In this article I will be giving my predictions for the upcoming season awards. Let's get the big one out the way first. MVP.
MVP: LeBron James
The King has moved West and I believe now he has a narrative where he can finally reclaim the award that he could win year in year out. With 35 wins for the Lakers in 2017/18 surely adding Lebron and the other free agents plus the extra year Lonzo, Kuz, B.I. and a few other have under their belt, this squad should reach 50 wins and of course, Lebron will be the main reason for this. 50 wins should secure them a top 4 seed and atleast a 7 place jump from the previous season. With Lonzo and Rondo both great playmakers, LeBron wont have to carry all the offensive load like he did in his Kyrie-less season with Cleveland. I expect his defence to improve and possibly for his scoring to increase. It's crazy that this will be his 16th season and he still remains on top.
DPOY: Joel Embiid
Picking up the silver medal in the DPOY race last year was The Process. In his first full season, while only playing 63 games he manage to become an elite defender. I think next year is his year and I can see him dominating this award. I'm confident his pure defensive numbers will be great (2 blocks 1 steal per game) as well as his advanced numbers. He anchored the 5th best defence last year and I can only see this team improving at both ends of the floor.
6MOY: Lou Williams
Historically this award is about getting buckets and guess who does this the best off the bench? yep, Lou Will. He averaged a career high in PPG and APG last season and I believe he can replicate these numbers. I cant see the Clippers making the playoffs but this should not hamper his chances at going back2back in this award. He received 97 out of 101 1st place votes and I cant see much changing the season.
COTY: Quin Snyder
Leading the Jazz to a 48 win season and then knocking out the favoured OKC in the 1st round made people TAKE NOTE (pun intended) of the Jazz. Admittedly Donovan Mitchell received most of the praise and was rightly voted 2nd place in the ROTY race but Quin Snyder is a very good coach. He lost Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert missed nearly 30 games but they stayed competitive. Swaping Hill for Rubio paid off and putting trust in Mitchell may have created a future superstar. Things look good in Utah and even though they aren't in the mix for a championship (I mean, who really is?) I still expect them to overachieve and maybe pip OKC and the Lakers to the 3rd seed.
MIP: Nikola Jokic
The Joker. What a player this guy is, the real unicorn in my eyes and no big man can do what he does. Coming off a heartbreaking season where the Nuggets missed the playoffs by one game while averaging 18,10 and 6. I can see him boosting these numbers to 21,11 and 7 which are MVP type numbers. Denver will surely make the playoffs with Millsap back healthy, IT off the bench, the further improvements of Murray and Harris and the possibility of MPJ (The steal of the draft) helping them out. Having said all this, Jokic is still their main man and I can see his numbers becoming more valuable this coming season.
ROTY: Luka Doncic
I nearly went for the easy joke and said Ben Simmons but Fresh Prince hate is not tolerated round here. In all seriousness, Doncic has an impressive CV so far and has played against better competition than his rookie counterparts. As we know W's do not factor into the ROTY for obvious reasons and I cant see Dallas being good. They will be competitive but no real chance of a playoff spot. Doncic is a well round player who seems like he will slot straight in and work well with DSJ. He will be a threat with or without the ball and I expect his number to be at about 14-5-5. His European heritage has led to people sleeping on him. Regardless of that he was selected 3rd by the Hawks and traded to Dallas and I can see the team who passed on him regretting this.
So, there we have it, my very early prediction for the season awards, lets wait and see.
Enjoy the season!
