Here is my ballot without any details or explanation
Player of the yearKawhi Leonard - He is the most reliable scorer in the NBA and his game is tailor made for the post season. A lot of people criticize Leonard for not passing, but honestly, it seems like he is so good at scoring that he rather just figure out how to drop a bucket on a double team than pass out of it. Offensively he is quite comparable to Durant and Curry I think – but when he tries on defense he’s on another level than them.
Nikola Jokic - He is a true offensive savant. He stretches the floor. He is one of the best passers in the league. He can score at will. He can work the glass. He does every thing a big needs. He isn’t even bad on defense, some people talk like he is Enes Kanter defensively but he’s not and statistically he has never been rated as a low impact defender. If the Nuggets had real star power I think Nikola would absolutely kill it. He still carried his team to the 2nd seed with severe injuries, and a good playoff run.
Kevin Durant - I am not sure what to think of Durant this season. Every time I saw him play in the post season he seemed better than Curry. It also seemed like he was out playing Curry during the RS, though neither GSW guy looked like world beaters during it. I don’t understand why Durant is punished for injuries, he played a full regular season and 12 post season games. The last game he played against the Raptors he absolutely killed it before rupturing his Achilles. Offensively he is on another level from Giannis – and while Curry/James might be better offensive players (spacing and playmaking respectively), I think Durant gives you more defense to make up for it.
Giannis Antetokounmpo - Giannis had some serious domination in the paint this regular season. Offensively, he was up there with the greats. In the playoffs he was stifled to more human levels, but still really good. Giannis is probably a top 5 defensive player this year – so he gives you that elite 2 way big play. Someone like Curry was really not good defensively this season, so I think I’ll give a small edge to Giannis but it is very close.
Lebron James - It seems odd to add him because his regular season stats are not as good as Harden’s or Curry’s, and he obviously does not have post season stats to back him up. However, from watching him play it still seems like all the things he does would translate incredibly well into the post season. The Lakers were on pace to make the post season before James got hurt, and he was shut down quite early so his games played are artificially lowered. James took a hit by joining a bad team. However, I can’t help but shake the idea that he is more or less the same player as last year. Even though this was the “bad” season, is it really enough to knock the best player outside of the top 5, I am not fully convinced, but it seems like I am shafting Steph Curry. James Harden had his best season and really did have a special RS, but his post season is still nowhere near dominating enough to keep him on top.
Offensive player of the yearNikola Jokic - So many people latch onto this idea that you must be a volume scorer to be a great offensive player, well, Jokic pretty much proved that he can drop buckets if he needs to in the playoffs. He averaged a cool 25 points, while also putting well over 8 assist per game – and lead the playoffs in rebounding (4 offensive rebounds per game). Yeah…the guys an animal. He can do it all, volume score, shoot, post up, put back, post from low post, high post and beyond 3 point. He sets killer screens and handoff passes. The Nuggets were as good as any of the other top offenses despite not having much talent outside of Jokic. A lot of people point to the perimeter players the Nuggets have, and honestly, they’re pretty mediocre – they’re really “good” because Jokic makes them look good.
Kawhi Leonard - He is the best scorer in the NBA. He can score from anywhere on the court. Killer post game, mid range game, 3 point game, can get into the paint as well. Even though he got caught over handling the ball this post season it’s largely because often some Raptor players were just too shook to take it – he has shown many times he can playoff ball and plays it very well. This puts him over Durant because he’s a better offball player, and I’d put him over Curry because he’s a better on ball player. Leonard had a good team, but no other star that commanded double teams, so him being able to very consistently score over double and triple teams gives the nod for him to place #2.
Lebron James - Not going to be a popular pick because lack of games (he was sat even when healthy toward the end) and, the Lakers are a joke. The Lakers did not have a good offensive, but that has to do with severe lack of spacing and shooting. Lebron James can still get into the paint at will, still post up guys, and is a killer playmaker. Offensively, I trust him way more than Curry or Durant – and it’s a shame we did not see him in the post season, as I have little doubt in my mind that he would have dominated.
