Here’s The Bee’s 2020 NBA awards ballot for MVP, Rookie of the Year, All-NBA and more
Each year a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters cast their ballots for the NBA awards. Voting is typically based on the 82-game regular season, but 2020 has been different.
This year voting was based on games played through March 11, when the NBA suspended its season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ballots were due July 28. Finalists for the league’s six major individual awards were announced Saturday. Winners will be revealed during TNT’s coverage of the season restart in the NBA bubble, but a date for those announcements has not been released.
Giannis Antetokounmpo might be on the verge of joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Antetokounmpo appears to have done enough to beat out LeBron James and James Harden for MVP, but he faces stiffer competition from Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert for DPOY.
The Rookie of the Year race features rising stars like Ja Morant and Zion Williamson. The Most Improved Player pool is loaded with the likes of Luka Doncic, Brandon Ingram and Bam Adebayo. The field for the Coach of the Year award is a collection of the brightest minds in the game.
Here’s how I voted for the six major awards, as well as the All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams.
* Finalists listed in alphabetical order
Most Valuable Player
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
- James Harden, Houston Rockets
- Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
- Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
Finalists: Antetokounmpo, Harden, James
LeBron was the league’s most valuable player over the past decade with eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances and three championships, but he isn’t the MVP this season.
Antetokounmpo got my vote again this year after capturing his first MVP award last season, and this time I believe he will pick up another piece of hardware further down the ballot. “The Greek Freak” is so freakishly good at both ends of the floor he’s having one of the most efficient scoring seasons of all time and is also a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Antetokounmpo’s traditional stats are eye-popping enough. He is averaging 29.8 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, but he’s been so good he only averages 30.8 minutes because the Bucks usually hold big leads in the fourth quarter. If Antetokounmpo played 36 minutes per game like a number of other NBA stars, he’d be averaging 34.8 points, 16.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists. That is vastly superior to James’ per-36 averages of 26.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 10.6 assists. Antetokounmpo’s advantages over King James are also reflected in advanced stats such as win shares, box plus/minus and value over replacement player (VORP).
Antetokounmpo’s season has been so good it deserves some historical perspective. In 1961-62, Wilt Chamberlain averaged an NBA-record 50.4 points, 25.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, shooting 50.6% from the field. He also averaged an equally incredible 48.5 minutes per game because Philadelphia Warriors coach Frank McGuire played him virtually every minute of every game and overtime session. Now compare those numbers to Antetokounmpo’s per-48 averages: 46.4 points, 21.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 55.4% shooting.
Defensive Player of the Year
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
- Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Finalists: Antetokounmpo, Davis, Gobert
Only two players have won MVP and DPOY in the same season. Jordan did it in 1988. Olajuwon did it in 1994. Now Antetokounmpo has a chance to join them.
The case for Antetokounmpo’s DPOY candidacy can’t be illustrated as easily as his MVP candidacy using traditional measures. He only averages 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals — partly because he plays less than 31 minutes per game — but advanced metrics have enhanced our understanding of defensive impact and they clearly show just how dominant Antetokounmpo is on the defensive end.
Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in defensive rating, defensive rebounds, defensive field-goal percentage, defensive box plus/minus and defensive win shares. He’s a 6-foot-11, 242-pound power forward with a 7-3 wingspan. He spends about a quarter of his minutes at center, but he is versatile, agile and defensively sound enough to step out on guards and wings at all levels.
With his ability to guard all five positions, Antetokounmpo anchors a defense that leads the league in defensive rating, defensive rebounds, defensive rebound percentage and points allowed in the paint. The Bucks are also second in opponents’ second-chance points and third in blocks.
Gobert is still an imposing paint protector, but he isn’t switchable like Antetokounmpo. Davis comes closer to matching Antetokounmpo’s versatility, but he doesn’t have the same motor. Gobert has been named Defensive Player of the Year twice and Davis could still win the award one day, but this year Antetokounmpo finds himself in very rare air with Jordan and Olajuwon.
Rookie of the Year
- Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
- Kendrick Nunn, Miami Heat
- Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies
Finalists: Morant, Nunn, Williamson
This could have been an amazing race between Morant and Williamson, but Williamson missed the first 44 games after undergoing knee surgery and appeared in only 19 games before the shutdown.
Williamson was an absolute force for the New Orleans Pelicans during that stretch. He would have won over more voters had the season continued — I was open to the thought — but some of us wound up leaving him off our ballots because he missed so many games in a shortened season.
Not everyone felt that way. Williamson is among the finalists, so we know he garnered his share of votes. The voters who thought he did enough to qualify for the award might have picked him to win considering he averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds while converting on 58.3% of his field-goal attempts. That didn’t feel right to me, not with other deserving candidates who produced much bigger bodies of work.
