MVP? Rookie of the Year? Coach of the Year? Most Improved Player? Sixth Man of the Year? Defensive Player of the Year? Executive of the Year? Clutch Player of the Year? Have your say on EVERY category
MVP - Nikola Jokić (The on/off numbers are really persuasive. The Nuggets are probably a lottery team without him.)
DPOY - Amen Thompson (This might be a year too soon, but he’s a beast.)
ROY - Stephon Castle (He seems like more of a winning player than Risacher. The curse of the Hawks!)
MIP - Ivica Zubac (He even got great on defense this year, as huge reason for the consistent success of the Clippers).
6MOY - Malik Beasley (the Kirk Goldsberry comments about him essentially being Klay Thompson in his prime, at least as a shooter, were pretty persuasive).
COY - J.B. Bickerstaff (the most unexpected great coaching job of the year).
We all love stories and storytelling. The new story of SGA will win him the MVP but Joker is the best player in the world by a significant margin. Joker winning another MVP is an oft-told tale.
Ballots went out to official voters on Tuesday and had to be turned in same day (I think). I am STILL wrestling with MVP. As spectacular as Shai has been, he has so much more help on his roster than The Joker, who just had his best-ever season and still dragged the Nuggets to 50 wins despite all the turmoil they faced.
Atkinson vs. Bickerstaff for COY is another steel-cage battle. I thought Kenny was a lock after the 15-0 start. Not so sure any more after the Pistons' Cinderella season.
Deni Avdija becoming Portland's best player ... hard for me to ignore that for MIP. Although Dyson Daniels is right there and Ivica Zubac ... think he would have to be my choice in the end.
DPOY ... yet another multilayered source of (exaggerated sportswriter) agony.
Will keep the file open for one more day in case anyone else wants to chime in.
PS -- As a reminder I have not cast an official NBA awards ballot since 2016-17.
I am a big believer in who is the best player this year, and that has been Jokic, who has somehow elevated his game to higher heights. SGA has risen to elite heights, and his #2 has a super strong bullet, like in the old Billboard Hot 100 charts, but he is behind an epic #1 run from Jokic.
ROY: I said that no #1 has gotten less attention than Risacher (what I call a Hawks tax) and he certainly has a claim to this award, especially as he has helped keep the Hawks season afloat after the Jalen Johnson injury. Tremendous impact and efficiency, even with Quin keeping him on a minutes leash. Castle has been more consistent all year, if less efficient, impactful. Wells has been very, very impressive and I wouldn't mind seeing a second rounder get a ROY, but it will look foolish down the road when compared to ZR. (what I call a Hawks bias)
Coach of the Year is never about the best coach, always who was at the helm when players mature and make a jump. My opinion, so I'll skip that. That said, I am partial to KA, having Hawks blood in there and thought he made a huge impact with the Nets before.
Sixth Man? I love seeing Pritchard getting this run as it points to how important it is to have role players like him on the roster.
DPOY: Dyson Daniels has been otherworldly and posted award worthy numbers.
Exec of the Year is like Coach of the Year, so pass for me
Clutch Player of the Year - biased towards Trae because I see so many games where his playmaking makes the difference, and the numbers bear that out. That Jazz game winner alone is ridiculous.
Want to include a special Comeback Player of the Year to DeAndre Hunter, who Hawks fans would have traded last year or the year before at the drop of a hat, and who was finally dealt this season by the Hawks because his game stepped up significantly this year, even to the point where folks just assume he's always been super effective, which I can say has not been the case.
Marc if there was an Idiot GM of the Yr Nico runs away with that Award hands down.
Marc great podcast nice breakdown of the playoffs. I agree with you Mavs need the best player highest pick in the draft.
Lastly, I realize you don’t have a crystal bowl or the answer, but based on your experience, the feel of how Dallas feels about Nico, Kidd, and the training staff. Will there be a major shift before the draft giving fans some respite to what has been a terrible season for the Mavericks and their fan base. As always, thanks for your insight and keeping us in the know.
