Although the NBA season has only been underway for a little under a month now, there have been some sterling performances. Fifty point games, triple doubles, you name it: the NBA season is back, and it started off with a bang.
Defensive Player of the Year
As great as the NBA is nowadays on the defensive side of the ball, I’ve got to go with Hassan Whiteside with this award. It’s hard to lead the NBA in rebounds. Really hard. It’s even harder to average 16 a game, a solid 3 more rebounds than the next guy. But what’s even harder than that? Also coming in second in rebounds. That battle is one that Whiteside could very well end up winning as well, as he currently sits only .3 behind the #1 guy, Anthony Davis. Although Kawhi Leonard is fully capable of making his case for a 3rd straight award, I see this year’s award going to whoever can corral the most rebounds and effectively control the paint through shot-blocking.
Rookie of the Year
As of now, this race has not played out like anyone foresaw it would. With Ben Simmons out indefinitely and Brandon Ingram not living up to expectations, the remaining competition was very much in the air. Kris Dunn, Dragan Bender, Buddy Hield, and other lottery picks have yet to make significant contributions, making this race Joel Embiid’s to lose. Embiid has started off his first year playing since his selection in the 2014 draft quite strongly, by averaging 17 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in limited minutes. If the Philadelphia rookie continues to show improvement with his wide range of post moves and his all-around game, the 76ers may just a special talent on their hands.
Sixth Man of the Year
This year has not exactly been an incredible one for NBA sixth men so far. However, one bright spot has been Lou Williams, who has been leading the NBA best bench of the LA Lakers by averaging 16 points, 3.5 assists, 2 rebounds, all while shooting career best clips form the field and 3-point range. He has really shined by taking command of the LA second unit, which has in turned also helped the development for many of the team’s young assets, such as Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. If Lou Will can keep up this pace, he could very well end this NBA season with his second career 6th man of the year award in hand.
Most Improved Player
There has been a handful of guys that have started off this year scorching hot, playing the best ball of their careers. But when it comes to who is clearly the most improved from the year before, I’ve got to give it up to Charlotte’s own Kemba Walker. Although Kemba is coming off a career year in 2015-16 and a near 1st round playoff victory, he has been absolutely sensational in his 5th NBA season. He is averaging career highs across the board, in points, assists, rebounds, field goal %, and 3-point %. He is currently leading his Hornets to one of the better records in the Eastern conference with 8-4, and if he can keep it up, he may just be able to secure the All-Star spot that has alluded him throughout his career.
Coach of the Year
Right now it’d be difficult to give this award to anybody but Doc Rivers. After many underwhelming campaigns with his so called LA “super-team”, it seems as if Rivers has figure out a way to get his team to play to its potential. He’s got his team playing impeccable defense, as Chris Paul is leading the league in steals while DeAndre Jordan is top 5 in field goal % and rebounding. If his stars keep up the hard work and motivation that they’ve displayed through the early season, I could see the Clips FINALLY living up to their incredibly high potential and possibly attempt to dethrone the reigning Western Conference powerhouse in Golden State. With an NBA best 12-2 record, things are finally looking up for the “other” Staples Center squad.
MVP
Based on his absurd performances throughout this first month of action, I have to go with James Harden on this one. This is probably the tightest that the NBA MVP award has seemed to be in quite some time, as Russell Westbrook has been a walking triple double and guys like DeMar DeRozan and Anthony Davis can’t seem to stop scoring. Harden has been devouring opposing defenses night in and night out this season, by averaging in the top 5 in points while leading the league in assists, with 29 and 12.5, respectively. It’ll take a near herculean effort for someone to overtake Harden for this award if he keeps up this pace but the NBA is reaching another golden era for a reason. Guys like Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard are fully capable of taking the race by storm in a heartbeat. This years MVP race should serve to be one of the more interesting in league history.
