Yeah, it was rushed. Yeah, it was a bit of shitshow at times. Yeah, this was probably a really dumb year to introduce the modified play-in round.
But this season existed. And to have done it on the turnaround that the NBA and its players did is something fairly remarkable.
While all involved deserve a serious kudos – especially the Toronto Raptors, who were forced to effectively spend the entire season on the road – we're here today to honor those who truly stood out.
Nobody could've blamed a player for having an off year. Between the ongoing pandemic, truncated offseason, and mangled schedule, there existed every plausible reason for someone's head, body, or both to not fully be in the game.
These guys brought it though, and so without further ado, let's hand out the Basketball Banter 2020-21 NBA Awards. Envelopes please...
All-Rookie First Team: LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Saddiq Bey, Immanuel Quickley
All-Rookie Second Team: Jae'Sean Tate, Desmond Bane, Isaiah Stewart, Facundo Campazzo, Cole Anthony
Rookie of the Year - LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
This Rookie of the Year race brings up two important angles when figuring these awards out.
The first – and this is of particular importance this year – is how much to dock a player for missed time. Is each game sidelined a greater portion of a shorter season, and thus a greater detriment? Or should we be more lenient on players who had to weather a condensed schedule on next-to-no turnaround under some very weird conditions?
The other is the intangible factor: How much did a player resonate on a level deeper than individual performance?
LaMelo Ball has missed 21 games of his rookie campaign with a busted wrist, and while he began his leave with what seemed like a bulletproof ROY lead, Anthony Edwards made damn sure the voters at least had a decision on their hands, averaging 23.5 points post-All-Star and loudly raising his career arc to "looks like a superstar".
But Melo was a clear superstar from the get, and remains the superior all-around player after year one. His playmaking was somehow even better than advertised, his scoring more efficient than Edwards', his defense superb for a first-year point guard.
Other things equal, had Melo not been injured or Edwards done this all season, either would have won this award in a landslide, but as it is, the two are painfully close to choose between.
In the end, it's back to those intangibles. The Hornets had an unprecedented buzz (sorry) about them this season; it was cool to be a Charlotte fan for the first time since Larry Johnson's Mrs. Doubtfire impersonation. And even in a season where Edwards served up several absolutely devastating facials and scoring outbursts, Ball was responsible for many more "wow" moments with his preternatural passing, all while galvanizing a team that massively overachieved in 2021.
Regards To: Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Saddiq Bey
Coach of the Year - Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Another extremely tough award to decide. The margins between Thibodeau and Suns coach Monty Williams are razor-thin.
Both helped rescue franchises from epochs-long droughts of awfulness. Both presided over what will be roughly 8-spot improvements in the conference standings. Both got levels out of their players we didn't know existed, and kept their teams executing with startling consistency.
But several things – back to those intangibles again – give Thibodeau an edge in my books:
The Suns were already showing signs of being good. Granted, nobody gave them credit as legitimate title contenders before the season, but they were fairly clearly a team on the rise, one accelerated by Chris Paul's acquisition (more on that in a minute). Meanwhile, the Knicks were still supposed to be utter dog shit, entering this season with the league's third-lowest projected win total (more on that in a minute, too).
The Suns were already showing signs of being good. Granted, nobody gave them credit as legitimate title contenders before the season, but they were fairly clearly a team on the rise, one accelerated by Chris Paul's acquisition (more on that in a minute). Meanwhile, the Knicks were still supposed to be utter dog shit, entering this season with the league's third-lowest projected win total (more on that in a minute, too).
Paul's arrival in Phoenix gave Williams the closest thing to a player-coach that exists in today's NBA (one whom Monty had already coached, at that) to help permeate the good word to a young team. Paul has arguably the highest basketball IQ in the entire league, housed by a sage veteran with an iron work ethic and OCD-like perfection impulse, who leads by example and has left an indelibly positive imprint on every team he's ever played for. Thibodeau had...Taj Gibson?
