HoopsHype readers have made their picks for the 2016-17 NBA awards and we have a hunch they will look a lot like the official awards.
MVP: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City
Perhaps a recency bias at play here given Russell Westbrook’s monster games late in the season while James Harden struggled a bit with a sore wrist. All in all, the vote wasn’t really that close. For every vote for Harden, three HoopsHype readers endorsed Westbrook. You couldn’t go wrong either way.
Rookie of the Year: Dario Saric, Philadelphia
Sixers center Joel Embiid was the runaway favorite for much of the season, but you had to look somewhere considering he only played 31 games this season. Our readers went with his teammate Dario Saric, who apparently has no idea what a rookie wall is. The Croatian forward averaged 17.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg after the All-Star break.
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Utah
The Frenchman led the NBA in blocks and Defensive Win Shares and was an all-around beast protecting the rim for the Utah Jazz. He may not be the versatile defender Draymond Green is, but probably not a scarier defensive player than Rudy Gobert right now.
Sixth Man of the Year: Eric Gordon, Houston
Flourished under Mike D’Antoni’s system and brought incredible firepower off the bench with 16.2 points per game, mostly coming from beyond the arc. Teammate Lou Williams was in the mix for the award, but he wasn’t that effective after leaving L.A. for Houston.
Most Improved Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
Finished the regular season as the Bucks’ leader in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He didn’t lead Milwaukee in any of those statistical categories the previous season. Went from very good to All-Star while making the transition to the point guard position. That’s quite something.
Coach of the Year: Mike D’Antoni, Houston
This season did wonders for his reputation, which was badly damaged during his time in La La Land. Houston displayed much better chemistry with Mike D’Antoni on the sidelines. The offense was a well-oiled machine, as you would expect with D’Antoni coaching, and defense improved a little bit.
Executive of the Year: Danny Ainge, Boston
No fireworks at the trade deadline, but he did add Al Horford last summer to a team chock-full of assets.
All-NBA 1st Team
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City
James Harden, Houston
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio
LeBron James, Cleveland
All-NBA 2nd Team
Isaiah Thomas, Boston
John Wall, Washington
Stephen Curry, Golden State
Kevin Durant, Golden State
Anthony Davis, New Orleans
All-NBA 3rd Team
Jimmy Butler, Chicago
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota
DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans
Rudy Gobert, Utah
All-Rookie 1st Team
Jamal Murray, Denver
Buddy Hield, Sacramento
Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee
Dario Saric, Philadelphia
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia
All-Rookie 2nd Team
Yogi Ferrell, Dallas
Jaylen Brown, Boston
Brandon Ingram, LA Lakers
Marquese Chriss, Phoenix
Willy Hernangomez, New York
All-Defensive 1st Team
Avery Bradley, Boston
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio
Draymond Green, Golden State
Rudy Gobert, Utah
All-Defensive 2nd Team
John Wall, Washington
Tony Allen, Memphis
Jimmy Butler, Chicago
Anthony Davis, New Orleans
DeAndre Jordan, LA Clippers
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