Yama Hazheer's 2007-2008 NBA Player Awards

Most Valuable Player

Kobe Bryant

So many excuses will come with Kobe winning the MVP. If the Lakers don’t get first place, they will say he can’t lead a team. If his teammates numbers don’t go up like Chris Paul’s did, they will say he can’t make his teammates better. If he wins more games with Gasol then he did without him, they will say he can only win with a big man. Tons of excuses pile on to this man, yet he is the best basketball player on the planet today, and the Most Valuable Player in the NBA of this season. Paul has had a great season, but the Hornets haven’t had as many injuries as the Lakers have had this year. Nearly everyone on the Lakers roster has been injured this season, yet Bryant still carried them to 50+ wins and clinched the Pacific Division title. The NBA will probably give the MVP to Chris Paul, but Kobe Bryant deserves it even more.

Rookie of the Year

Kevin Durant

I want to give it to Al Horford, or even Luis Scola. They have had just as good seasons as Durant, but they are on playoff teams. The reason I give it to Durant is because the rookie of the year award isn’t like the MVP. It’s not whose most valuable to their team; it’s who has had the best individual season. Al Thornton has also stepped up tremendously in this second half of the season. It will be a pretty close race but I can’t see Durant losing this award. From his high scoring games, to his heroic shots this season, Kevin Durant will win the Rookie of the Year award.

6th Man of the Year

Leandro Barbosa 

Manu could have easily won this trophy, but he started too many games to qualify for this award. Meanwhile, Barbosa had averaged nearly 16 points coming of off the bench and shoots an impress 39 percent from beyond the arc. He has been a catalyst for the Phoenix Suns and brings in lots of energy from the bench which matches the Suns style of play. With the way Barbosa has played this season, you really can’t deny him of being the best bench player in the league.

Most Improved Player

Hedo Turkoglu

Hedo Turkoglu is having a spectacular season. After Rashard Lewis got a massive amount of money, everyone was expecting him to be the best player on the team after Dwight Howard, but Hedo just proved the whole world wrong by proving to be a great scorer, passer, and even a clutch player. He is in the same class as Lebron and Kobe when it comes to the most fourth quarter points, yes you heard that correctly. He averaged 6 more points a game, 3 more assists a game, and 2 more rebounds a game than he did last year. After many felt he was snubbed in the all star game, he continued to play great and not let the decision bring him down. Hedo deserves this award more than anyone in the NBA.

Defensive Player of the Year

Kevin Garnett 

I was most skeptical about this award. So many players in the NBA deserve this; players like: Marucs Camby, Josh Smith, Tim Duncan, and Shane Battier have all had phenomenal defensive seasons. What separates Garnett from all of them is being the anchor of the Boston Celtics defense. He does not have to score anymore to change how he impacts a game. He can flat out stop you on the defensive end. His defensive numbers don’t stand out like Marcus Camby’s, but Garnett could lead his whole team to play defense, unlike a Marcus Camby who plays on one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Both are incredible defenders, but I’ll go with The Big Ticket on this one.

Coach of the Year

Byron Scott

One of the hardest awards of this year is defiantly this one. Rick Adelman and Byron Scoot both deserve to have this award, but in the end I give the nod to Scott. The Hornets had only won 39 games last season, and now they have won 54 and the season is not even finished yet. Scott has really helped Chris Paul and the rest of this team win. He has brought in the right attitude in on this season. Not many people predicted this out of this squad, but the mentality that Coach Scott brings to the huddle must inspire a young player like Chris Paul to lead the team to this many wins. Scott has taken the Nets to the finals 2 consecutive years, let’s see if he can take the Hornets that far this season.

All NBA Teams

1st Team
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: LeBron James
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Dwight Howard

2nd Team
PG: Steve Nash
SG: Tracy McGrady
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Amare Stoudemire

3rd Team
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Manu Ginobilli
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Marcus Camby