I was leaning SGA for MVP, but dragging the Nuggets to the 50 win mark in spite of everything going on feels like a really big deal.
It's not that SGA's season hasn't also been historic, but the arbitrary special good numbers aren't in his favor. What's the difference between 49 and 50 wins? Nothing, really. What's the difference between 68 and 70 wins? More, but 68 wins doesn't feel superlative enough, and Jokic's numbers feel like they are more than SGAs do.
This is splitting hairs, this is a really right race.
I can’t complain too much if SGA wins MVP—he’s been incredible. But to me, OKC feels more like a complete team with a star leading the way, whereas Jokic is carrying his squad with historic numbers. Still, I think voter fatigue and the Thunder’s top seed will give SGA the edge.
Castle should be Rookie of the Year.
DPOY feels like a toss-up now, especially with Wemby and JJJ missing time and Memphis struggling.
Coach of the Year should probably go to Kenny, but JB has a strong case too.
Honestly, coaches just making it through this season feels like a win.
My picks before the playoffs commence:
MVP - SGA
DPOY - Lu Dort
6MOY - Malik Beasley
MIP - Dyson Daniels
ROY - Stephon Castle
COY - JB Bickerstaff
EOY - Rob Pelinka. (Can't believe it!)
MVP - Nikola Jokić (The on/off numbers are really persuasive. The Nuggets are probably a lottery team without him.)
DPOY - Amen Thompson (This might be a year too soon, but he’s a beast.)
ROY - Stephon Castle (He seems like more of a winning player than Risacher. The curse of the Hawks!)
MIP - Ivica Zubac (He even got great on defense this year, as huge reason for the consistent success of the Clippers).
6MOY - Malik Beasley (the Kirk Goldsberry comments about him essentially being Klay Thompson in his prime, at least as a shooter, were pretty persuasive).
COY - J.B. Bickerstaff (the most unexpected great coaching job of the year).
EOY - Sam Presti
We all love stories and storytelling. The new story of SGA will win him the MVP but Joker is the best player in the world by a significant margin. Joker winning another MVP is an oft-told tale.
MVP - Nikola Jokić
DPOY - Dyson Daniels
ROY - Stephon Castle
MIP - Christian Braun
6MOY - Payton Pritchard
COY - Kenny Atkinson
EOY - Sam Presti
Ballots went out to official voters on Tuesday and had to be turned in same day (I think). I am STILL wrestling with MVP. As spectacular as Shai has been, he has so much more help on his roster than The Joker, who just had his best-ever season and still dragged the Nuggets to 50 wins despite all the turmoil they faced.
Atkinson vs. Bickerstaff for COY is another steel-cage battle. I thought Kenny was a lock after the 15-0 start. Not so sure any more after the Pistons' Cinderella season.
Deni Avdija becoming Portland's best player ... hard for me to ignore that for MIP. Although Dyson Daniels is right there and Ivica Zubac ... think he would have to be my choice in the end.
DPOY ... yet another multilayered source of (exaggerated sportswriter) agony.
Will keep the file open for one more day in case anyone else wants to chime in.
PS -- As a reminder I have not cast an official NBA awards ballot since 2016-17.
MVP: SGA, but wow what a race
ROY: Stephon Castle, but Risacher nearly overtook him
MIP: Evan Mobley
DPOY: Evan Mobley
COY: Kenny Atkinson
EOY: Sam Presti
6MOY: Payton Pritchard
CPOY: Nikola Jokic
All-NBA:
1st: SGA, Jokic, Giannis, Tatum, Mobley
2nd: Curry, LeBron, Mitchell, Ant, Brunson
3rd: Cade, Garland, Jalen Williams, JJJ, Zubac
I am a big believer in who is the best player this year, and that has been Jokic, who has somehow elevated his game to higher heights. SGA has risen to elite heights, and his #2 has a super strong bullet, like in the old Billboard Hot 100 charts, but he is behind an epic #1 run from Jokic.
