NBA Awards Show 2018: Winners, Voting Results and Twitter Reaction
The NBA honored the best players in the league Monday night during the 2018 NBA Awards show.
Houston Rockets guard James Harden collected the night's top honor, beating out Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis for the 2017-18 Most Valuable Player Award.
Here are the full award winners:
2017-18 NBA Awards
Most Valuable Player: James Harden, Houston Rockets
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams, Los Angeles Clippers
Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors
Harden Was the Obvious MVP Choice
Harden was the MVP runner-up in 2015 and 2017, but he wasn't going to be denied in 2018—nor should he have been. The Rockets guard averaged a league-high 30.4 points per game and helped Houston finish with the NBA's best record (65-17).
Some wanted to make an MVP case for Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James:
There's no question the Cavs would be a lottery team without James, but they labored through the regular season en route to earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
James wasn't blameless for the team's struggles, either. While having LeBron is clearly better than not having LeBron, he casts a large shadow. The Cavaliers couldn't go a few weeks without becoming engulfed in internal turmoil.
Harden, on the other hand, helped make the Rockets a genuine challenger to the Golden State Warriors and did so while remaining a hyper-efficient scorer. Harden also had little trouble adjusting to Chris Paul's arrival and catering his game to accommodate the nine-time All-Star.
And for all of the deserved criticism Harden received for his defense, he boasted a 104.7 defensive rating, per NBA.com. James, on the other hand, sported a career-worst defensive rating (110.9).
In a vacuum, James is the better player and will be remembered as one of the greatest talents in league history. But Harden had the more deserving MVP case in 2018.
Raptors Justified in Firing Casey Despite Winning COY
Dwane Casey was put in the somewhat awkward position of accepting Coach of the Year for his work with a team that fired him a little over a month ago:
Casey referenced his departure during his acceptance speech:
The Toronto Raptors' disappointing playoff exit shouldn't obscure the fact Casey was a deserving winner. Toronto had the East's best record, and the team's 59 wins were a franchise record.
Along with that, Casey's win shouldn't have anybody second-guessing the Raptors' decision to move on from the coach. The team has clear problems with the roster, and Casey compounded those issues by getting out-coached by Tyronn Lue in the second round of the postseason.
Casey is a very good coach, but his tenure had run its course in Toronto. The Raptors—as currently constructed—have gone as far as Casey can take them, and a coaching change was far easier than trying to trade DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry.
Firing Casey is the last gambit general manager Masai Ujiri has left to try to capitalize on the team's championship window.
NBA Awards Show Lacked Drama Thanks to Clear-Cut Winners
The idea of an NBA awards event in the same vein of the Academy Awards sounds good in theory. It can be one last night to savor the season and honor the top players. But Monday was evidence how the show needs drama to be interesting and entertaining.
Almost all of the awards had a clear favorite entering the night, and the results overwhelmingly ended as expected.
Not to mention, James' decision not to attend the show eliminated any doubt as to how the MVP vote would shake out. ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin reported earlier in the day Jordan Clarkson and John Holland were going to be the Cavs' representatives:
There's little chance James would've skipped the show if he thought he was going to win.
With any luck, the award races will be more competitive in 2019 to add some intrigue to next year's NBA Awards show.
