NBA Awards Show 2019: Full List of Awards and TV Schedule
June 21, 2019
While the confetti has fallen on the 2018-19 NBA season, the curtain hasn't dropped yet.
That will happen Monday, when the league rolls out the red carpet for its third annual NBA Awards show at the Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.
Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal will host this year's festivities, while Charles Barkley, Samuel L. Jackson and Tiffany Haddish are among the presenters. Robin Roberts will receive the Sager Strong Award, while Magic Johnson and Larry Bird will fittingly be co-recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
After laying out the scheduling information, we'll take a closer look at the six annual awards and predict who will take home the hardware.
What: 2019 NBA Awards Show
When: Monday, June 24, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Barker Hangar in Los Angeles
Watch: TNT
Awards
Most Valuable Player
Nominees: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Paul George (OKC), James Harden (HOU)
No disrespect to George, who had a dominant campaign at both ends of the floor, but this is a two-man race.
Harden, last season's winner, pumped his production into overdrive. His 36.1 points per game were the most in three decades, while his stat line of 36 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four triples was the first of its kind.
Antetokounmpo transformed the Milwaukee Bucks from a 44-win team that lost in the opening round of the 2018 playoffs into a 60-win powerhouse that reached the conference finals. He was one of only two players to rank among the top six in scoring and rebounding, plus he was top 15 in blocks and top 30 in assists.
Prediction: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rookie of the Year
Nominees: Deandre Ayton (PHO), Luka Doncic (DAL), Trae Young (ATL)
While it's too early to say for certain, this season's rookie crop already looks like an all-timer. The strength of these nominees shows as much.
Ayton averaged a double-double, shot nearly 60 percent from the field, posted a 20.5 player efficiency rating and has no shot at winning. That's how good Young and Doncic were.
Young was one of only four players to average at least 19 points and eight assists, which is remarkable since he really didn't find his rhythm until after the All-Star break (24.7 points, 9.2 assists).
That second-half surge made this interesting, but Doncic's consistency is too much to overcome. He was just the second rookie to average 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Prediction: Luka Doncic
Sixth Man
Nominees: Montrezl Harrell (LAC), Domantas Sabonis (IND), Lou Williams (LAC)
No, you're eyes aren't playing tricks on you—the Los Angeles Clippers really do have two of the three finalists. Their bench was every bit as brilliant as you'd expect, averaging over five more points than any other second unit.
Williams, already a two-time winner in this category, played one of his best seasons to date, pacing the 48-win team in points (20.0 per game) and assists (5.4). Harrell was both the Clippers' energizer and an offensive spark plug in his own right. He averaged 22.7 points per 36 minutes and shot 61.5 percent from the field.
Sabonis shouldn't be overlooked, though. He provided nightly doses of 14.1 points on 59.0 percent shooting, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while helping the Indiana Pacers secure the fifth seed in the East despite losing All-Star Victor Oladipo to a season-ending knee injury in January.
Prediction: Lou Williams
Defensive Player of the Year
Nominees: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Paul George (OKC), Rudy Gobert (UTA)
Antetokounmpo's 3.53 defensive real plus-minus was the best among starting non-centers, per ESPN.com. George's 3.08 ranked 17th overall and made him the only perimeter player inside the top 30.
But Gobert's 4.35 was tops among everyone, and with good reason. His combination of length, mobility and sharp instincts allowed him to anchor the interior better than anyone.
He ranked fourth in both blocks and boards, and he keyed a Utah Jazz defense that surrendered the fewest points per 100 possessions from January to April.
Prediction: Rudy Gobert
Most Improved Player
Nominees: De'Aaron Fox (SAC), D'Angelo Russell (BKN), Pascal Siakam (TOR)
Fox deserves a mention, both for his progression and that of the Sacramento Kings, but he's a long shot at best.
Russell, the second overall pick in 2015, made huge strides in both volume and efficiency, culminating in his first trip to the All-Star Game.
Siakam, the 27th selection a year later, made a monumental leap from energetic reserve to semi-featured starter. The degree of improvement and the fact it happened on a better team, the champion Toronto Raptors, probably gives the big man this award.
Prediction: Pascal Siakam
Coach of the Year
Nominees: Mike Budenholzer (MIL), Michael Malone (DEN), Doc Rivers (LAC)
Malone helped the Denver Nuggets climb from the cusp of the playoff picture to the West's No. 2 seed, although it's tough to tell how much of that was him and how much was the maturation of the young roster.
Rivers did the most with the least among this trio. The Los Angeles Clippers did not have an All-Star and traded their top scorer, Tobias Harris, for future assets at the deadline. This could have been the best coaching campaign of the 57-year-old's career, and he's steered a championship vessel before.
Budenholzer, though, was arguably the biggest offseason addition for a Milwaukee team that led the league in wins (60) and net rating (plus-8.6). He changed up the Bucks' defense and spread out their offense, and both were top-four units.
Prediction: Mike Budenholzer
Other awards scheduled to be given out are the NBA Cares Community Assist Award, Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award and NBA Sportsmanship Award.
Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.