The Dark-Horse Candidate to Win Every Major 2015 NBA Award
NBA award front-runners, step aside. It's time to acknowledge the dark-horse contenders for each of the league's most prominent pieces of hardware.
And while they likely won't be recognized for their efforts, the following players and coaches have all made praise-worthy strides that have been overshadowed by the efforts of superstars like Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Whether it's a certain 22-year-old MVP candidate making history during the tightest race we've seen in years, an underrated bench contributor vying for Sixth Man of the Year honors or a surging first-year scorer throwing his hat in the Rookie of the Year race, each award has an under-the-radar name who figures to finish among the top five in voting.
So get your ballots out and follow along—it's time to shake things up a little.
Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are fighting for their playoff lives, which would ordinarily be a reason to dismiss Brad Stevens' Coach of the Year candidacy.
But considering the context, he deserves more than passing votes at the bottom of the ballot. He should garner consideration as the outright winner.
Boston has no bona fide star to speak of, but that hasn't fazed Stevens. He has used his jumbled collection of youngsters to craft one of the league's most surprising success stories over the past two months.
Despite starting 16-29, the Celtics have made a miraculous turnaround since the start of February. Over the course of that crucial late-season stretch, Boston has won more games than every Eastern Conference team except the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bleacher Report's Michael Pina explained how:
"Stevens spent last year dipping his toes in the NBA's water, adapting to a faster playing style, studying what works and what doesn’t. This season he’s deployed all he learned in Year 1, and we've seen the Celtics play modern, analytically savvy basketball. They run, pass, shoot threes and work together (only five teams have a higher assist/turnover ratio).
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"He’s one of our best young coaches in the league, there’s no doubt about it," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview with Comcast Sportsnet's Mike Gorman, according to Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com.
Now that's a ringing endorsement worthy of hardware.
Sixth Man of the Year: Andre Iguodala, SF, Golden State Warriors
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Yes, Andre Iguodala. The guy who graciously took a backseat for the good of the Golden State Warriors so head coach Steve Kerr could perfect the league's most balanced, versatile rotation.
However, Iguodala hasn't assumed the form of a prototypical Sixth Man of the Year award winner. He's not a volume scorer, which has emerged as a prerequisite of sorts when it comes to the validation of candidacy. Case in point: It's been 20 years since someone (Anthony Mason) won the award averaging fewer than 10 points.
On the season, Iguodala is averaging 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and three assists. From a superficial perspective, those figures shouldn't even put him in the conversation.
But this is about Iguodala's worth outside of the box score.
"Andre's had a fantastic year," Kerr told reporters earlier in March, according to CSNBayArea.com. "If you don't watch all the time, you'd look at the numbers and say, 'He's having his worst year.' He's having a great year."
According to NBA.com, Iguodala owns the highest net rating of any regular bench player (minimum 50 appearances) at plus-13 points per 100 possessions. That's nearly three points clear of the second-place Tyler Hansbrough.
The Warriors' league-leading defensive rating (97.8) also gets bumped to a superior 96.2 when Iguodala is on the floor.
When you consider he's been scorching the net at a 50.3 percent clip since the All-Star break, Iguodala clearly belongs in the running for recognition off the pine.
Rookie of the Year: Nikola Mirotic , F, Chicago Bulls
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Nikola Mirotic was billed as a stretch 4 prior to his arrival, but three-point shooting has represented just a fraction of his production as a rookie.
The Montenegrin has drilled just a shade over 30 percent of his threes (30.4 percent) with the Bulls, which pales in comparison to his mid-range conversion rate of 45.5 percent.
He recently discussed that versatility with reporters, according to Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin:
"I’m trying to do more than just shoot threes. I’m not really shooting a great percentage from the three-point line, so I try to put the ball on the floor, try to make some easy baskets and rebound, and sometimes in the low post. Trying to play a little bit different, not just catch and shoot. Right now it’s a big adjustment for me, playing a little bit different, playing the three.
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And if we're talking about rookies who are most valuable to their team, Mirotic is at the top of the ladder with only one other first-year player in the vicinity.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, he leads all rookies with 5.1 win shares. The Philadelphia 76ers' Nerlens Noel is the only other rookie with more than three.
