NBA Awards offers some intrigue for Rip City, despite no Trail Blazers nominees

It’s never a dull day on the NBA beat, even as we stare bleary-eyed at the long, hot, basketball-less summer void. But first: The NBA Awards!

The second annual NBA Awards show hits the airwaves Monday night. There aren’t any Blazers in the running for any of the major awards, but Damian Lillard did get a shout-out in one fan category.

Back in April, the league announced finalists for its collection of highlight-inspired accolades; fans voted on NBA.com and social media. The categories: Dunk of the Year, Clutch Shot of the Year, Assist of the Year, Block of the Year, Handle of the Year, and Best Style.

#ClutchShotOfTheYear

The league nominated Lillard for Clutch Shot of the Year for his Nov. 2, 2017, game-winner against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Moda Center.

Alas, the fans chose this LeBron James game-winner against the Minnesota Timberwolves — even though he pushed off his defender, Jimmy Butler.

Lillard did make the All-NBA First Team, so I guess Rip City shouldn’t feel too bad about him losing out on a fan-voted “clutch” award. We all know how clutch Dame is; we don’t need verification.

The other winners:

Dunk of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Assist of the Year: LeBron James

Block of the Year: Anthony Davis

Handle of the Year: Kyrie Irving

Best Style: Russell Westbrook

The five winners of the fan-voted categories are finalists for the Play of the Year. You can still vote for that one here. The winner will be announced Monday night at the NBA Awards. (Broadcast is at 6 p.m. PST on TNT from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.)

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No Blazers Up For NBA Awards

There aren’t any Blazers up for any of the league’s other major awards. (Or perhaps we should say: Lillard is not up for any of the league’s other major awards.)

Here are the finalists, with winners to be announced during Monday’s broadcast. (My predictions for the winners in each category are in italics.)

Most Valuable Player

Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
James Harden, Houston Rockets
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Rookie of the Year

Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Sixth Man Award

Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
Lou Williams, LA Clippers

Defensive Player of the Year

Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Next: Trent Jr. could fill hole left by Allen Crabbe

Most Improved Player

Clint Capela, Houston Rockets
Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers

Coach of the Year

Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors
Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics