2012 NBA Season Awards: My Thoughts

The NBA awards for the 2012 season have been given and I want to share my thoughts on them.  I can’t say that I agree with all of them either.

 

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James – Miami Heat

I completely disagree with this, because I feel that Kevin Durant and Tony Parker were much more important to their teams this season.  Yes, LeBron had one of the best overall seasons statistics wise, but his team just has too much star power for him to even be considered EVER in my opinion.  LeBron had the stats, but he still doesn’t show the ability to be the go to player in clutch situations.

Durant led the NBA in scoring for the 3rd season in a row as well as having one of the league’s top records.  His downfall in this voting was Russell Westbrook, because coming down the stretch of the season Westbrook just started shooting far too much.  Durant was the runaway winner throughout the season, but somehow the voters view of it differed from mine.

Tony Parker, on the other hand led the Spurs to the NBA’s best record even with the aging Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili missing time with injuries and “rest.”  Parker easily had the best season of his career on a team that not many felt had a chance to be that good this season.  I think both Durant and Parker should have had more votes than James, especially because Dwyane Wade had such a great season as well.

Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs

This is a tough call for me, because Popovich had a great season.  The Spurs overachieved with the older players they have and no one really expected them to have the best record in the NBA (tied with Chicago Bulls).  The problem with Popovich winning this award with me was the fact that the Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau led his team to the same record and without reigning MVP Derrick Rose for most of the season and Richard Hamilton for many games as well.  That fact alone should have made Thibodeau a runaway winner for the COY, but he won last season and the NBA is too political.  Therefore, they didn’t vote him two years in a row.

6th Man of the Year: James Harden – Oklahoma City Thunder

I agree 100% with this selection.  Harden is by far the best bench player in the NBA and could easily start for every other team in the league.  Lou Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers was very important to their team, mostly with his scoring abilities.  Jamal Crawford of the Portland Trail Blazers and Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks also gains consideration every season as well.

Most Improved Player: Ryan Anderson – Orlando Magic

I agree with this selection.  Anderson had a very good season both scoring and rebounding.  He opened things up for a lot of players on the team especially Dwight Howard.  He also led the league in 3 pointers made.  I think that Kyle Lowry of the Houston Rockets would probably have won if he stayed healthy.

Defensive Player of the Year: Tyson Chandler – New York Knicks

I completely disagree with this selection more than the MVP and COY awards.  Serge Ibaka was by far the best defender in the NBA this season.  He led the league in blocks and made every team think before coming into the paint.  Chandler wasn’t even the best defender on the Knicks this season.  Iman Shumpert was a much better defender, especially on the ball.  The NBA voters need a do-over on this one.

Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving – Cleveland Cavaliers

This was the easiest decision for the NBA this season, since there weren’t any other rookies that could even be in the discussion with Irving, except maybe Ricky Rubio, but he missed most of the season with his injury and his numbers still weren’t in comparison.  The Cavaliers replaced LeBron with a very talented and exciting player to watch.  I’m not comparing the two, but the franchise is headed back in the right direction.