After another season of Basketball, there is more debate on who should have won each award. That being said, here is my opinion on who should have won each award.
MVP: Nikola Jokic – Jokic combines scoring volume and efficiency with some of the best playmaking in the league. Jokic led the league in pretty much every advanced stat, and he played every game. He led in “+/-” stats and “Wins Provided.” To put it simply, Jokic was the most valuable player in the league.
Per 100: 37.7 points (56.6 FG%, 38.8 3P%, 86.8 FT%, 64.7 TS%), 1.8 ScoreVal, 11.9 assists, 15.0 box creation, 2.5 PlayVal, 4.4 turnovers, 15.5 rebounds (11.4 DRB, 4.1 ORB), 1.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks
Advanced: +9.5 RAPTOR (+9.0 OFF, +0.6 DEF) and 15.7 RAPTOR WAR, +7.9 EPM (+6.9 OFF, +1.1 DEF) and 18.4 eW, +6.83 LEBRON (+6.22 OFF, 0.61 DEF) and 14.3 Wins Added
Runner-Ups:
2. Stephen Curry
3. Rudy Gobert
DPOY: Rudy Gobert – Gobert is the most valuable regular season defender and it is not very close. Gobert may not have the same value in the playoff, but he is legitimately one of the most valuable regular-season players. Defensive stats are iffy and don’t agree often, but they all agree how great Gobert was.
Advanced: +8.6 DEF RAPTOR, +6.2 DEF EPM, and 5.09 DEF LEBRON
Others: 4.2 blocks per 100 (7.0 BLK%), 0.9 steals per 100 (0.9 STL%), 21.4 rebounds (23.3 TRB%), 48 DFG% >6FT
Runner-Ups:
2. Draymond Green
3. Clint Capela
ROY: LaMelo Ball – Ball made a huge impact as the Hornets made a big step forward. Ball was consistent from the beginning of the season. He was the clear best rookie playmaker and was overall a good offensive player and a very impactful player.
Per 100: 26.7 points (43.6 FG%, 35.2 3P%, 75.8 FT%, 53.9 TS%), -0.9 ScoreVal, 10.4 assists, 8.1 box creation, 0.9 PlayVal, 4.8 turnovers, 10.0 rebounds (7.9 DRB, 2.1 ORB), 2.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks
Advanced: +0.3 RAPTOR (+1.2 OFF, -0.9 DEF) and 2.3 RAPTOR WAR, -0.4 EPM (+0.4 OFF, -0.8 DEF) and 2.6 eW, -0.50 LEBRON (+0.17 OFF, -0.68 DEF) and 1.8 Wins Added
Runner-Ups:
2. Anthony Edwards
3. Immanuel Quickly
6MOY: Joe Ingles – While we can debate who was a more impactful offensive player, Ingles or Clarkson, Ingles was overall more valuable. Ingles is an extremely efficient scorer who is also a good playmaker while being a + defensively.
Per 100: 21.1 points (48.9 FG%, 45.1 3P%, 84.4 FT%, 67.2 TS%), 0.7 ScoreVal, 8.3 assists, 6.4 box creation, 1.2 PlayVal, 3.1 turnovers, 6.4 rebounds (5.7 DRB, 0.7 ORB), 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks
Advanced: +2.5 RAPTOR (+2.0 OFF, +0.5 DEF) and 5.9 RAPTOR WAR, +3.2 EPM (+2.4 OFF, +0.8 DEF) and 7.9 eW, +1.54 LEBRON (+1.53 OFF, +0.01 DEF) and 4.7 Wins Added
Runner-Ups:
2. Jordan Clarkson/Derrick Rose/Thad Young
CoMIP: Nikola Jokic/Julius Randle – Randle and Jokic were both deserving of the award. Jokic improved a ton as a scorer while Randle made strides as a playmaker.
Jokic: Per 100: +6.9 points (+3.8 FG%, +7.4 3P%, +5.1 FT%, +4.2 TS%), +1.1 assists, -0.4 turnovers, +0.5 rebounds (-0.1 DRB, +0.6 ORB), +0.1 steals, and +0.1 blocks
Advanced: +4.3 RAPTOR (+4.6 OFF, -0.2 DEF) and +6.3 RAPTOR WAR, +2.71 LEBRON (+3.07 OFF, -0.35 DEF) and +4.5 Wins Added
Randle: Per 100: +2.9 points (-0.4 FG%, +13.4 3P%, +7.8 FT%, +2.9 TS%), +3.4 assists, +0.0 turnovers, -1.0 rebounds (+1.0 DRB-1.9 ORB), +0.0 steals, and -0.2 blocks
Advanced: +4.2 RAPTOR (+1.7 OFF, +2.5 DEF) and +6.3 RAPTOR WAR, +0.84 LEBRON (+0.69 OFF, +0.14 DEF) and +2.5 Wins Added
Runner-Up:
Darius Garland
Photo: NBAE via Getty Images/Noah Graham