Early Award Candidates: The favorites for each award across the NBA

Now that the NBA season is in its final stretch and the regular season is coming to an end, it’s time to look at the potential winners for the NBA awards. Some races are already locked up and certain, while others still are in fierce competition. We’re going to look at the player most likely to win and their closest competition for each of the major awards.

MVP: Steph Curry

Most preseason polls counted Curry out as a potential repeat MVP, but after another historically good season he’s a mortal lock to win this award. With his Warriors chasing down Michael Jordan’s Bulls win record, Curry has outperformed any expectations. He has also outperformed his 2015 MVP run as he’s averaging more points while shooting at a higher percentage.

Runner Up: Russell Westbrook

Rookie of the Year: Karl-Anthony Towns

The young Timberwolf Karl-Anthony Towns skillset is reminiscent of 80’s basketball when the game revolved around the big man. Although there were other rookies who have put up great numbers and had solid seasons, Towns was the best player this year, and will undoubtedly be one of the top big men for the next decade.

Runner Up: Kristaps Porzingis

Draymond Green is a versatile player who can do just about anything that is asked of him on both sides of the ball. He can play multiple positions and guard just about anybody that is put in front of him. The reason Draymond Green deserves the award is because he is the defensive anchor of the Golden State Warriors who are widely considered the best team of all time.

Runner Up: Deandre Jordan

For most of his career, Barton was a bottom of the bench roster filler. But during the 2015-16 season something seems to have clicked. Barton is averaging career highs in every category, which includes 15.3 points and 6.1 assists per game. The one aspect that could hurt Barton is his team’s record, which will keep them out of the playoffs.

Runner Up: Andre Iguodala

Coach of the Year: Steve Kerr

Not much that needs to be said about Steve Kerr in regards to the Coach of the Year argument. When your team is being compared to the 1995-96 Bulls, you’re going to win coach of the year. The only negative thing that could be said is that he missed the first few weeks of the season after surgery, but that won’t hold him back from winning this award.

Runner Up: Brad Stevens

To see the rest of the awards head over to the next page.

Isaiah Thomas has always been a solid player with outstanding scoring ability, but this year he found the one thing that his career was lacking, consistency. Isaiah has become a leader and go-to player in Boston where he is leading them to the playoffs.

Runner Up: Reggie Jackson

It’s not hard to recognize that the Golden State Warriors are dominating the regular season. They are doing things we’ve never seen before and are arguably the greatest team ever assembled. But they’re also dominating award season. Curry and Kerr are nearly locked in as the MVP and coach of the year, and Draymond Green and Iguodala are also making strong cases to be award winners. After all is said and done, we could see the Golden State Warriors take home more awards than games they lose this season.

By: Michael Hersey