Morant has started all 65 games for a young Memphis team that emerged as a surprising playoff contender this season. He is averaging 17.8 points, 7.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Nunn has started all 62 games, averaging 15.2 points for a Heat squad that is vying for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Clarke, another part of the young nucleus in Memphis, is averaging 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field and 37.7% from 3-point range.
Most Improved Player
- Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
- Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
- Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
Finalists: Adebayo, Doncic, Ingram
There’s a historical bias against second-year players in balloting for this award and it feels funny calling Doncic the most improved player in the league following an extraordinary rookie season. Those factors might cost Doncic the award, but in a deep field of much improved players I could find no one who matched Luka’s leap.
Doncic won the Rookie of the Year award last season after averaging 21.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists, numbers no rookie has produced since Oscar Robertson in 1960-61. So what is Doncic doing for an encore? He’s averaging 29.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists. He has improved his field-goal percentage from 42.7% to 46.3%. His free-throw percentage has improved by almost four points and his number of free-throw attempts per game has increased from 6.7 to 9.3.
Doncic went from missing the All-Star Game in 2019 to becoming an MVP candidate who will lead his team into the playoffs in 2020. In my mind, that’s the biggest and most difficult leap a player can make. Ingram and Adebayo became first-time All-Stars this season, too, but neither became an MVP candidate.
Ingram is another strong candidate for this award. He averaged 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists with the Lakers last season. This season with the Pelicans, he has averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists. His field-goal percentage declined slightly, but his 3-point shooting has improved from 33% to 39.1% and his free-throw shooting jumped from 67.5% to 85.1%. Ingram’s defensive rating remained unchanged at 112, but his offensive rating improved by eight points to 112.
Adebayo’s growth is in his third season is undeniable. He’s helping to facilitate Miami’s offense, has emerged as the team’s third-leading scorer and will likely earn All-Defensive honors. His averages jumped from 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists to 16.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists, but some of that can be attributed to a 25% increase in minutes. In fact, his offensive, defensive and net ratings were not quite as good as they were the past two seasons.
Sixth Man of the Year
- Dennis Schröder, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Montrezl Harrell, Los Angeles Clippers
- Lou Williams, Los Angeles Clippers
Finalists: Harrell, Schroder, Williams
This is an extremely tight race between Schröder and Harrell with Williams, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, lurking in the background. The vote could go either way, but I gave the nod to Dennis the Menace.
Schröder is averaging 18.9 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting career highs of 46.9% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range. He has logged nearly 2,000 minutes off the bench for an Oklahoma City squad that smashed expectations to contend for a top seed in the Western Conference despite losing Russell Westbrook and Paul George last summer.
Harrell would be a worthy recipient of the award as well. He is averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Clippers, who will enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the West. Harrell was a finalist last year as well, but the award went to Williams.
Williams won this award in 2015, 2018 and 2019. He has appeared in 1,000 games in 15 NBA seasons with just 118 starts. Now, at age 33, he’s still averaging 18.2 points in a backup role, but this year he isn’t even the top Sixth Man on his own team.
Coach of the Year
- Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors
- Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee Bucks
- Billy Donovan, Oklahoma City Thunder
Finalists: Budenholzer, Donovan, Nurse
This is another deep field with the likes of Taylor Jenkins, Erik Spoelstra, Brad Stevens, Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers and Nate McMillan finishing on the fringes behind Nurse, Budenholzer and Donovan. Budenholzer and Donovan did extraordinary work that will be reflected in the honors and awards bestowed upon their players this season, but Nurse should be named Coach of the Year award.
It took Nurse more than two decades to join the NBA coaching ranks. He toiled in relative obscurity for 24 years at schools like Northern Iowa, Grand View University and South Dakota and far-flung outposts in the British Basketball League, United States Basketball League and G League before joining Dwane Casey’s staff in Toronto in 2013.
Nurse was a finalist for Coach of the Year last season when he led the Raptors to their first NBA championship. Then Kawhi bolted for Los Angeles and Nurse had to reinvent the Raptors around Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby and Marc Gasol.
What did Nurse do? He led the Raptors to a 46-18 record before the shutdown — the same record they had through 64 games during their championship season — and now he will lead them into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
All-NBA Team
First team
F Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
C Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
G LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
G James Harden, Houston Rockets
Second team
F Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
F Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
C Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
G Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
G Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder
Third team
F Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
F Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
C Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
G Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
G Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
All-Defensive Team
First team
F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
F Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
C Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
G Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
G Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Second team
F Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
F Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
C Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks
G Kris Dunn, Chicago Bulls
G Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
All-Rookie Team
First team
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies
Kendrick Nunn, Miami Heat
Terence Davis, Toronto Raptors
Second team
Eric Paschall, Golden State Warriors
P.J. Washington, Charlotte Hornets
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia 76ers
Coby White, Chicago Bulls
