Individual Awards for 2015-2016

It's the end of a pretty mundane season, in general, but handing out awards was an interesting thought exercise. If I had a ballot, here's what it would look like:

Most Valuable Player

1. Stephen Curry
2. Kawhi Leonard
3. Chris Paul
4. LeBron James
5. Draymond Green

The case for Curry is obvious: he's the best player on one of the top two teams all time. He has a PER over 31 given 30 minutes a game, something that only LeBron or MJ has done in the shot clock era, is pushing 50/45/90 splits, and has shattered our expectations for shooting threes. So, let's just hand him the trophy.

Let's talk about the bottom four in that list. Kawhi is a consensus number two, the best two-way player in the league and the hands-down best player in the second best team in the league. He's developed a killer midrange pull-up and is starting to develop a great pick-and-roll chemistry with Aldridge. His defense is something we'll talk about later.

Paul over James is a hot take. Paul has accounted for almost 44 points a game (20 from scoring and 24 from assists). He's also carrying the on-ball defense for the Clippers, which offsets some of the lack of post defense and rim protection from the ever-overrated DeAndre Jordan. LeBron, on the other hand, is having an amazing late March and April. His three point shooting is up, his passing is on point, and his efficiency overall is ratcheting up. But the whole shady leadership technique and general lack of effort for the first five months of the season is keeping him from the top 3. Paul has carried the Clippers entirely without Griffin.

Draymond Green was an early MVP candidate, but his stock is faltering lately, which may be an effect of recency bias. It's my belief that removing Green takes way significantly from the Golden State cog offensively and defensively, with his ball movement, defensive versatility, and shooting ability. Draymond beats out Westbrook and Durant just slightly, simply because the Golden State's historic season.

Rookie of the Year

1. Karl-Anthony Towns
2. Kristaps Porzingis
3. Trevor Booker

Much like Curry and the MVP, the case for Towns is easy. He's already a top five center in the NBA and perhaps the best two-way center in the league. To put his season into perspective, by PER, only Shaq, Duncan, Robinson, and MJ have had better first seasons (I'm throwing out Sabonis and Cummings for didactic reasons). Give him the award unanimously, please. Porzingis has sputtered down the stretch, but his two-way impact makes him a stretch-five. That's the future of the league. Here's to more tip slams and paint leaners in the next fifteen years. Lastly, I'm taking Booker over the stats-darling Nikola Jokic. I understand that Jokic is having an amazing season, given his playing time, but this pick is looking to the future. Booker has the potential to be the best shooting guard in the league, maybe even in the next five years. He has ability to score off the dribble, he is already a top five shooting guard in terms of distributing, and he has good instincts defensively.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Kawhi Leonard
2. Draymond Green
3. Hassan Whiteside

Kawhi is the best on-ball defender since Scottie Pippen. Throwing him on any creator who's heating up instantly mucks up an offense. He's currently third in the league in defensive rating and has greater than 300 minutes than the top two. Draymond Green actually doesn't have the best defensive advanced statistics. But his mere defensive importance in the Warriors's small-ball lineup (+50 adjusted plus/minus), guarding centers that have five inches on him and 30 pounds puts him in this spot. Hassan Whiteside leads the league in rim protection statistics and defensive rating. But he's been known to chase blocks which gives up offensive rebounds, especially since he plays alongside four guards.

Coach of the Year

1. Steve Kerr/Luke Walton
2. Terry Stotts
3. Steve Clifford

Honestly, Steve Kerr and Luke Walton (and Ron Adams) should share this award. They've lost less than 10 games this season. Stotts and Clifford have been able to produce 45+ win seasons with teams that have no All-Stars, even though Lillard and Walker are probably both All-Star guards. Popovich and Dwayne Casey have claims to the last two spots, as well, Pop has been blessed with five future Hall of Fame players and the Raptors hasn't shown the amount of growth and improvement

the Blazers and Hornets have displayed.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Enes Kanter
2. Bismack Biyombo
3. Evan Turner

By any advanced stat, Enes Kanter is, per minute, the most prolific and efficient offensive center in the league. His defense is still subpar, but he's no longer the worst big man defender in the league. That's a huge improvement. If the Thunder expect to make the conference finals, his rebounding and scoring will be key. Biyombo is one of the best defensive centers in the league. When he was drafted in the top ten by the then-Bobcats, he was an athletic rim runner. He's still that, but now he's a rim protector who can finish and set bone-crushing screens. Some of the Raptors' defensive schemes are only possible because of Biyombo. He's going to close a lot of games for them in the playoffs. I had a hard time deciding among the trio of Turner, Jamal Crawford, and Ed Davis. Turner's overall game was the key - he's an amazing creator and one of Boston's best on-ball defenders. Jamal Crawford had a putrid first half and Ed Davis is a negative on defense.

Most Improved Player

1. Stephen Curry
2. Kemba Walker
3. C.J. McCollum

I'm not really a fan of the MIP going to a player whose production to minute stays the same over the past two years. That's why I have both Curry and Kemba over McCollum. The point increase given initial point production that Curry has shown this year is only rivaled by Larry Bird and LeBron James. And Curry was the MVP last year, which was not the case for LeBron and Bird. Kemba is the key offensive cog for the offensively challenged Hornets. His 4 point increase in scoring doesn't seem like a lot, but his pick-and-roll game has improve significantly and his three point and overall field goal percentage has spiked 7 and 4 percentage points, a big knock on him last year. I'm anticipating some big games from him in the first round of the playoffs. C.J. McCollum has been a consistent scorer all year, and his increased minutes and role in the offense may be a reason for his scoring increase.