Keep in mind that this article was written on June 23, not August 4.
Yesterday, we went into how the rest of the regular season and the playoffs were going to play out. Today, we jump into who’s going to win the awards.
First, the Most Improved Player. My finalists are:
- Davis Bertans, Washington Wizards
- In his first season in the nation’s capital so far, Bertans averaged 15.4 points per game (PPG) in 54 games played this season. That’s a 7.4 point increase from his 8 PPG total from last season. He increased his rebounds and assists per game from last year as well. He’s definitely a dark horse to watch out for the remainder of the year.
- Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
- In his first season in the Big Easy so far, Ingram averaged a shocking 24.3 PPG in 56 games played. This is compared to his 18.3 PPG total from his final year with the Lakers. In addition, he averaged 6.3 RPG (rebounds per game) and 4.3 APG (assists per game). Finally, he increased his 3 point percentage with a 39%.
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
- Over his first two seasons, his potential was climbing. His rookie year was great when he averaged 13.9 PPG, 5 RPG, and 1.6 APG. He had pretty similar numbers his second year, averaging 15.7 PPG, 6 RPG, and 2.1 APG. This season, however, is obviously his best season to date. He averaged an insane 23.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 2.9 APG. Tatum is someone you definitely want to keep our eye out for, especially as his career progresses.
Now, my winner of the 2020 Most Improved Player is… Jayson Tatum!
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Next, the Defensive Player of the Year. Here are my finalists:
- Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
- He averaged 2.4 blocks per game and 1.5 steals per game. Not a bad year defensively for Davis so far.
- Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
- He averaged 2 blocks per game and 0.7 steals per game. Also, not a terrible year defensively for Gobert.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- He averaged a steal and block per game so far. He seems like he’s having an average year defensively.
My winner of the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year is… Anthony Davis!
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Moving onto the Sixth Man of the Year. Here are my finalists for this award:
- Lou Williams, Los Angeles Clippers
- He averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 3.1 RPG so far this season. A little bit of a down year from Williams after he had back-to-back seasons with over 20 PPG. However, it’s still a decent year for him thus far.
- Montrezl Harrell, Los Angeles Clippers
- He averaged 18.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.7 APG this season. Similar numbers to his teammate Willams, but his rebound total is blatantly higher t
- Dennis Schroder, Oklahoma City Thunder
- He averaged 19 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 3.7 RPG this season so far. With Chris Paul on the same team, Schroder seemed to gain some advice from him and put up superb numbers this year. It’s hard not to pick against him.
Speaking of, my 2020 Sixth Man of the Year is… Dennis Schroder!
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Now, to the Rookie of the Year. There’s going to be a unanimous winner of this award, and it’s not Zion Williamson.
It’s Ja Morant! He came out of the gates strong this season, averaging 17.6 PPG, 6.9 APG, and 3.5 RPG up until the suspension of this season. The sky’s the limit for this kid! He reminds me of a young Dwyane Wade. Let’s see if he lives up to that comparison as his career progresses.
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Now, to the penultimate award, the Coach of the Year. Here are my finalists:
- Frank Vogel, Los Angeles Lakers
- Through a LeBron James and Anthony Davis led squad, he was able to keep the ship afloat in his first year as head coach of the Lakers. At first, he was great with the Paul George led Pacers team of the early 2010’s. Later on though, his stint with the Magic wasn’t the greatest. I think he’s just rejuvenated his stock as one of the top coaches in the league this year.
- Erik Spolestra, Miami Heat
- In my opinion, Spolestra could definitely give Vogel a run for his money. He wasn’t really faced with the ability of grinding out wins until this year. This is because he had winning season after winning season when he coached LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on their way to winning three straight championships. With the team he has on paper, he should be very happy with being in a crowded Top 5 in the East.
- Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks
- I know. Rick Carlisle, really? That came out of left field. Let me explain. He has a coach’s dream player in Luka Doncic (in my opinion, the next Magic Johnson). He’s putting up some astronomical numbers in his 2nd year in the league, mind you. Also, to have the ability to pull off a trade like the Porzingis one is a once in a lifetime type of trade. All Carlisle has to do is draw up plays and kick back and let his star players do the rest.
All 3 of these finalists are definitely deserving, but the 2020 Coach of the Year is… Frank Vogel!
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Now, the award we have all been waiting for… who is this year’s MVP? Here are my finalists:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- Giannis averaged Giannis numbers: 29.6 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 5.8 APG. What else is there to say, he’s just dominant.
- LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
- Same thing with Giannis, LeBron’s LeBron. He averaged 25.7 PPG, 10.6 APG, 7.9 APG. LeBron has been Mr. Consistent his entire career so far and nothing changed that narrative this year. Father time is rapidly approaching, as he’s turning 36 in December. He has to make the most of what he’s got left, or injuries are going to creep up on him.
- Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
- I’ve said this earlier and I’ll say again, Luka Doncic could be the next Magic Johnson, but can shoot the 3-ball. He’s nearly averaging a triple-double in his second season in the league. Just imagine what the rest of his prime has in store for him and NBA fans across the country and the globe.
And now, the 2020 MVP goes to… Giannis Antetokounmpo!
Sources: basketball-reference.com, cbssports.com, nba.com