NBA Season Awards

Team of the Year

MR: Golden State Warriors. This was pretty easy really, when you break a Michael Jordan lead Chicago Bulls record you deserve respect.

CR: Nothing else to be said. GSW made history by winning 73 games & taking away the record held for 20 years by the Bulls. Insane when you think that they shouldn’t have lost to the Lakers or Wolves.

Honourable Mentions

MR: Spurs another high quality season in San Antonio, a culture that Philly fans have wet dreams about. If it weren’t for The Warriors scribes would be hailing them as one of the greatest teams ever.

CR: Totally agree. Historically great season for SAS, overshadowed by what the Warriors have achieved. The Cavs have sneakily had a better season than last year, as well. The attention is all on Lebron’s social media activity, instead.

MVP

MR: The obvious choice here is Steph, but I’m not going to be obvious. For me Russell Westbrook has been out of this world. Not since J Kidd in his prime was stalking the courts has someone been a triple double threat in every game. Even with a scoring freak like Durant on his team Russ has been putting up numbers consistently. Plus, he always looks like he wants to rip the rim off the backboard when he takes it to the hole, and he dresses like a pimp, so I’d give him MVP on that alone.

CR: It’s Steph all the way - he has a real chance to have a season where he finishes with the most wins ever in a season (73, done), wins regular season MVP (pretty much guaranteed), wins the title, wins Finals MVP, & finishes with the most 3’s ever in a season (breaking his own record, & being first to dropp 400 in a single season). Crazy.

Honourable Mentions

MR: Draymond Green – Obviously Steph is the main star in Golden State, but Dray is the beating heart of The Warriors. A triple double threat, and defence which annoys the shit out of his opposition, the dudes been stellar at both ends of the court.

CR: I’ve seen most basketball people name Kawhi Leonard as the clear runner up to Steph, & I can’t really argue with that. Great season on a winning team. You’ve got to assume that Coach Pop has made him hold something in reserve for the inevitable GSW rematch series. Westbrook, Lebron, & Green would round out my top 5.

Rookie of the Year

MR: KAT. The big man from Minnesota has been consistently good all year, and you get the feeling he’s nowhere near his ceiling. Skills, athleticism, and a soft touch make him a threat from anywhere, and his defence was better than almost anyone expected.

That T’Wolves team is so stacked with talent, they have an opportunity to be something special in the years ahead. They’ll probably find a way to screw it up though, the ghost of KAHN is just too strong.

CR: You’ve said it all. He wins all the way. Although, I’m tempted to give it to D’Angelo Russell for top shelf snitching. It’s hard to steal headlines away from a retiring Kobe, but he did it.

Honourable Mentions

MR: Kristaps Porziņģis – The kid got so much shit from NY fans when he was drafted, you wouldn’t have blamed him if he wanted to go play for The Nets while giving Spike Lee the middle finger. But he’s turned out good, like really good, and Knicks fans are going to get on the Latvians back and ride him into a playoff sunset.

Devin Booker was fantastic when the Suns lost there main scoring threats to injury, the kids got a future for sure.

CR: Has to be the Porzingod. I’m not as high on him as most people seem to be (probably slightly overhyped because of the New York factor), but he’ll be a nice 2nd or 3rd option on a good team, one day, If he doesn’t suffer the fate that most skinny big men do, & go soft at the knees/ankles/feet. I think Jahlil Okafor gets punished at the opposite end of the spectrum because no one watches 76ers games. Plus, he’s kind of a dick.

Coach of the Year

MR: A tough one really. Steve Kerr was out for about ½ the season, and being that Luke Walton was a Laker I can’t pick him either. Pop is so consistent that it was just another, ho hum winning season, for the Spurs. Being that I’m a Celtics fan I’m going with Brad Stevens. The team has no star player, a bunch of, role guys, and 4ft point guard. They’ve played an attractive style of basketball and have won more games than anyone expected.