Furthermore, Thibodeau did far more than just turn a bad team around this year. He thwarted almost two full decades of the most thorough organizational incompetence in NBA history. He turned the Knicks from a pariah no star player would touch in the league's biggest market, to a relevant, competitive, proud franchise. In one season.
If you look at the trajectory of both teams, Thibs should definitely get more of the blame for his squad's dramatic improvement, in a situation that blossomed far less organically. With a race this tight, that means all the difference.
Regards To: Monty Williams, Quin Snyder, Steve Nash
Sixth Man of the Year - Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz
Another nail-biter, this time between two teammates. What drama!
Clarkson appeared to have this in the bag mid-season, leading bench players in scoring by a huge margin for a team that, at the time, was capturing all the headlines with one of the most dominant romps in recent NBA history.
But gradually, a dude from his own locker room started to steal all the momentum, and frankly, I can totally understand why.
Ingles' game is understated. He looks like more like your kid's Scouts leader than an NBA player, and is possibly the least-flashy player in the league. But god dammit is he ever effective.
Clarkson scores more, but Ingles is the more well-rounded offensive player. Jingles is a master of subtleties, who executes about as efficiently as any player in the league. He was tenth among all non-PGs in assist-turnover ratio this year, and put up one of the best-shooting seasons in NBA history.
Ingles is also the superior defender of the two, filling more roles on a Jazz squad that has weathered long absences to both its starting guards. Ingles has thus started 28 of his 65 games, which, while somewhat against the spirit of him being a "sixth man", still leaves him eligible here, and this year of all years, fits the season's narrative all too conveniently.
Regards To: Jordan Clarkson, Jalen Brunson, Derrick Rose
Most Improved Player - Julius Randle, New York Knicks
Okay, now after a few photo-finishes, here's one of three awards that wasn't even close.
Prior to this season, Randle was little more than a driftwood battering ram; a black hole who could outmuscle just about anyone to get to the rack or grab a rebound. But questions about his ability to do other things and contribute to a winning basketball team lingered.
Well, apparently Randle used the downtime wisely while the Knicks sat the bubble out.
He came back this season like Rachael Leigh Cook in the second act of She's All That. NBA fans could hardly recognize this dude who was suddenly filling multiple roles – for a Knicks squad that was winning for the first time in eons – on both sides of ball.
Randle took several vital upgrades and incorporated them into his skill set seamlessly. He went from an abhorrent 3-point shooter to an elite one (.277 last year to .415), on a higher volume (3.6 to 5.4), while now actually being defended that far out. In doing so, he became one of the NBA's most dangerous all-around scorers, dropping 24 ppg despite playing on a defense-first squad that sauntered at the NBA's slowest pace.
His assist rate almost doubled, while his turnover rate actually decreased. It was a stunning transformation for a player who had a virtually 1-to-1 assist-turnover ratio a year ago, and shown few glimpses of upside as a playmaker. Randle was fifth among big men in assists per game this year; two of the guys ahead of him (Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green) are arguably the best-passing big men ever, and a third (Domantas Sabonis) is the offspring of the next-likeliest contender to that throne.
His assist rate almost doubled, while his turnover rate actually decreased. It was a stunning transformation for a player who had a virtually 1-to-1 assist-turnover ratio a year ago, and shown few glimpses of upside as a playmaker. Randle was fifth among big men in assists per game this year; two of the guys ahead of him (Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green) are arguably the best-passing big men ever, and a third (Domantas Sabonis) is the offspring of the next-likeliest contender to that throne.
And he fucking busted his ass on defense like never before, becoming both an immovable stone in the post and a strong switch/closeout threat on the perimeter. As of May 12, he sits 11th in D-rating and second in D-win shares; no one can be faulted for giving him All-Defense consideration.
Randle's transformation was emblematic of – and a serious catalyst for – the Knicks' amazing surprise season. Spoiler alert: it's not the only Banter hardware he's taking home.
Regards To: Jerami Grant, Christian Wood, Michael Porter Jr.
