NBA Trophy Time
Time for the individual season awards; the best the NBA had to offer. Here we go...
Coach of the Year: Tough year. My respect for coaches is usually pretty low, but I have to admit there were some good coaching jobs this year. Nate McMillian and Mike D'Antonio helped revolutionize NBA basketball this season with the Sonics and Suns, respectively, thank God for both of them. Rick Carlisle dealt with all of the insanity that happened to the Pacers this season and still got his team into the playoffs, with a decent chance to go to the second round. George Karl damn near singlehandedly turned around a Nuggets squad into one of the best teams in the league. Scott Skiles somehow not only got a team of underachievers in Chicago not only into the playoffs, but with home court advantage. All of these men did outstanding jobs and deserve consideration.
In the end, I'll go ahead and go with D'Antoni. The Sonics were probably more surprising in their turnaround, but they had the same coach last year, and they didn't finish as well as the Suns did. D'Antoni did an outstanding job in his first NBA head coaching stint, and brought a breath of fresh air to a league that needed it. Congratulations Mike.
Rookie of the Year: Congrats to Dwight Howard and Ben Gordon for having nice years. But this is pretty much Emeka Okafur going away. 15.1 points, 10.9 reebs, and 1.7 blocks. But most impressive is him leading the Bobcats to 18 wins as an expansion team. I mean, the Bobcats were the third worst team in the NBA this year. They should have been by far the worst. So good job, Emeka.
Most Improved Player: Bobby Simmons, LA Clippers. To be quite honest, I don't even see how there's much of a doubt. The is the Most Improved Award, not the "It's nice that you finally recovered from your injury award", so no to Grant Hill. Teyshaun Prince did improve as a scorer, but he raised his scoring average 4 points. Had anyone even heard of Simmons? He improved from 7.8 to 16.4 ppg, 4.7 to 5.9 reebs, and upped his FG% from 39.4% to 43.5%. He was instrumental in the Clips huge improvement.
6th Man of the Year: I'm sorry, but what is everyone's obsession with Ben Gordon? I think it's cause he went to college. Ricky Davis--yes, the insane Ricky Davis--is the 6th Man of the Year. Ben Gordon will win it, but why? Ricky averaged more points, more rebounds, more assists, had a higher field goal percentage, averaged twice as many steals, and had more blocks. Team success was pretty much the same--within two games if I remember correctly. And come on, is there anyone less likely to win this award? Give the guy some credit! In a year of crazy guys doing bad things, let's reward a crazy guy for doing good things.
Defensive Player of the Year: I'll go with Shawn Marion, since he guards a much more versatile list of players (anywhere from 2 guards to power forwards). Bruce Bowen will probably win it, though, and is just as deserving.
MVP: Tough year. Steve Nash was incredible for the Suns, but he does play with Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and Quentin Richardson. Would the Suns be so great if they lost any of them? No. And on top of that, Nash is without question a defensive liability. You can't be the MVP only on one side of the court. Shaq was great this season, but so was Dwayne Wade. I'm sorry, but I honestly feel that Wade is the MVP of that team, not Shaq. If you look at his stats, he's actually a little down this year as compared to last. Lebron was incredible, but team success is a big factor, and his team didn't make the playoffs. Next year, Lebron. Timmy was hurt too much to be the MVP again. AI was great, but I still feel like his team has underachieved. How can you put up the numbers he did and still finish 7th in the East? Something was missing there to crown him MVP.
So, that leaves me with something I can't believe I'm writing, but it's true...
Dirk Nowitzki is the MVP of the league.
I swear to God I'm not being a homer here. But when I add up all the important things, Dirk stands out. He averaged career highs in scoring, assists, and 3pt%. His defense was REMARKABLY improved this year. His team was going through incredible changes and faced injury problems all year, and yet he still guided them to third in the West. He stepped up as a leader for the first time in his career.
Dirk--already without question before this season a top 15 NBA player, and arguably a top ten--singlehandedly led an overachieving team to unanticipated regular season success.
I think that's the definition of an MVP.
Some other awards...
Player We'd Most Like To See Hit by a Mack Truck (or the Shawn Bradley Memorial Award): Vince Carter. Is there anything worse than in the middle of the season, Vince gets the trade he wanted, and suddenly starts playing like an All Star? Not only that, but he admitted to not playing hard in Toronto! I'm reminded of a really funny Onion article I read once, "Asshole admits to being Asshole in supremely Asshole move." That's Vince. Hi Toronto, I gave up on you guys after signing my big contract, fucked you over for three years, and then as soon as I left with all my money I started trying hard again.
Hey Vince: FUCK YOU!
Best Charles Barkely Comment of the Year: On St. Patrick's Day: "Just what the Irish need, another reason to get drunk." Who else in the world can get away with saying this? And yes, I laughed. And yes, I'm Irish.
