Mid-Season NBA Awards

MVP: Lebron James

With averages of 30.9 PPG, 7.4 APG and 8.0 RPG, James should be a lock for MVP. In addition, he’s absolutely carried his team on his back all season. He is starting to look more and more like the second-coming of the Great One.

Defensive Player:

Josh Smith Averaging 3.1 blocks per game along with 1.7 steals per game, he doesn’t get enough credit for his defense. It’s about time he gets the recognition he deserves.

Coach Of The Year:

Phil Jackson Jackson has managed to hold his team together through a massive amount of controversy that has included trade demands by their franchise player. While there are a couple of other deserving candidates, Phil Jackson’s work this year should definitely earn him the award.

Most Improved:

Chris Kaman Going from a little-heard name to an All-Star caliber player, Kaman has made a massive transformation this season.

Comeback Player Of The Year:

Shaquille O’Neal. This was a very hard award to decide upon, as very few players that had down years statistically last year actually made a “come-back” this year.

However, I feel that Shaq has definitely made a comeback in terms of his significance. Since joining the Suns, Shaq is averaging over 11 rebounds per game and is the key catalyst for the new-found physical aspect of the Suns’ game.

Rookie Of The Year:

Kevin Durant. While Kevin has struggled at times, his scoring ability has been solid since day 1. If this season is an accurate foreshadow of what‘s to come, we may be seeing a very special player develop before our eyes.

Sixth Man Of The Year:

Manu Ginobli Despite not being in the starting lineup for most of the season due to his effectiveness off the bench, Ginobli has produced so prolifically that he truly deserved to appear in the All- Star game, and it’s a shame that he wasn’t selected. For the sixth man of the year award, however, the choice is a no-brainer.

1st Team All-NBA

Point Guard: Chris Paul

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant

Small Forward: Lebron James

Power Forward: Kevin Garnett

Center: Dwight Howard

1st Team Defense

Point Guard: Chris Paul

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant

Small Forward: Bruce Bowen

Power Forward: Josh Smith

Center: Marcus Camby