Remember the 2018-19 regular season?
It feels like a long time ago now. Since then, the NBA has featured two months of playoff action, with matchups that pushed us to redefine what we think of each team. We’ve had league-changing trades — like Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Mike Conley to Utah — and season-ending injuries to two of the league’s defining stars.
But on Monday night, we’re asked to remember what happened during that regular season, as the NBA is hosting its third annual awards show at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.
Rudy Gobert is once again up for the Defensive Player of the Year award, the one he won last year as well. He’ll be up against two superstars in Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Oklahoma City’s Paul George, but he’s expected to win again anyway: Betting site BetOnline has put 80% odds on him getting the trophy.
Why is that? Well, it’s pretty clear. Gobert led the league in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, a measure of how many points are allowed when Gobert is on the floor versus when he is off of it. It’s his second consecutive season doing so.
Gobert also tallied the second most blocks this season, and also seemed to scare players out of the shots they’d normally take: Teams shot 5.4% less frequently around the rim than their expected average with Gobert in the middle, according to CleaningTheGlass stats. The Jazz were the league’s second best defensive team overall, perhaps primarily due to Gobert’s active play.
Antetokounmpo and George also have valid cases, though. The NBA’s No. 1 defense was Milwaukee’s, with the Greek superstar the linchpin of a swarming squad that rarely allowed open shots inside. George, meanwhile, led the league in steals for the NBA’s fourth-ranked defense; he also made a number of critical defensive plays at clutch moments that directly led to OKC wins.
The Defensive Player of the Year isn’t the only award being handed out, though. The headliner, of course, is the Most Valuable Player trophy, which will be given to one of Antetokounmpo, George, or Houston’s James Harden. Antetokounmpo has an 83% chance of winning the award, according to oddsmakers.
Rookie of the Year finalists include Atlanta’s Trae Young, Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Phoenix’s DeAndre Ayton. Doncic is the heavy favorite, with a 90% chance of winning. The Sixth Man of the Year award has two finalists from the same team for the first time, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams up for the honor along with Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis. Williams is the 89% favorite to win.
The three Most Improved Player candidates are Brooklyn’s D’Angelo Russell, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam and Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox. The award will almost certainly go to Siakam, oddsmakers believe, with an implied 94% chance that trophy goes to Toronto as well. Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer, Denver’s Michael Malone, and the Clippers’ Doc Rivers are the Coach of the Year finalists; Budenholzer is the 80% favorite.
The NBA will also give out awards for players’ impact off the court. Two Jazzmen are finalists for the NBA Cares Community Assist award: Donovan Mitchell and new teammate Mike Conley, for the work the latter did in Memphis.
Last week’s Jazz trade featured a swap of two of the 12 nominees for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award. Kyle Korver was nominated for his role on the Jazz, while Conley was also selected for this honor after his regular season.
Conley is also one of six nominees for the NBA Sportsmanship Award.
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