Player I Cannot Wait To See Play Next Year: Ron Artest. Come on. Was there any doubt? And you know you want to, too.
Most Quotable Player of the Year: Jalen Rose, Toronto Raptors. Let's take a quick look at the Jalen Rose hit parade this year:
"There's always going to be criticism when your name is Jalen. You have to wear a bulletproof vest and be ready for it."
"Like I told the guys earlier, once he turns 21 and is able to drink, it's over."
After LeBron James (20) scored 56 on the Raptors.
"He probably was a little tired from All-Star weekend. While he was running up and down the court throwing it off the backboard, I was laying on the beach drinking a fruity drink with an umbrella. So I probably gave myself an unfair advantage on that one."
Explaining why he outplayed Vince Carter two days after the All-Star Game.
"Was it for Richard Jefferson?"
After hearing that Vince Carter had been traded to New Jersey. Unfortunately, Jalen, the answer was nothing. Can't you see the expression on his face? "No All Star for you Jalen; VC got traded for nothing!" The real question: was shoot first Jalen mad that they didn't get Jefferson, or happy, because that meant he got to shoot more?
"I'm a GM in fantasy basketball and I'm a GM on Playstation, so on Playstation I probably would have got a little more, but this is real life, so I don't know."
After the Raptors traded Vince Carter for, well, nothing.
"I've got to stop this. My entourages are getting entourages."
Explaining the trouble finding tickets for everyone when he returns to Detroit, his hometown.
The Lebron one has to be my favorite. Thanks for a great season of quotes Jalen! Keep up the good work.
Most Underappreciated Player in the NBA: Shawn Marion. Look at this guys stat line: 19.4 pts, 11.3 reebs, 1.9 asts, 47.6% FG, 33.4% 3PT, 83.3% FT, 2.0 steals, 1.5 blocks, and only 1.5 TOs a game. "Wow", you might say, "he had a breakout season!" NO HE DIDN'T. He's been doing that for five years! Throw out his rookie season, and those are all career averages for him. And he's fun to watch! He has a really different but cool looking shot! And his nickname is "The Matrix!" I have no idea why, but it's cool! I love Shawn Marion.
The Antoine Walker Memorial Most Overrated Player in the NBA: Yes, this is my favorite award. And this year, it was a no brainer. I don't even need to put why this guy was the most overrated player. I don't even need to put his last name.
Kobe.
Coach of the Year: Tough year. My respect for coaches is usually pretty low, but I have to admit there were some good coaching jobs this year. Nate McMillian and Mike D'Antonio helped revolutionize NBA basketball this season with the Sonics and Suns, respectively, thank God for both of them. Rick Carlisle dealt with all of the insanity that happened to the Pacers this season and still got his team into the playoffs, with a decent chance to go to the second round. George Karl damn near singlehandedly turned around a Nuggets squad into one of the best teams in the league. Scott Skiles somehow not only got a team of underachievers in Chicago not only into the playoffs, but with home court advantage. All of these men did outstanding jobs and deserve consideration.
In the end, I'll go ahead and go with D'Antoni. The Sonics were probably more surprising in their turnaround, but they had the same coach last year, and they didn't finish as well as the Suns did. D'Antoni did an outstanding job in his first NBA head coaching stint, and brought a breath of fresh air to a league that needed it. Congratulations Mike.
Rookie of the Year: Congrats to Dwight Howard and Ben Gordon for having nice years. But this is pretty much Emeka Okafur going away. 15.1 points, 10.9 reebs, and 1.7 blocks. But most impressive is him leading the Bobcats to 18 wins as an expansion team. I mean, the Bobcats were the third worst team in the NBA this year. They should have been by far the worst. So good job, Emeka.
Most Improved Player: Bobby Simmons, LA Clippers. To be quite honest, I don't even see how there's much of a doubt. The is the Most Improved Award, not the "It's nice that you finally recovered from your injury award", so no to Grant Hill. Teyshaun Prince did improve as a scorer, but he raised his scoring average 4 points. Had anyone even heard of Simmons? He improved from 7.8 to 16.4 ppg, 4.7 to 5.9 reebs, and upped his FG% from 39.4% to 43.5%. He was instrumental in the Clips huge improvement.
6th Man of the Year: I'm sorry, but what is everyone's obsession with Ben Gordon? I think it's cause he went to college. Ricky Davis--yes, the insane Ricky Davis--is the 6th Man of the Year. Ben Gordon will win it, but why? Ricky averaged more points, more rebounds, more assists, had a higher field goal percentage, averaged twice as many steals, and had more blocks. Team success was pretty much the same--within two games if I remember correctly. And come on, is there anyone less likely to win this award? Give the guy some credit! In a year of crazy guys doing bad things, let's reward a crazy guy for doing good things.
