid of Philadelphia.
Williams wins Sixth Man of the Year for second time
Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers is the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
The guard became the first player to average at least 20 points for the first time in his 13th season or later. He led the league in fourth-quarter points and scoring average.
He beat out Houston’s Eric Gordon, last year’s winner, and Fred VanVleet of Toronto.
Williams kissed his two young daughters on his way to the stage after becoming the Clippers’ third winner in the last five years.
Former Raptors coach Dwane Casey wins NBA Coach of the Year
Dwane Casey has won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award for his work with his former team, the Toronto Raptors. He was fired last month and has since become coach of the Detroit Pistons.
Casey led the Raptors to the No. 1 seed in the East for the first time in franchise history. Toronto won a team-record 59 games. Casey coached the East in the All-Star Game for the first time.
Casey won over Quin Snyder of Utah and Brad Stevens of Boston.
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