ROY: I said that no #1 has gotten less attention than Risacher (what I call a Hawks tax) and he certainly has a claim to this award, especially as he has helped keep the Hawks season afloat after the Jalen Johnson injury. Tremendous impact and efficiency, even with Quin keeping him on a minutes leash. Castle has been more consistent all year, if less efficient, impactful. Wells has been very, very impressive and I wouldn't mind seeing a second rounder get a ROY, but it will look foolish down the road when compared to ZR. (what I call a Hawks bias)
Coach of the Year is never about the best coach, always who was at the helm when players mature and make a jump. My opinion, so I'll skip that. That said, I am partial to KA, having Hawks blood in there and thought he made a huge impact with the Nets before.
Sixth Man? I love seeing Pritchard getting this run as it points to how important it is to have role players like him on the roster.
DPOY: Dyson Daniels has been otherworldly and posted award worthy numbers.
Exec of the Year is like Coach of the Year, so pass for me
Clutch Player of the Year - biased towards Trae because I see so many games where his playmaking makes the difference, and the numbers bear that out. That Jazz game winner alone is ridiculous.
Want to include a special Comeback Player of the Year to DeAndre Hunter, who Hawks fans would have traded last year or the year before at the drop of a hat, and who was finally dealt this season by the Hawks because his game stepped up significantly this year, even to the point where folks just assume he's always been super effective, which I can say has not been the case.
I’m going with SGA as MVP.
DPOY - Dyson Daniels
MIP - Deni Avdija
6th man - Pritchard
Coach - Kenny
Love seeing everyone add their choices. I am going to dive in tonight during the Play-In games to get the back-and-forth going.
Marc--this is a great idea, Thanks!
Coach of the year: Atkinson
Def POY: Evan Mobley
Comeback Player of the Year: Ty Jerome
6th man: Jerome or Hunter
Clutch: Darius Garland
Yes, I am a cavs fan.
Marc, I Believe Atkinson is the Coach of the Yr.
Give me the Joker for the MVP
Daniel’s Wins DPOY
Marc if there was an Idiot GM of the Yr Nico runs away with that Award hands down.
Marc great podcast nice breakdown of the playoffs. I agree with you Mavs need the best player highest pick in the draft.
Lastly, I realize you don’t have a crystal bowl or the answer, but based on your experience, the feel of how Dallas feels about Nico, Kidd, and the training staff. Will there be a major shift before the draft giving fans some respite to what has been a terrible season for the Mavericks and their fan base. As always, thanks for your insight and keeping us in the know.
Jaylen Wells should get some votes for ROY.
Nico is a lock for Dumbass of the Year despite late push by Suns Ishbia doing who knows what
Most Improved: Cade Cunnigham although Jalen Johnson would have won if he met minimum game criteria
I was leaning SGA for MVP, but dragging the Nuggets to the 50 win mark in spite of everything going on feels like a really big deal.
It's not that SGA's season hasn't also been historic, but the arbitrary special good numbers aren't in his favor. What's the difference between 49 and 50 wins? Nothing, really. What's the difference between 68 and 70 wins? More, but 68 wins doesn't feel superlative enough, and Jokic's numbers feel like they are more than SGAs do.
This is splitting hairs, this is a really right race.
MVP - Nikola Jokic
DPOY - Dyson Daniels
6MOY - Ty Jerome
MIP - Ty Jerome
ROY - Jaylen Wells
COY - JB Bickerstaff
EOY - Sam Presti but I really want to celebrate what Trajan Langdon has done which isnt the typical turnaround.
MVP – SGA
COY – Atkinson
ROY – Risacher
MIP – Avdija
DPOY – Dyson Daniels
6MOY – Pritchard
I can’t complain too much if SGA wins MVP—he’s been incredible. But to me, OKC feels more like a complete team with a star leading the way, whereas Jokic is carrying his squad with historic numbers. Still, I think voter fatigue and the Thunder’s top seed will give SGA the edge.
Castle should be Rookie of the Year.
DPOY feels like a toss-up now, especially with Wemby and JJJ missing time and Memphis struggling.
Coach of the Year should probably go to Kenny, but JB has a strong case too.
Honestly, coaches just making it through this season feels like a win.