Defensive Player of the year
Rudy Gobert - Rudy Gobert was on top of most relevant defensive stats, and helped anchor one of the best defenses in the league. There is still a ton of value in locking down the paint. Rudy gets a bad rap for getting “killed” in the playoffs, but he was pretty damn effective against Houston – considering Utah implemented a system that allowed Harden to drive right at the rim, Gobert adapted pretty well. When he was able to play in a more traditional defensive manor he absolutely crushed the Thunder’s offense, so the idea that perimeter players negate him is incredibly over blown.
Joel Embiid - Embiid has a million tools on offensive, but he can never put it together in a fluid enough motion for him to become eye poppingly dominant. Embiid’s defense on the other hand is not only consistent, but always improving. His ability to move his feet quickly laterally makes him the best perimeter defender at his position, and of course he does the other things centers are supposed to do like block shots and grab boards. He was consistent throughout the RS, and stepped it up in the playoffs.
Draymond Green - Speaking of stepping up, Green coasted during the regular season and probably was not a top 3 defender, but in the playoffs he was by far the best defender (he was #3 in defensive playoff PIPM as well). He has tremendous playmaking on the defensive end. He was probably the best Warrior the first 2, if not 3 series they had. Defense is formed heavily by narratives though, and because someone like Pascal Siakham could score on Green it’s going to make people forget that Green gave the Clippers, Rockets and Blazers the business. He does what Giannis can do but better (well, aside from the rebounding).
Rookie of the yearLuka Doncic - Luka showed a bit of everything this season, but what makes him #1 is his floor generalship. I always get the feeling that he really is leading his team when he is out there. Luka is a bit overhyped his rookie season, probably because he was eye popping his first few months and after the start of the season no one cares about rookies anymore. Luka slowed down a bit, and doesn’t seem to be elite at any aspect of basketball, but he might become an ultimate versatile player and an all time secondary ball handler if things go right.
Mitchell Robinson - Mitchell is the only rookie that made me go “holy ****” when watching him. He is the first player I’ve seen where I thought “this guy could be Bill Russell”. Even if he was shorter he would still get a lot of blocked shots, his timing is so good and he doesn’t need to rely on leaving his feet. His athleticism is still a welcomed advantage, nothing like seeing a center semi-regularly block 3 point shots. Biggest issue with him is that he can’t stay on the court due to how absurdly foul prone he is, and he is raw in a lot of aspects of the game in general. I think if he was on a good team, he could have been a very effective bench player.
Trae Young - Trae was truly awful the first couple of months. The only way for him to make a splash is to become the reincarnation of Tiny Archibald because physically I doubt he’ll ever be a defender. His scoring and playmaking took big leaps, and his shooting is going to lead to great gravity in the future. Like Mitchell, Trae would have been a really great bench player if he was put in the right system. I don’t think he’s good enough offensively to offset his defense yet, so he gets third place – but I do value his offense more than Ayton’s due to superior playmaking and shooting. Also, I’m always more forgiving of bad defensive point guards than bad defensive centers.
Most improved player Paul George - George’s MVP candidacy has kind of taken away his MIP campaign. It is much more impressive, and significantly more rare for a player to go from top 15 to a legitimate superstar at the age of 29. This is the Paul George everyone was waiting for in Indiana. He became a legit 28 PPG+ guy WHILE also playing elite defense. Pascal made a great leap, but many 3rd year players have done similar leaps.
Pascal Siakham - Pascal should have been an all-star this year. He was a decent but raw player in his second year, and has been largely refined into a skilled scoring big who plays great defense. He’s not #1 because he is still a third year player, so it is logical that he would make a big leap as many players do in their third years.
Spencer Dinwiddie - This last spot is a tight one between two 6MOY candidates. I give Dinwiddie my vote over Sabonis because Spencer’s scoring really did go up a full tier. Now, Sabonis hit a new level of efficiency (63 TS% this year, last year he was 57 TS%), but Sabonis is still largely playing off of others, as we have seen in the post season Sabonis still cannot create his own shot. Spencer can create for himself and for others, and he has became a real volume scorer. If he played 30 minutes a game he would probably be a 20 PPG guy just like Lou Williams is. D’Angelo Russell has taken away a lot of Spencer’s glory, and quite frankly, I don’t get it – D’Angelo is really not that different from last year, he made improvements players typically make at their age and he played more minutes which lead to an increase in numbers. Spencer I thought was as good as Russell in the RS and was much better in the post season (Russell was a joke to be honest in the playoffs). D’Angelo Russell was truly overrated this year.
