Joe Gyorda '22
July 2020
Sports are finally returning after having halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA is one of many professional leagues with plans to resume their paused seasons. This past NBA season was arguably the most balanced the league has been in the past five years, presenting fans with entertaining basketball that was just culminating when things shut down. Given it has been nearly four months since the last NBA game was played, I’ve decided to list my picks for awards for the 2019-20 season thus far. We’ll see which of these predictions hold up once the season restarts. Many of these awards are certainly still up in the air, but here are the picks I ended up going with:
MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Part of me wanted to choose LeBron James for MVP, but Giannis has been an absolute force on the court this season. An offensive statline of nearly 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists per game sounds great as is, but given Giannis does this in only 30 minutes per game is even more impressive. His Per-36 numbers are 34.5 points, 16 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. Not only has Giannis continued to dominate offensively, but his play on the defensive end has really stepped up this year, making him a legitimate contender for defensive player of the year. Giannis’ defensive rating of 96.5 puts him at the top of the league among qualified players. Giannis is the arguably the most complete player in the game right now, making him an obvious choice for MVP.
Runner-up: LeBron James
MIP: Jayson Tatum
This was a tough choice, but it’s hard to ignore Jayson Tatum’s rise to stardom this year. With Kyrie Irving out of the picture, Tatum has evolved into the primary scoring option on a competitive Celtics team, averaging 23.6 points a game—nearly 8 more per game than last season. The first time All-Star averaged 31 points and 8 rebounds in February alone, showing he was heating up heading into the NBA’s hiatus. Tatum has also been a solid defender this season, putting up a defensive rating of 103.5, good for a net rating above 10. Given Tatum is only 21, Celtics fans have much to be excited for in the next few years.
Runners-up: Devonte Graham, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Bam Adebayo
DPOY: Anthony Davis
Both Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been defensive forces this season, but I’ve got to give this award to Davis. The Brow has yet again dominated defensively this season: he ranks 3rd in blocks per game with 2.4 and tied for 13th in steals per game with 1.5, leading the Lakers to the third best team defensive rating up to the season's sudden pause. Davis also ranks fourth in defensive rating and second in defensive win shares. Although Davis trails Antetokounmpo in both these categories, I’ll make the case that Davis’ efforts are more substantial given that more of his games are played against stronger offensive opponents in the Western Conference, posing a more difficult challenge on defense. For context, the mean team offensive rating in the Western Conference is 111.4, while in the East it’s only 109.5. While this is only a piece of the puzzle, it offers a look into the competition Davis has been up against this season, contextualizing just how impressive his defensive efforts are.
Runner-ups: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert
ROY: Ja Morant
Given he’s played fewer than 20 games this season, it’s hard to consider Zion Williamson as a serious contender for rookie of the year, despite his dominance on the court thus far. Because of this, the likely candidate for the award is Ja Morant. Leading all rookies in assists per game and ranking second in points per game behind Zion, Morant is leading the Grizzlies back to relevance and playoff contention. With 25 games of 20+ points, he packs a powerful scoring punch and has been a consistent contributor for the Grizzlies this season.
Runners-up: Kendrick Nunn, Zion Williamson
NBA Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Although the Celtics, Raptors, Clippers, Rockets, and other teams are all poised to make noise down the stretch of the NBA season, a Bucks-Lakers finals matchup seems logical at this point. These teams have split their two head-to-head matchups, the Lakers winning their most recent contest. Each team leads their respective conferences comfortably, looking like locks for the one seeds. Both teams have been excellent on both sides of the floor this season: the Lakers rank third in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating, and the Bucks rank sixth and first in the same categories. Both teams are anchored by high-caliber players: LeBron James has been putting up MVP-like numbers in his second season with the Lakers, and Anthony Davis has been a defensive rock in his first season with the team. Giannis Antetokoumnpo has continued to be a jack of all trades for the Bucks, doing it all offensively and defensively and contending for back-to-back MVP awards. Furthermore, while both teams have great depth, I like the Lakers in this matchup given their veteran leadership and players with more playoff experience in the likes of James, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, and recent acquisition JR Smith, among others. In the end, experience may not be a deciding factor, but one I believe is worth consideration. Regardless, a Bucks-Lakers Finals matchup would be a thrilling culmination to this atypical NBA season.
Runner-up: Milwaukee Bucks