Banter's 2015-16 NBA Awards

With the regular season running on fumes and all but one playoff spot decided, now seems like a pretty safe time to roll out my selections for this season's NBA hardware; before I read a bunch of analysts' picks and have my objectivity poisoned by groupthink.

This year's awards offered contests from every end of the spectrum: a few very competitive battles, an impasse of reluctant mediocrity, and two outright romps. So who takes home the hardware? Envelopes please...

All Rookie Teams:
First- G-D'Angelo Russell, G-Devin Booker, F-Kristaps Porgingis, F-Jahlil Okafor, C- Karl-Anthony Towns
Second: G-Emmanuel Mudiay, G-Jonathon Simmons, F-Justise Winslow, F-Myles Turner, C- Nikola Jokic

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS
The ROY race started off as an intriguing three-headed argument that Towns eventually left in his dust. While Kristaps Porzingis could've easily taken it most seasons, Towns was nothing short of historic. He beasted through Sam Mitchell's stubborn refusal to play him more than 30 mpg most of the season, putting up per-36 numbers frighteningly similar to Tim Duncan's landmark rookie year, only demonstrating greater range and athleticism.

It's very seldom that you can watch a guy play for one season and say "If he doesn't get hurt, he's going to be a Hall of Famer". You can with Towns. This should be unanimous, even among what's shaping up to be a rookie class for the ages.
Regards To: Kristaps Porzingis, Jahlil Okafor, Nikola Jokic

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: CJ MCCOLLUM
This award was a doozy, with a bunch of guys putting up monster years in MIP context. Jae Crowder came somewhat out of left field, becoming one of the NBA's most coveted 3-&-D guys. Draymond Green doubled down on last year's 2nd-place Most Improved finish, taking another, bolder, leap to MVP candidate and statistical unicorn. Speaking of MVPs and 2nd place, that's very likely where Steph Curry will wind up in this year's voting, escalating his dominance to a realm beyond our familiarity.

Those cases notwithstanding, McCollum's all-around explosion is just too much to ignore, regardless of his increased minutes or opportunity. The leap he made in scoring itself - from 7 to 21 ppg - is seismic enough that only a single player (Dale Ellis) has eclipsed it in the MIP's thirty-year history. Then also consider McCollum's doubled his steals, doubled his rebounds, and quadrupled his assists, while improving his shooting across the board. The Blazers' supremely unlikely run to the playoffs is another feather in his cap, and rounds out one of the most compelling Most Improved arguments we've ever seen.
Regards To: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jae Crowder

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR: EVAN TURNER

A year of "What-Ifs" for this award. The only reason there's a discussion at all is because Hassan Whiteside is ineligible by a slim margin. Then there was Jrue Holiday, who was brilliant when healthy, but seldom healthy. Zach Randolph was an emerging candidate, but Memphis' injury onslaught ruined his bid. Enes Kanter put up an astonishing top-10 PER season, but I can't in good conscience disregard that he also ranked 446th in defensive real plus-minus.

Nobody really screams "winner" this year. My desperate search for a worthy 6MOY came down to five players: Jeremy Lin, Jamal Crawford, Ryan Anderson, Evan Turner and Will Barton; none of whom had stellar seasons, but any of whom could realistically win this award.

My vote goes to Turner by the narrowest of margins, for his all-around impact and feisty two-way play on one of this season's more deserving teams.
Regards To: Will Barton, Ryan Anderson, Jamal Crawford

COACH OF THE YEAR: BRAD STEVENS
This award was way too close to call this year, with so many coaches putting up very compelling arguments: Gregg Popovich steered the Spurs on a historic pace with a new identity. Terry Stotts shockingly jump-started Portland's rebuild by two or three years. Dave Joerger weathered a historic number of injuries to lead Memphis into the playoffs with a D-League roster. Rick Carlisle kept the Mavs competitive with a plethora of factors stacked against him. Dwane Casey made the most of his defensive upgrades, presiding over the Raptors' unlikely Best Season Ever. And if one person had coached the Warriors for the whole season, we wouldn't even be having this debate.

Stevens grabs the COY nod for two reasons: The first being, simply, he's the total package as a coach. He's an X's and O's ace, who's relentlessly creative with lineups and who players like and play hard for. The second is that, unlike so many others, his success has come with a team that wasn't really built to win. Boston's current state is very much that of a rebuild; a franchise stockpiling assets and playing up the trade value of guys who don't necessarily fit together or into the Celtics' long-term plans. Stevens is just too good for his team to tank through the motions, though I doubt many Boston fans will mind.
Regards To: Terry Stotts, Gregg Popovich, Dave Jeorger

All-Defense Teams:
First: G-Kyle Lowry, G-Chris Paul, F-Kawhi Leonard, F-Draymond Green, C-Rudy Gobert
Second: G-Tony Allen, G-Jimmy Butler, F-Paul George, F-Paul Millsap, C-Hassan Whiteside

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: KAWHI LEONARD
I'm no stranger to the concept of selective plays in fantasy basketball, but never before have I just benched players all season against a particular opponent in outright fear. That's more or less what happened this year with Leonard, and it played very seldom to my regret.

Draymond Green deserves a lot of credit for punishing anyone who entered his realm, and making the DPOY a tough call for the second year in a row. But Leonard is just too consistent; too automatic.

Picking one over the other statistically is splitting hairs; Green and Leonard are both among the league leaders in key defensive metrics, with each holding an edge. Draymond's intensity and versatility on D give him a leg up, but Kawhi ultimately lands a haymaker case as the resident stopper on a team that completely pummeled the NBA defensively this year. Another very close call between these two.
Regards To: Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, Kyle Lowry

All-NBA Teams:
First: G-Stephen Curry, G-Chris Paul, F-LeBron James, F-Kawhi Leonard, C-DeMarcus Cousins
Second: G-Russell Westbrook, G-Kyle Lowry, F-Kevin Durant, F-Draymond Green, C- Anthony Davis
Third: G-Damian Lillard, G-James Harden, F-Paul George, F-Paul Millsap, C-Andre Drummond

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: STEPHEN CURRY

You were expecting Ty Lawson?

This was in the bag months ago. What Curry did to the NBA this year was ruthless and unfair; dominating at an unheard-of rate, displaying unseen range and handles, breaking records about as casually as (in)humanly possible.

Even more so than Towns' ROY win, Curry's should be unanimous here; he was the best player in the NBA this year beyond any reasonable doubt, and hopefully the ballots will reflect as such. To any "voter" that disagrees and tries to weave a biased dissenting narrative, please hand in your press pass.
Regards To: Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Chris Paul