Sixth Man of the YearDomantas Sabonis - Everyone knows Sabonis can shoot and grab boards, but his defense was really impressive this year. A lot of 6th men of the year candidates pretty dreadful at that end, but Sabonis helped anchor the 3rd best defense in the league. 3 point shooting, efficient, good in the paint, elite defense, stretch big – yeah, that’s going to beat out PG microwave scorers.
Spencer Dinwiddie - Last year I thought Dinwiddie was a bit overrated, and this year it seems like it is the opposite. I really felt like he was the heart and soul of the Nets. He’s not quite the offensive player Lou Williams is, but the gap is not nearly as big as some people make it – and he’s not god awful defensively like Lou and Montrel are.
Lou Williams - Unlike Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams is a respectable pick to get 6 official sixth man of the year awards. He is a really good supplementary scoring and his playmaking is not awful for his play style. However, I think I really do need to stress that Lou Williams is one of the worst defenders in the league. I have him over Montrel because Montrel has prettier stats, he is still largely a garbage man who doesn’t need to create his own looks, and he might be an even worse defender than Lou is.
Coach of the yearMike Budenholzer - Budenholzer has so much evidence of his impact this season, it’s hard not to give him the award. The Bucks went from a competitive first round team to a team that looked like it was destined for finals greatness. The Bucks defense was amazing and they had the best SRS – also their system perfectly balanced and implemented a lot of good players which is something Kidd could not do.
Nick Nurse - Like Budenholzer, Nick Nurse did a great job balancing a ton of good players. Nick had better results in the post season, but his team is MUCH more talented than the Bucks are. Nick Nurse and Casey are not that different, but Nick Nurse is much better at the micromanagement aspects of coaching. He really gets subbing down right and fielded a lot of flexible rotations.
Greg Popovich - This is a vote to old faithful. Popovich’s main competition here is the Pacers, Nate McMillan. After losing Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green – the Spurs were decimated by injuries. Popovich still kept it together and even managed to construct a good offensive around DeMar DeRozan. Regular season results is what the Spurs do, but they took the Denver Nuggets to 7 games in round 1, while Nate McMillan’s Pacers were a relative pushover against the middling Celtics.
Executive of the yearMasai Urjiri - Dumped Demar who was a faux star for arguably the best player in the game in Kawhi – oh, and got a good 3 and D guy in Danny Green to go along with it. The one ear rental gambit was easily worth it for Toronto, even if they had come up short winning the championship. A great mid season trade for Marc Gasol whose defense killed it in the post season sealed the deal for them winning the season.
Sam Presti - I swear every year I give Presti a vote while no one gives a crap. He makes great moves every season and yeah, by the end of the season the Thunder usually lose in bad fashion which I guess makes people think his moves are not good? I mean let’s look at this, in 2018 the Thunder lost in the first round after acquiring Paul George in a trade (who openly said he was going to Los Angeles) – Presti STILL managed to resign him for 4 years. Okay, Paul George is really good, but he’s still just a top 15ish guy – wrong, he ended up improving into one of the best players in the league. So really, Presti made a super clutch signing, and as we can see, Presti still has the option of trading George for other stuff in the future (which he did, but I am not counting that toward this season).
Lawrence Frank - Made a very deep team with a lot of tradeable assets. I legitimately think SGA will be the best player of his draft class, either him or Mitchell Robinson. The Clippers made a great competitive team while keeping cap flexibility to compete in free agency (which worked out in hindsight).
I think what the Clippers did this season was more nuanced and more forward thinking – the Bucks, their biggest competitor for the third spot pretty much did a “no duh” and fired a bad coach and replaced him with a great one. GSW made a good risk/reward signing with Cousins that did not work out also.