All-Defense First Team: G-Ben Simmons, G-Marcus Smart, F-Giannis Antetokounmpo, F-Bam Adebayo, C-Rudy Gobert
All-Defense Second Team: G-Jrue Holiday, G-Mikal Bridges, F-Draymond Green, F-Jimmy Butler, C-Joel Embiid
Defensive Player of the Year - Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Centers are, fundamentally, the backbone of an NBA defense — the foundation within which all other players are rooted.
Literally the last line of resistance, a center must protect the hoop – the thing their team is trying to keep the ball out of – from not only his own man, but anyone who enters his realm. The center is also usually all-seeing behind the action, able to call out screens, read movements, and shift into help positions.
As such, a good defensive center is critical, and this award's history reflects as much. Since 1990-91, 22 of the 30 Defensive Player of the Year winners have been centers, and only three winners – Kawhi Leonard, Ron Artest and Gary Payton – wouldn't be considered small-ball centers by today's standards.
Gobert will add to that tally when he inevitably wins his third DPOY in a few weeks. He once again propelled the Jazz to the NBA's best defense, acting as a roaming deterrent to anyone thinking of coming near the basket. Despite fewer players being willing to test him, the Stifle Tower still ranked fourth in block rate, while gobbling up more defensive rebounds than anyone in the league.
Rudy dominated defensive metrics this year, pulling off the triple crown of leading the NBA in D-win shares, D-rating, and DRPM, the latter of which by an absolutely silly margin.
Much respect to Ben Simmons for lending incredible credence to the over-used "guards all five positions" attribute, but what Gobert did this season was undeniable.
Regards To: Ben Simmons, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo
All-NBA First Team: G-Stephen Curry, G-Luka Doncic, F-Giannis Antetokounmpo, F-Kawhi Leonard, C-Nikola Jokic
All-NBA Second Team: G-Chris Paul, G-Damian Lillard, F-Julius Randle, F-LeBron James, C-Joel Embiid
All-NBA Third Team: G-James Harden, G-Devin Booker, F-Paul George, F-Jimmy Butler, C-Rudy Gobert
Most Valuable Player - Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
In the end, this was a landslide.
The sad part is that injuries – an unfortunately common theme in this season's overall narrative – robbed us of what was going to be a truly special MVP race, with LeBron James and Joel Embiid both looking like imposing contenders. Even James Harden tossed his name in the ring after the most un-MVP like start to his season (and resulting trade destination) imaginable.
But as those dudes all succumbed to a weird season, Jokic steadily drove the Nuggets up the West standings as the team around him rounded into form. Despite the annual ambiguity about the MVP award's context, he served so many tangible definitions of value this season.
Jokic used to show up to camp lethargic every season, and would take a month or so to play himself into condition. This year, he arrived in the best shape of his life, dropped a 29-point triple double in the season opener, and never looked back.
Joker kept Denver afloat through early season inconsistency when they, like several other deep bubble runners, lagged out of the gate. He kept them afloat further (assisted by Michael Porter Jr.'s leap) when Jamal Murray tore his ACL at the most horrible time (not that there's ever a good time to tear your ACL).
The flashy Serb did so by delivering one of the most impactful statistical seasons in NBA history.
26.5 points on a pristine .647 TS%, 10.8 rebounds and 8.4 assists is the stuff of legend. He swept the league-best mark in basically every major advanced metric, often leading by margins that weren't close at all.
He even, by some metrics (4th in D-win shares and 6th in DBPM), was among this season's best players on defense. And while suggesting that Jokic is anywhere close to a Top-10 defender is a gross over-appraisal, his conditioning and improved awareness have made him far less of a liability on that end.
In an era of basketball increasingly defined by “small ball” and “spacing”, Jokic and Embiid are defiantly reminding the league that centers are still relevant, waging a resistance against a major movement with their dominance.
And, as of writing, Jokic has also played in every single game for Denver this year, which juxtaposed against the injured outcomes of most other contenders, fair or not, makes his impact that much more remarkable.
In a season defined by unpredictability and absences, he was a consistently unstoppable franchise rock who had by far the best campaign of anyone in the NBA.
Regards To: Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo
