NBA Awards Show 2018: Full Voting Results for MVP, Rookie of the Year, More
June 26, 2018
The NBA released full voting results for every major award Tuesday on the heels of Monday night's NBA Awards show.
Most notably, Houston Rockets guard James Harden garnered 86 of the 101 first-place votes for MVP, and finished with 965 points. Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James received the other 15 first-place votes and finished second with 738 points, while New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis was third with 445 points.
The only other player to hit triple-digits in points for MVP voting was Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, who finished fourth with 207.
The closest vote among player awards was Rookie of the Year, which resulted in Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers winning with 481 points and 90 first-place votes. Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was second with 11 first-place votes and 323 points, while Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum came in third with 101 points.
Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year were all relative blowouts.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert was named Defensive Player of the Year with 466 points and 89 first-place votes, Sixers center Joel Embiid was second with 163 points and two first-place votes, and Davis was third with 139 points and five first-place votes.
Several other players received first-place votes as well, including Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George (two), Celtics forward Al Horford (one), Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (one) and Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (one).
Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo dominated the field in Most Improved Player voting, as the All-Star reeled in 99 first-place votes and 499 points. Rockets center Clint Capela was second with 99 points and one first-place vote, while Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie was third with 50 points and one first-place vote.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams was named Sixth Man of the Year for the second time in his career with 495 points and 97 first-place votes.
He was followed by Rockets guard Eric Gordon with 246 points and three first-place votes, and then Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet with 64 points and one first-place vote.
Coach of the Year was among the most intriguing races entering the NBA Awards, and it was also one of the closest in voting results.
Former Raptors head coach Dwane Casey won with 292 points and 39 first-place votes, but he was followed closely by Quin Snyder of the Jazz (217 points, 21 first-place votes) and Brad Stevens of the Celtics (203 points, 23 first-place votes).
First-place votes also went to Brett Brown of the Sixers (11), Mike D'Antoni of the Rockets (four) and Nate McMillan of the Pacers (two).
Despite winning Coach of the Year, Casey was fired by the Raptors after getting eliminated by the Cavs in the second round of the playoffs.
Casey was subsequently hired as the Detroit Pistons' new head coach.