NBA Midseason Awards

As we pass the official halfway point of the NBA regular season, there have been many shocks and disappointments. The Boston Celtics are number one in the Eastern Conference, a surprise to many after Gordon Hayward, one of their two stars, went down with a broken ankle in the first game of the season. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were predicted to dominate this year, are struggling to work together as teams and consistently win. However, there are certain players who have stood out throughout the season so far, proving that they are worthy of winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, Most Improved Player (MIP) Award, Rookie of the Year (ROTY), and others. To be clear, these are the players I think would win the awards if the season ended today, not who I think will win at the end of the year.

Most Valuable Player: James Harden

After being the runner up for MVP last year, with many people thinking that he should have won, Harden has come back this year playing better than ever. He is first in scoring and third in assists, averaging 31.4 points per game (PPG) and 8.9 assists per game (APG), respectively. He is also averaging 4.8 rebounds per game (RPG) and 1.8 steals per game (SPG). Not only that, but he has lead the Houston Rockets to a 33-12 record, worthy of second place in the Western Conference. Without Chris Paul, their newly acquired star, Harden has led the team for most of the season and kept them in the race to be the best team in the West. While many people thought his injury would hurt his chances of winning the MVP award, he was only out for seven games, containing the damage to his MVP chances. Will he be the MVP at the end of the year? If him and his team keep playing the way they are, others like Lebron James, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo will have a hard time catching up to Harden.

Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo

Last year, Victor Oladipo was just another average player on Russell Westbrook’s team. He couldn’t be trusted to make shots in the clutch and was eventually traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Paul George. As the Pacers have now found out, this was an amazing decision. After being a role player for his entire career, Oladipo is now a budding star who will likely be one of the best players in the league for years to come. This season, he has averaged 24.2 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 5.2 RPG, a big jump compared to his stats from last year, 15.9 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 4.3 RPG. Oladipo has been able to lead the Pacers to become a playoff contender with a record of 25-22, although many people thought they would be one of the worst teams in the league. A 2018 all-star, Oladipo will easily win the award if he is able to maintain this level of play the rest of the season.

Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams

Lou Williams is having one of the best seasons of any player off the bench in NBA history. As a sixth man, he is averaging 23.3 PPG, which is 16th in the league. In January alone, he has averaged 29.2 PPG, including a 50-point game against the Golden State Warriors. In his most recent surge, Williams has been able to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to go 12-5 in the past 17 games, along with a six-game winning streak during that span. Williams is by far the favorite to win his second Sixth Man of the Year Award, and as a bench player, he is playing better than many of the league's best.

Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons has had one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history. He is averaging 16.3 PPG, 7.2 APG, and 7.9 RPG, as well as 1.9 SPG. While Simmons is not known for his shooting ability, he is able to make his teammates better with his incredible handles and passing skills, especially for a guy who is 6’10”. Simmons has had an extraordinary rookie year while Donovan Mitchell has been on a tear recently. If Mitchell keeps playing how he has been, averaging 22.9 PPG since December, the decision will be hard.

Defensive Player of the Year: Al Horford

Even though he isn’t averaging top 25 in either blocks or steals, I have to give the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Award to Al Horford. This was the hardest award to judge, but historically, the winner of the DPOY award has gone to the anchor of a top three defense in the league. Marc Gasol wasn’t the best defensive player in the league in 2013. Nevertheless, him being the anchor of the Memphis Grizzlies defense, which was top three in the league that season, was the deciding factor in giving him the award. Kawhi Leonard didn’t put up the “typical” DPOY stats in 2016, but he was the anchor of an amazing San Antonio Spurs defense and that won him the award. The Boston Celtics have the number one defense in the league, and their defensive anchor is none other than Al Horford. In the small ball NBA of today, Al Horford is a perfect big man, as he can switch from the power forward to center position. As long as the Boston Celtics maintain a top three defense in the league, it is Al Horford’s award to lose.

Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens

Once Gordon Hayward went down in the first game of the season, the sports world thought the Boston Celtics were done being championship contenders. Nonetheless, Brad Stevens was able to bring a team of young guns and role players, led by Kyrie Irving, to the best defense in the league and a 34-14 record, good for first in the Eastern Conference. Stevens has also been able to develop young talent such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown into budding stars who are shaping up to be the faces of the NBA. With Stevens coaching them, it seems now that the Celtics have a chance to take down Lebron James and the Cavaliers in the playoffs to get to the championships, something that most people didn’t even think they could do with Hayward. If the Boston Celtics stay on top of the east for the rest of the season, Brad Stevens will be the clear frontrunner for this award.

*Statistics and standings are as of January 24, 2018