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.
.@KingJames of the @cavs takes home the 2018 #ClutchShotOfTheYear!
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 17, 2018
Catch the #NBAAwards - 6/25 on TNT! pic.twitter.com/HSjNU8yx85
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