NBA 2009 Season Awards

Dusty on 04 16, 2009

Now while I personally don’t find it to be of all that importance, the NBA awards that are given out at the end of the year tend to be. First of all, I don’t find it to be very important because the MVP talk tends to dominate what we should really be talking about, and that’s what team will win the NBA Finals. Yet, for the sake of the argument, here is who I feel should win this years awards and why. Now these picks are biased of course because they are my opinions, but I would also like to involve the readers and get your opinions on this topic.

Rookie of the Year – Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez, & Michael Beasley

- Derrick Rose is the obvious choice to me because the other two candidates don’t have as much responsibility. As a PG Rose has far much more on his plate and he’s proved thus far that he will be one of the best PG’s in the league for years to come. Lopez & Beasley have shown flashes of brilliance, but haven’t separated themselves from Rose.

Most Improved – Devin Harris, Danny Granger, & Rajon Rondo

- This was actually one of the toughest picks for me because each player has dramatically improved their game over the course of last year and two of the three have moved into the ‘go-to guy’ role on their team. While in Boston, Rondo will always be playing in the shadows of the ‘Big Three,’ and no matter how well he plays, it somehow it gets rationalized that he has too much help. In my eyes, this award came down to Harris and Granger, who have gotten some serious buckets all year long. Neither team has played real well, especially for being the East. The award goes to Harris for constantly stepping up when his team needed him as well as stepping out of the shadows of the Jason Kidd trade.

MVP Award – Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, & Lebron James

This award has been debated by many, but not much of an argument in my mind. Wade has been outrageous this year getting to the bucket at will and improving his 3 pt range. Yet, his team is currently sitting only a few games above .500 and it’s hard for me to give the MVP to a player whose team isn’t in the Top 3 in the Eastern Conference Standings.

Shocking that once again we’re discussing MVP voting and Bryant’s name is at the top of the list. His skill set is as close to Michael Jordan as we might see in this generation and he’s got his team sitting at the top of the Western Conference by a ridiculous 10 games. In the final seconds of the game, there’s not one guy in the league whose hands I would rather have the ball in. Yet, neither player has done what James has done this year. Statistics aside, he has proven that he wants an NBA Title more than anything. On both sides of the ball he has been dominant, and when your best player is your hardest worker it sets the tone for your entire organization.

Now I know there are more awards that are given out each year, but for the sake of time and quality arguments, I narrowed it down to only a few. Feel free to comment on who you think will win or should win Coach of the Year, 6th Man, and Defensive POY.