The 2017-18 NBA season will finally be wrapped up on Monday night with the league’s second annual awards show.
You may have forgotten or completely moved on from this past season, but the individual awards still have to be handed out, including the MVP.
It doesn’t really make sense to wait more than two months after the end of the regular season to name the award winners, but that’s a conversation for another day.
Ahead of tonight’s show – which will be hosted by comedian and actor Anthony Anderson, while including performances by Travis Scott and others – let’s take a look at the nominees and who’s likely to walk away with the hardware in each of the six main categories.
Keep in mind these awards were voted on by the media before the playoffs, so the postseason has no impact on these honours, which are strictly for the regular season.
👀 some of the celebrity presenters and attendees for the 2018 #NBAAwards!
— NBA (@NBA) June 24, 2018
📅: Monday 6/25
⏰: 9:00pm/et
📺: @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/Oh55DRBHOH
MVP
Finalists: James Harden (Houston Rockets), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
There’s hardly any suspense over the most important award, with Harden the clear frontrunner after a mesmerising campaign in which he led the league in scoring (30.4) as the best player on the best regular-season team.
After finishing as the runner-up in 2015 to Stephen Curry and last year to Russell Westbrook, it’s finally time for Harden to get his due.
Defensive Player of the Year
Finalists: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
It’s a trio of big men up for the award, which is a bit of a departure from previous years when versatile, perimeter-oriented defenders Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard were the winners.
Davis and Embiid are elite shot-blockers in their own right, but Gobert’s impact on Utah’s defence can’t be ignored as the Jazz allowed just 97.5 points per 100 possessions after his return from a knee injury midway through the season.
Rookie of the Year
Finalists: Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)
In a loaded rookie class, Mitchell and Tatum were good enough to earn the award in most other years.
Simmons may not be a conventional ‘rookie’ because he sat out all of last season with an injury, but the 76ers phenom still qualifies and as such, is deserving of the award for leading a team that made a 22-win improvement.
Sixth Man of the Year
Finalists: Lou Williams (Los Angeles Clippers), Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors), Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets)
You can make a case Williams should have made the Western Conference All-Star team, so his case for Sixth Man is pretty airtight.
No bench player has ever finished with the scoring and assists average Williams managed in his career year as he put up 22.6 points and 5.3 helpers.
Most Improved Player
Finalists: Clint Capela (Houston Rockets), Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers), Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn Nets)
It’s hard to go from average to good in the NBA, but it’s even harder to make that next leap and go from good to great. And that’s exactly what Oladipo did this season by turning into a bona fide All-Star.
In his first year with Indiana, the guard raised his scoring average from 15.9 points to 23.1, while also having career highs in rebounds (5.2), assists (4.3), steals (2.4), field goal percentage (47.7) and 3-point percentage (37.1).
Coach of the Year
Finalists: Dwane Casey (Toronto Raptors), Brad Stevens (Boston Celtics), Quin Snyder (Utah Jazz)
It’s going to be even more awkward for the Raptors if Casey claims the award, considering they fired him after a 59-win season in which they topped the Eastern Conference.
But as well as the Raptors did, Boston finished with just four fewer wins despite Brad Stevens having to deal with the loss of two All-Stars and a young roster. The playoffs just cemented his case, even if they had no impact on the voting.
