Here are your nominees for the NBPA’s 1st Annual Players Awards
Three months after we first learned that the National Basketball Players Association planned to launch a new awards show in which active NBA players rather than media members will be the ones deciding which of their colleagues most deserve recognition, the NBPA has unveiled the nominees for the 1st Annual Players’ Awards, which will take place in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 19, and air on BET on Tuesday, July 21. At first glance, the list looks remarkably similar to other selections of players for honors — mostly good picks, with some notable omissions.
Without further ado, here are the awards created by the NBPA and the finalists who received the highest number of votes from their NBA-player peers this spring:
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Best Rookie
• Jordan Clarkson, Los Angeles Lakers
• Zach LaVine, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic
• Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
Best Defender
• Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
• Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
• Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
• DeAndre Jordan, Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Clippers
Global Impact Player
• Pau Gasol, Chicago Bulls
• Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
• Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Clutch Performer
• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• James Harden, Houston Rockets
• LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Coach You Most Want to Play For
• Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks
• Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks
• Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
• Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs
Hardest to Guard
• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• James Harden, Houston Rockets
• LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Best Home Court Advantage
• AT&T Center (San Antonio)
• Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City)
• Moda Center (Portland)
• Oracle Arena (Golden State)
Player You Secretly Wish was On Your Team
• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
• Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
• LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Most Valuable Player
• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• James Harden, Houston Rockets
• LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
A few thoughts:
• It’s hard out here for a rookie big man! Philadelphia 76ers shot-blocker Nerlens Noel and Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic — both of whom joined Rookie of the Year Wiggins, Payton and Clarkson on the 2014-15 All-Rookie First Team — get left off the list, while Second Teamer and Dunk Contest champion LaVine makes the final four. (Perhaps players around the league steered clear of Noel and Mirotic due to a belief that neither was a “true” rookie, with the 24-year-old Mirotic having played six seasons in Spain before coming to the NBA, and 2013 draftee Noel making his NBA debut this season after missing his first campaign while rehabilitating his torn left ACL.)
• No shade to the Best Defender nominees, all of whom put in yeoman’s work on the less-heralded end of the court, but it’s kind of amazing that neither Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs nor Draymond Green of the Warriors — the top two finishers in Defensive Player of the Year voting and 40 percent of this year’s All-Defensive First Team — missing from the list of finalists.
• It seems odd to consider Kyrie someone who makes a larger “global impact” than, say, Kobe or LeBron or any number of more established NBA personae with international fan bases. Then again, the nominee listing doesn’t include the criteria for the award; maybe players were just asked to pick from a list of peers born outside the United States, which, g’day, Drew.
• The four finalists in the Clutch Performer category finished first, second, third and fifth in points per 36 minutes of “clutch” time during this regular season. Our missing fourth-place finisher? Kevin Durant, a tough omission whom I’m sure voters docked after playing just 27 games in an injury-shortened season. Heal up, KD. We’ll see you back here next year.
• The top four finalists in MVP balloting here were also the top four finishers in MVP balloting as decided by media members. NBA players: they’re just (hardly anything) like us!
It remains to be seen whether the results of the voting provide any significant surprises or indications that players view things in a drastically different way from the media members who cast “official” votes, but by and large, all this seems decidedly … well, normal. We can only hope that the event itself — to be held at the Penn & Teller Theater in the Rio Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, featuring appearances by such players’ union luminaries as James, Curry, Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala and Anthony Tolliver, and a performance by Lil Wayne — will shake things up a bit.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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