RCP Roundtable: NBA Awards
By Jakob Ashlin
Rookie of the Year
Trae Young’s second half of the season has been very impressive, but I cannot ignore his rough first half. His 41.9% field goal percentage is also alarming. Doncic had the more consistent season on the better team.
Luka Doncic seemed as if he’d run away with this award, but with the way, Trae Young played down the stretch he may just have caught him. A big second half has Young’s numbers on the season at 19 points per game, a 32.7% 3-point shooting percentage, and an average of over eight assists per game. Young has Atlanta excited about the future of their team as he led the Hawks to some gutsy wins in the second half. Doncic may win this award, but I’ll go ahead and give to Young who’s also deserving.
Piper: Luka Doncic
This is another close call. Trae Young has made a very strong case for himself the second half of the season, but Luka has been solid all year long. So, it’s hard to take it away from him just because Trae Young has had a spectacular half of a season. Doncic is putting up 21.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, and 5.9 apg. While Trae Young made up a lot of ground the second half of the season, his stat line still doesn’t quite reach Doncic’s. Young is averaging 19.1 ppg, 3.7rpg, and 8.1 apg while also shooting at a slightly lower percentage from the field than Doncic. This is definitely a much closer race than I expected a few months ago, but I think the ROY is still pretty clearly Luka Doncic.
Corn: Trae Young
This may be a homer pick, considering I’m a Sooner fan, but hear me out here. Yes, his first half wasn’t as good as Luka’s, but his second half was simply record breaking. He passed Michael Jordan and Steph Curry to move to 2nd all time in 30 point and 10 assist games as a rookie with six.
Now let’s compare Luka & Trae’s numbers this season. Trae is putting up 19.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game. Luka is tallying 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. If you look at the points responsible for per game (assuming each player’s assist was just a mere 2 points each) Trae would be responsible for 35 points a game to Lukas 33.
Now to my final and the most interesting point. Luka is sitting at 1,526 points, while Trae is at 1,549 points. Trae has been healthier and has missed less games, something I think people should consider with the fact that he averages more points per game. A fun way to resolve the ROY issue would be to award it to the player who has the most total points on the season. Now, I know Luka is the favorite here. And it is rookie of the YEAR, but I made these points just to show you that it is MUCH closer than what you may think.