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As NBA fans around the world bid adieu to the regular season and turn attentions to the upcoming playoffs, NBA journalists and sportswriters have been asked to submit their final ballot for the end of season awards.
Who will be crowned the league’s Most Valuable Player, best Rookie in class, and much more, is all up for debate.
To celebrate the end of the regular season, the Gameday From The UK Team at The Miami Heat UK are having our very own awards ballot.
We asked Olly, Dan, John, Sam, Bilal, and Glenn to name their top three candidates for each award, with a 1st place vote earning 5 points, 2nd place votes earning 3 points, and 3rd place votes earning 1 point.
Scroll on to see who we had as our winners…
Most Valuable Player
Arguably the most prestigious individual award in basketball, this award is handed out to the best player from the season. Many media outlets around the world have mentioned Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo as favourites to win this year’s honour, but who did we pick?
Three names have dominated the MVP conversation, so it's no surprise that those three also dominate our voting.
These three have undoubtably been the standout performers in the NBA this season, each racking up mind-boggling statistical achievements as the season went on, so it’s no shock to see them dominate the voting for MVP this season.
Ultimately though, only one man can come out on top. And that man is…
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks
The 'Greek Freak' as he's affectionately known continues the European dominance on the MVP award (read more on that, here: https://ollyrahimi.wixsite.com/website/post/the-european-revolution) and claims the award for the third time in just four years. Despite receiving only one first place vote from Sam, Giannis is consistently among the top two in voting, and steals the award from under the nose of Nikola Jokić.
Defensive Player of the Year
The honour of being the best defender in the league is another award that has a lot of potential winners this year, as current DPOY Rudy Gobert looks likely to relinquish his title.
We’ve seen many of the candidates embark on media tours to try and boost their ratings of late, but in the minds of the Gameday From The UK team, there was only ever going to be one winner…
Our unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, is...
Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat
There was only ever going to be one winner, wasn't there? No matter how you choose to asses award winners; looking at advanced metrics, or the simple eye test, it's clear to see that Bam Adebayo is the leagues best and most versatile defender. He can legitimately guard every possession, and does so with magnificent efficiency. It looks unlikely that Bam will will the award this year, or even be in the top 3, as Miami Heat players continue to get overlooked for awards they thoroughly deserve. Hopefully his time will come, but I'm sure he'll take comfort in knowing he's won our award.
Sixth Man of the Year
The voting for Sixth Man of the Year almost seems irrelevant at this point, as there is one man who stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Ask any NBA analyst, journalist, or executive (aside from John Hollinger…) and they’ll all tell you the same thing. It’s been a while since someone has been such a clear favourite for the award.
So with no surprises, and another unanimous vote, our best sixth man is…
Tyler Herro, G, Miami Heat
The Sixth Man of the Year award is probably the most obvious around the league this year. Herro has averaged 20.7 points off the bench and has been one of the most important players on a #1 seed team. His points output is the 4th best bench scoring season in NBA history and the first man to get anywhere above 20 since Lou Williams in 2017-18.
Take a look at this piece from back in September on Tyler Herro, and how his work in the offseason has culminated in him being named the best Sixth Man in the NBA, https://ollyrahimi.wixsite.com/website/post/the-coming-of-a-herro.
Coach of the Year
Unlike the Sixth Man of the Year award, the honour for the league’s best Coach is anything but a sure thing. There are a large number of coaches who can legitimately throw their hat into the ring and stand a very good chance of winning.
But as with the MVP voting, three names dominated.
In what was by far and away the closest result across all six ballots, our Coach of the Year is…
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns
With just 3 points separating Williams, Jenkins, and Spoelstra, its Monty Williams who claims his first Coach of the Year honour. After being snubbed for the award last year and a disappointing trip to the NBA Finals, the Suns have bounced back strongly with a masterful regular season and finished with a league best record of 64-18. They'll be aiming to go one better in June though, as Williams looks to bring the the first Larry O'Brien trophy back to the Footprint Center.
Most Improved Player
The Most Improved Player award falls under a similar category to that of the Sixth Man award, in that there has been one runaway favourite for much of the year. This year’s Most Improved Player had been mentioned in MVP conversations by many and will surely be firmly in that conversation again next year.
While this vote wasn’t unanimous, the winner by some distance is of course…
Ja Morant, G, Memphis Grizzlies
With four first place votes, the newest NBA superstar takes home the Most Improved Player award. Morant has already established himself as the next face of the NBA (read more here, https://ollyrahimi.wixsite.com/website/post/everyone-s-falling-for-ja-morant) and has upped his scoring output from 19.1 points per game last season, to 27.4 this, also adding almost two rebounds a game and boosts to both his 2PT and 3PT field goal percentage. Ja has orchestrated his young Memphis team to the league's second best record of 56-26 this year after finishing 9th in the Western Conference last year. It seems almost inevitable that the young man out of Murray State will be on an All-NBA Team this year and will be looking to make a run at the MVP next season.
Rookie of the Year
The award for best rookie in class is one that follows the same pattern as Coach of the Year. It's been a hotly debated topic all year long, and there are a number of honourable mentions that haven’t made it into our top threes.
Ultimately though, it was just three names that remained an ever-present in our voting.
Taking home the Rookie of the Year Award, is...
Scottie Barnes, F, Toronto Raptors
Barnes, Mobley, and Cunningham have been the standout rookies from the 2021 draft class, and it's the athletic forward out of Florida State who takes home our honours. Averaging 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, Barnes has helped steer Toronto back to the playoffs after a disappointing omission last year.
Honourable mentions should go out to Jalen Green and Josh Giddey, but Scottie Barnes' importance to a playoff contending Raptors team sees him take home the honours.
So that concludes the Miami Heat UK Gameday From The UK Team’s awards ceremony!
Congratulations to all winners, and commiserations to those who fell just short. I think we can all agree it has been a fascinating season across the board; we’ve seen some new teams and players elevate themselves into the conversation of being the very best, we’ve seen some of the elite maintain their high levels, and we’ve seen some (at times hilarious) capitulations. Lakers, I’m looking at you.
With the Play-In games taking place this week, and the Playoffs beginning Saturday 16th April, all 16 teams who make it will be aiming for the only trophy anyone really cares about.
Let the battle, commence.
*Foot note, we have contacted all winners for comment, but are yet to receive a response… We remain hopeful.
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