After ranking second in fourth-quarter scoring behind Jamal Crawford in March, Mirotic is more than a typical rotational rookie—he's emerged as a crunch-time weapon Chicago has opted to lean upon with Derrick Rose banged up.
That's the sort of high-profile dependability that demands respect.
Most Improved Player: Khris Middleton, SF, Milwaukee Bucks
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Milwaukee Bucks swingman Khris Middleton should be prepping for a move into a new tax bracket following his breakout 2014-15 season.
To start things off, here's a look at the soon-to-be restricted free agent's year-over-year improvement:
- 2013-14: 12.1 PTS, 3.8 REB, 2.1 AST, 1.0 STL, 44 percent from the field, 41.4 percent from three
- 2014-15: 13.2 PTS, 4.4 REB, 2.2 AST, 1.5 STL, 45.7 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from three
One of 14 qualified players who is shooting at least 40 percent from three, Middleton has transformed from a nice role player into one of the game's strongest three-and-D weapons.
When he's on the floor, Milwaukee's 25th-ranked offense operates like a league-average unit. Defensively, the Bucks surrender 96.6 points per 100 possessions with Middleton on the perimeter, which would rank No. 1 overall over the course of the regular season.
"I’m quick enough and able to use my length on the smaller guys," Middleton said, according to Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley. "I'm as tall as some of these 4's nowadays when they stretch the floor. Just being versatile, it really helps me out on the offensive end and defensive end to play multiple positions."
Earning his stripes with two-way discipline, Middleton could be compensated handsomely for his award-worthy efforts.
Defensive Player of the Year: Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Antonio Spurs
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As Kawhi Leonard goes, so go the San Antonio Spurs. At least, that's the sentiment holding weight since the All-Star break.
The anchor of San Antonio's second-ranked defense, Leonard has been hounding offensive alpha dogs night after night. When he's been healthy enough to take the floor, the Spurs have recorded a defensive rating of 96.6, which is a 2.8-point improvement from their cumulative mark.
Leonard is not just putting his wingspan and freakishly large hands to good use on the perimeter, though. According to NBA.com, opponents are shooting 5 percent worse than the league average inside of six feet when Leonard is their primary defender.
"With all due respect to Tony Allen and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Leonard is the NBA’s best perimeter defender, a master at wreaking havoc via those freakishly long arms and versatile enough to effectively guard anyone from Eric Bledsoe to LeBron James," Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News wrote.
After missing nearly a month that spanned portions of late December and early January with a hand injury, Leonard is back in business, providing the defending champions with a crucial extra dimension as the postseason approaches.
Most Valuable Player: Anthony Davis, PF, New Orleans Pelicans
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If the New Orleans Pelicans had a playoff spot locked up, Anthony Davis would have an ironclad MVP case. Alas, the Pelicans—like the Oklahoma City Thunder—have dealt with injury-related demons all season that have kept them on the outside looking in.
"Something as ostensibly trivial as New Orleans' record shouldn't disqualify him from consideration given everything else," Bleacher Report's Dan Favale wrote. "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the honor in 1975-76 while playing for a sub-.500 Lakers squad, and Davis is doing now what he did then: pushing boundaries."
Strip the playoff qualifier from the equation, and Davis' numbers have been positively earth-shattering.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Davis is slated to join LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, David Robinson and Dwyane Wade as the only players to crack a player efficiency rating of 30 for a single season. His tally of 30.8 is one point shy of Chamberlain's all-time record (31.8).
With a late boost, Davis will also have a chance to become the first player since Shaq in 2000 to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks over the course of a season.
And then there's the rate at which he's scoring. Somehow, some way, Davis finds a new way to torment opponents each and every night. Turnaround baseline jumpers? No problem. Face-up looks from the free-throw line? Easy. Put the ball on the floor and blow by defenders? Why not.
Although he's attempting the fewest shots of his career within three feet, Davis' conversion rate has skyrocketed to a new personal best (53.5 percent).
That's what unprecedented evolution looks like.
All statistics are current as of games played through April 7 and courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com, unless noted otherwise.
