Recapping The 2018 NBA Awards

The nightly entertainment spectacle that is the NBA culminates in an end of season awards show that passed out the hardware with a light, comedic touch.

The NBA handed out its 2018 season awards Monday night. Here’s a recap of the winners and highlights of the show.

A Convergence of Spectacle, Comedy, and Sports

Anthony Anderson was the host for the evening as the league treated its fans to a show that combined elements of the Oscars, an old-fashioned comedy roast, and an NBA highlight reel. Charles Barkley  naturally received perhaps the hardest jab of the night. And the fashion…We’ll get to that at the appropriate time, however. In the meantime, let’s have quick look at the individual award winners.

Ben Simmons Wins Rookie of the Year

Out all last year with a season-ending injury, Ben Simmons had to wait an extra twelve months to make his Sixers’ debut. Fortunately for long suffering Philadelphia basketball fans, Simmons did not disappoint. An explosive threat every time he took the court, Simmons led a Sixers resurgence and took home ROY honors over Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

Rudy Gobert Takes Home Defensive Player of the Year Honors

Despite losing 27 games to a pair of injuries, Jazz center Rudy Gobert won the Defensive Player of the Year honors over fellow bigs Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis. His presence as an old fashioned rim protector made him the first Jazz player to win the award since Mark Eaton.

Victor Oladipo as Most Improved Player

After a mildly disappointing start to his career, the Pacers’ Victor Oladipo emerged from Russell Westbrook’s enormous OKC shadow and became part of the NBA’s second tier elite last season. Improving significantly in every offensive category and leading the league in steals, Oladipo led a quicker than expected Pacers turnaround and has a chance to become a perennial All-Star.

Lou Williams Wins NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award for 2nd Time

Lou Williams picks up his second Sixth Man of The Year award for his season with the Los Angeles Clippers. Lou has proclaimed on social media that the summer of 2018 is his farewell to the club life tour.

James Harden Wins the League’s Most Valuable Player Award

Though there was some debate among hardcore NBA fans, James Harden unsurprisingly won the league’s top honor over Lebron James and Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis. Combining team success with a ridiculous yearlong stat line, the Rockets guard become the final member of the former Oklahoma City Big Three to take home the MVP award. Harden led the league in scoring at 30.4 points a game and added almost 9 rebounds and 6 assists per, making him a fairly easy choice for his first MVP award.

The presentation of the MVP award also delivered one of the show’s best moments. As Anderson primed the audience for the announcement of Harden’s award, he took a well-received jab at 1993 MVP Charles Barkley. To paraphrase, Anderson said that Barkley promptly lost the award he’d just won in his couch cushions while munching on pork rinds. Barkley took the ribbing in stride as the show ended on an amusing high note.

Bill Russell had the funniest moment of the show when he flipped off Charles Barkley from his seat while Chuck was on stage. He called it ‘pure instinct’

Of course the fashion was a conversation piece. Check out some of the looks that were on display