NBA Season Preview 2019-20: Predictions for each individual award

Before the 2019-20 NBA campaign gets underway, it’s time to make predictions for each of the league’s individual, end-of-season awards.

The NBA is special for a lot of different reasons, but the league’s awards season only lends itself to the idea that professional basketball is player-driven. The biggest stars in the association are more recognizable than perhaps any other major spot in America, and the NBA’s individual awards reflect that with a wide variety of honors acknowledging those standout performers.

Executive of the Year and Coach of the Year hardly get anyone excited, but Rookie of the Year is one of the most highly anticipated discussions every season despite there being little correlation between winning the award and finding lasting success in the NBA.

Sixth Man of the Year pays tribute to the high-octane bench performers willing to embrace a role with the second unit. Most Improved Player tries to pinpoint up-and-coming stars, and usually does a pretty good job. Defensive Player of the Year acknowledges the other, often more important side of the ball, even if it often skews toward big men and wings.

And finally, there’s the NBA’s MVP award, perhaps the most coveted individual honor in any major sport given how loaded this league is with superstar-caliber talent.

Heading into a new campaign, it’s time to take a look at all of these individual categories, naming the top contenders for each one and ultimately settling on a final prediction for the next winners in 2019-20. Without further ado, here are our predictions for EOY, COY, ROY, 6MOY, MIP, DPOY and MVP.