Warriors get shut out of all six individual NBA awards
By Cody Rivera
Even though the Warriors have one of the most stacked lineups in NBA history, they won’t be taking home any individual awards this year.
The Warriors might be just a couple of weeks away from winning another NBA championship, which would be their third title in four years. Their run of dominance makes complete sense, seeing as how they are as much of a super team as we have ever seen in the NBA, with players like Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green among others. It doesn’t get much better than that.
You would think that with a roster deep in superstars, at least one player would be taking home an individual NBA award, such as Most Valuable Player or Defensive Player of the Year. But it won’t be happening this season, as no Warriors have been chosen as a finalist for any of the six NBA individual awards.
It sounds a little bizarre when you say it out loud, but when you think about it, it actually makes a little bit of sense. And here’s why…
Most Valuable Player? Kevin Durant might be one of the all-time great talents in the history of the league, but James Harden has done a lot more with less this year, leading the Rockets to the best record in the NBA. Not to mention LeBron James has kept the Cavaliers as a title contender even though he’s a one-man basketball team.
Defensive Player of the Year? Draymond Green is gritty and tough, and should definitely be in consideration. But Rudy Gobert’s defensive play was a huge reason why the Jazz made it to the playoffs this year, even after the departure of Gordon Hayward. That, and rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell.
Most Improved Player? It’s really hard to ignore the season that Victor Oladipo had in Indiana this year, not to mention the fact that his Pacers came up just one game short of ending LeBron’s run of dominance in the East.
Sixth Man of the Year? It will most likely be Lou Williams from the Clippers, though if I could, I would cast my vote for Terry Rozier (maybe a little biased, coming from a Celtics fan). Nobody from Golden State to really consider here.
Rookie of the Year? Again, nobody from the Warriors to take into consideration. Unfortunately, this award will end up going to Ben Simmons (who isn’t technically a rookie), even though Donovan Mitchell or Jayson Tatum – both actual rookies – are much more deserving.
Coach of the Year? Steve Kerr is great and all, but this award will most likely end up going to the now unemployed Dwane Casey, who coached the Toronto Raptors to the best record in the Eastern Conference. That’s all fine and well, I suppose, but it really should be Brad Stevens (sorry, more Celtics fan bias).
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Just tough luck for the Warriors players this year, although I’m sure they are more concerned about winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy than they are winning individual awards, as they should be.