Thoughts on the NBA Awards 2018

THE NBA has just ended another season with its annual awards which was held Monday night in Los Angeles.

Like last year, the league dispensed with giving the awards during the playoffs and instead staged the event in a first-class hotel with movie stars mingling with the players.

In the Philippines, only BTV showed the NBA Awards since ABS-CBN S+A, the NBA's free TV partner, was busy with its FIFA World Cup coverage.

Here's my personal opinion on this year's awardees:

Most Valuable Player -- I had no question over James Harden winning the award since he led the Houston Rockets to 65 wins during the regular season and fell just one win short of reaching the NBA Finals. But let's also give credit to the two other finalists. LeBron James singlehandedly led Cleveland to the NBA Finals while Anthony Davis brought his New Orleans Pelicans to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Perhaps if Kevin Durant was a finalist, he would have been hands-down MVP since he led the Golden State Warriors all the way to the title.

Rookie of the Year -- Ben Simmons wasn't a bad choice either but I believe that Donovan Mitchell had the biggest impact because he brought the Utah Jazz past the overrated Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. Of course, Mitchell just visited the Philippines recently so Filipino NBA fans felt he was a sentimental choice.

Coach of the Year -- This is the award where I really shook my head. Come on, Dwayne Casey did steer the Toronto Raptors to 59 wins in the regular season but his sweep loss to Cleveland and his subsequent firing made me feel he wasn't deserving. Boston's Brad Stevens should have won the award for leading the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. And had Boston made the NBA Finals, they would have at least dragged Golden State to five or six games.

Defensive Player of the Year -- Utah's Rudy Gobert was deserving of the award because of his strong presence inside the paint during the Jazz' playoff run. Filipino basketball fans still remember him for his stint playing for the French national team against Gilas in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.

Sixth Man of the Year -- Lou Williams of the LA Clippers won this award for a second time (his first came in 2015 with Toronto). He was the lone bright spot for the Clippers after they lost Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Williams will keep the Clippers competitive next season.

Executive of the Year -- Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets was given this award for guiding his team to 65 regular season wins. If only the Rockets didn't shoot bricks in Game 7 against the Warriors, they would have been in the NBA Finals and probably became the new NBA champs.

Most Improved Player -- Victor Oladipo of Indiana played like a superstar and therefore deserved this award. He made it to the All-Star team and the Pacers almost upset LeBron and the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. He has branched out into singing and even broke into an impromptu song performance during the awards show when he was interviewed by host Anthony Anderson. Coming out of Russell Westbrook's shadow in Oklahoma City surely did Oladipo a lot of good.

Sager Strong Award -- Dikembe Mutombo wore Craig Sager's colorful jacket for his services helping his poor countrymen in his native Congo. Even after he retired as a player, one of the NBA's all-time leaders in shot blocks still gives back to his native country.

Lifetime Achievement Award -- Oscar Robertson was this year's awardee for helping fight for player's rights during his active years as a player. PBA players should follow in The Big O's footsteps particularly since there is no active PBA players union at present.

My suggestion is for the NBA to vote the awardees after the NBA Finals to avoid any possible controversies. But for now, it's time for NBA fans to enjoy the summer by watching the rookies play in the Summer League in Las Vegas while veterans like LeBron, Paul George and Chris Paul negotiate for better deals as free agents.

See you again in October when the NBA opens its brand-new season.