Most Valuable Player: James Harden
Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert
Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams
Coach of the Year: Dwayne Casey
Here are my three thoughts to ponder on:
Thought #1 There were no surprises.
Everyone who won were the same players whom most people thought would win. Case in point: James Harden. Everyone was of the opinion at the beginning of this year that he would be the 2018 MVP. And he won despite the fact that Russell Westbrook made history again by being the ONLY player to average a triple-double (25.4pts, 10.1 reb, 10.3 assists) for two seasons (and back-to-back seasons too!). Lebron James also had better overall stats than James Harden but still, being the favorite for most of the year seemed to work out for James Harden.
The same thing seemed to be in effect with the Rookie of the Year and the Coach of the Year races. Prohibitive favorites Ben Simmons and Dwayne Casey won their respective awards, despite strong rookie years s by Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum, as well as the amazing job done by Brad Stevens and Mike D'Antoni.
Thought #2 Team success DOES matter.
All the players on this list can make a case for being the main reason their teams overachieved. Take the case of Ben Simmons or Victor Oladipo. The Sixers were an intriguing team who've proven nothing while the Pacers were seen as being in a rebuilding phase. Both Simmons and Oladipo were crucial pieces to their respective teams being able to power their way into the playoffs (and even achieving unexpected success there).
Even Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams can lay claim to this, as the Clippers sans Chris Paul and Blake Griffin (trades) as well as Patrick Beverley (injury) were expected to be one of the NBA's worst teams. Instead, the Clippers posted a respectable 42-40 record and remained competitive in the ultra-harsh Western conference.
Thought #3 Someone got robbed.
And that someone is Celtics coach Brad Stevens. How does a coach who loses two All-Star starters (Irving, Hayward), and then takes a cobbled together starting five composed of a rookie, a soph, unproven back up guards and an undersized center to a 55-27 record and the second seed in the conference NOT win coach of the year?
It's the biggest travesty in this year's NBA awards show and I expect Brad Stevens to win next year's Coach of the Year award, partially because the voters will be trying to make up for the wrong they committed this year against Stevens (provided the Celtics continue on their winning ways, of course).
That being said, my personal opinion on who should have won what is as follows:
Most Valuable Player: Lebron James
Rookie Of the Year: Jayson Tatum
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert
Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo
Sixth Man of the Year: Eric Gordon
Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens
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