Defensive Player of the Year: I'll go with Shawn Marion, since he guards a much more versatile list of players (anywhere from 2 guards to power forwards). Bruce Bowen will probably win it, though, and is just as deserving.
MVP: Tough year. Steve Nash was incredible for the Suns, but he does play with Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and Quentin Richardson. Would the Suns be so great if they lost any of them? No. And on top of that, Nash is without question a defensive liability. You can't be the MVP only on one side of the court. Shaq was great this season, but so was Dwayne Wade. I'm sorry, but I honestly feel that Wade is the MVP of that team, not Shaq. If you look at his stats, he's actually a little down this year as compared to last. Lebron was incredible, but team success is a big factor, and his team didn't make the playoffs. Next year, Lebron. Timmy was hurt too much to be the MVP again. AI was great, but I still feel like his team has underachieved. How can you put up the numbers he did and still finish 7th in the East? Something was missing there to crown him MVP.
So, that leaves me with something I can't believe I'm writing, but it's true...
Dirk Nowitzki is the MVP of the league.
I swear to God I'm not being a homer here. But when I add up all the important things, Dirk stands out. He averaged career highs in scoring, assists, and 3pt%. His defense was REMARKABLY improved this year. His team was going through incredible changes and faced injury problems all year, and yet he still guided them to third in the West. He stepped up as a leader for the first time in his career.
Dirk--already without question before this season a top 15 NBA player, and arguably a top ten--singlehandedly led an overachieving team to unanticipated regular season success.
I think that's the definition of an MVP.
Some other awards...
Player We'd Most Like To See Hit by a Mack Truck (or the Shawn Bradley Memorial Award): Vince Carter. Is there anything worse than in the middle of the season, Vince gets the trade he wanted, and suddenly starts playing like an All Star? Not only that, but he admitted to not playing hard in Toronto! I'm reminded of a really funny Onion article I read once, "Asshole admits to being Asshole in supremely Asshole move." That's Vince. Hi Toronto, I gave up on you guys after signing my big contract, fucked you over for three years, and then as soon as I left with all my money I started trying hard again.
Hey Vince: FUCK YOU!
Best Charles Barkely Comment of the Year: On St. Patrick's Day: "Just what the Irish need, another reason to get drunk." Who else in the world can get away with saying this? And yes, I laughed. And yes, I'm Irish.
Player I Cannot Wait To See Play Next Year: Ron Artest. Come on. Was there any doubt? And you know you want to, too.
Most Quotable Player of the Year: Jalen Rose, Toronto Raptors. Let's take a quick look at the Jalen Rose hit parade this year:
"There's always going to be criticism when your name is Jalen. You have to wear a bulletproof vest and be ready for it."
"Like I told the guys earlier, once he turns 21 and is able to drink, it's over."
After LeBron James (20) scored 56 on the Raptors.
"He probably was a little tired from All-Star weekend. While he was running up and down the court throwing it off the backboard, I was laying on the beach drinking a fruity drink with an umbrella. So I probably gave myself an unfair advantage on that one."
Explaining why he outplayed Vince Carter two days after the All-Star Game.
"Was it for Richard Jefferson?"
After hearing that Vince Carter had been traded to New Jersey. Unfortunately, Jalen, the answer was nothing. Can't you see the expression on his face? "No All Star for you Jalen; VC got traded for nothing!" The real question: was shoot first Jalen mad that they didn't get Jefferson, or happy, because that meant he got to shoot more?
"I'm a GM in fantasy basketball and I'm a GM on Playstation, so on Playstation I probably would have got a little more, but this is real life, so I don't know."
After the Raptors traded Vince Carter for, well, nothing.
"I've got to stop this. My entourages are getting entourages."
Explaining the trouble finding tickets for everyone when he returns to Detroit, his hometown.
The Lebron one has to be my favorite. Thanks for a great season of quotes Jalen! Keep up the good work.
Most Underappreciated Player in the NBA: Shawn Marion. Look at this guys stat line: 19.4 pts, 11.3 reebs, 1.9 asts, 47.6% FG, 33.4% 3PT, 83.3% FT, 2.0 steals, 1.5 blocks, and only 1.5 TOs a game. "Wow", you might say, "he had a breakout season!" NO HE DIDN'T. He's been doing that for five years! Throw out his rookie season, and those are all career averages for him. And he's fun to watch! He has a really different but cool looking shot! And his nickname is "The Matrix!" I have no idea why, but it's cool! I love Shawn Marion.
The Antoine Walker Memorial Most Overrated Player in the NBA: Yes, this is my favorite award. And this year, it was a no brainer. I don't even need to put why this guy was the most overrated player. I don't even need to put his last name.
Kobe.
Labels: NBA Awards
posted by Michael Pondrom at 8:09 PM
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