CR: Derrick Fisher. Any coach who cuts the lunch of not only a former teammate, but one of the players that he’s coaching…legend. But, seriously, Brad Stevens did an amazing job (I refuse to believe that it’s all Isaiah Thomas...). I didn’t expect the Celtics to make the playoffs, let alone be this good. Imagine what he’ll be able to do with those draft picks & a possible star free agent or 2…

Honourable Mentions

MR: Rick Carlisle – He must be using that pool from the movie Cocoon, cause this team is old enough to get senior citizen freebies at McD’s.

CR: Coach Pop might have the deepest squad in the league, but he’s still the most dangerous coach in the league, too.

Underrated Player of the Year

MR: Isaiah Thomas. The little man from Boston has had himself a season. His defence will always be an issue, but the offence more than makes up for it. He’s been a massive part of a team that really was expected to do nothing.

CR: Mike Conley. I got way too excited when it was rumoured that the Knicks were working out a deal for him at the deadline. Mostly just a victim of a league loaded with really good point guards. More of a traditional PG than most in the modern game, he appeals to the oldschooler in me.

Honourable Mentions

MR: Gordon Hayward – Hiding away in non-fashionable Utah, and playing for an average team, this guy rarely gets any love.

CR: I love Gordon Hayward. Pretty much plays basketball the way it supposed to be played. Would be a nice addition to a contender as a 2nd or 3rd option.

WTF are you up to? Player of the Year

MR: Nerlens Noel was renting a house in Philly, he was worse at that, than the 76’s are at playing ball. Below is a list of damage he did to the house

- "Splashed neon coloured sports drinks (such as Gatorade) on the carpets throughout the home."

-- $30,000 in other damage to carpets

-- Extreme water damage throughout the home

-- Clogged toilets filled with cotton balls and faeces

(In fact, the owners say the plumber who fixed the toilet told them the damage was so bad he told them, "Someone must not like you.")

-- Broken elevator

-- $4,000 in damage to the stove

-- damage to the fridge

-- damage to the blinds

-- damage to dishwasher

-- torn window screens

C’mon man sort your shit out.

CR: D’Angelo Russell. All day. I cannot fathom that he thought recording Swaggy P admitting to cheating on his fiancé AKA the worlds worst rapper Iggy Australia was a good idea. & then posting it online for the entire world to see. When your teammates freeze you out in the locker room AND on the court, you know you’re a shithead. Only his mentor Kobe has been that public a snitch. The Lakers are funny.

Get over it, Player of the Year

MR: For a while it was funny that Matt Barnes was trolling Derek Fisher so badly. Being I hated Fisher from his Lakers days I was all about Barnes giving him a hiding. But the more news we got on D Fish dating Barnes’s ex the more he just looked like a jealous dick. Bro, just let it go.

CR: I’ve been a longtime Matt Barnes fan, & you’re right – it was funny for some time, & then he just started to look sad. Especially because he just kept addressing it throughout the season. & then after he told the world he was dating Rihanna, she aired him out for being all shit. Still laughing. I’ve been a longtime Matt Barnes fan.

Some extra random thoughts:

CR: *The whole Kyrie Irving/Kehlani/PND thing was really strange. That it ended up with a suicide attempt was unsettling. I’m intrigued to see if the whole ordeal follows him into the playoffs. *Kobe dropping 60 (with a game winner) in his last game was pretty awesome, even for a hater like myself. I really thought the season long farewell was a lot of wank, though. *I’m rooting for Tim Duncan to go out with a 6th ring. No one deserves it more than him. *Surprised, but happy, that Allen Iverson got the nod for the hall of fame. Surprised because of all the negativity that the mainstream basketball media piled on him during his career. Happy, because he deserves to be up there with all the rest. Shaq, too. *Get rid of Reggie Miller & Mark Jackson from broadcast. *Dreading advertising on jerseys. With the money they generate, it’s disappointing that they’d sully the uniforms for an extra $4-6 million per year. *It feels like almost daily, that married NBA players are getting exposed for sliding into the DM’s of Instagram models & Twitter girls. Hilarious.

MR: I'm with you on AI, really happy to see him make it to Hall of Fame. Crazy skills, athleticism and went about his business on his own terms.

Don't get started on commentators....

Have to mention Kobe, I respect the game, but not the man.

Timmy popping The Warriors bubble would be nothing short of awesome.