The NBA is one of the most popular leagues around the world. And one of the most exciting parts of the season is seeing who wins certain awards. The winners can surprise us, excite us, disappoint us. But that’s what makes it great. However, while we do have awards like MVP, DPOY and ROTY, which are obviously essential, there are some awards that I think the NBA should add. There are some rules though:
Can’t be too similar to a current award (ex. No award like “Best On-Ball Defender”)
Can’t be an award with malintent (ex. No award like “Worst Defender”)
Can’t be too confusing (ex. No award like “Best Defender When Down by 20+ Points”)
LeBron James Offensive Player of the Year
Explanation: The NFL has it, and it’s a great award. Additionally, we have a DPOY, so, why not just add an OPOY? This award would discount any amount of defense that wasn’t played. You could be the worst defender ever, but be amazing on offense and win this award. Simply put, it’s given to the player that is the best on the offensive side of the ball. Why LeBron James? Because he’s the all time scoring leader and an award has to eventually be named after him
Finalists: Jalen Brunson, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic
Winner: Luka Doncic! Doncic has averaged 9.2 rpg, 9.8 apg, and 33.9 ppg on 48.7% from the field and 38.2% from 3! He also led the league this season in Crafted Offensive Plus-Minus, which was created by CraftedNBA. “Offensive Crafted Plus Minus | ((standardizedODARKO x 2) + standardizedOLEBRON + standardizedODRIP + standardizedOBPM + standardizedOLA3RAPM) / 6 33.3% ODARKO 16.6% OLEBRON 16.6% ODRIP 16.6% OBPM 16.6% OLA3RAPM An aggregate of many different plus minus metrics. First, we convert all variables to the same scale, then we combine them and divide by the number of variables. We then take this number and convert it to the MYRPM scale.”
Stephen Curry Shooter of the Year
Explanation: Ever since the rule change in 1972, the 3-point shot has become an essential part of almost every player’s game. It’s become extremely hard to make the league if you cannot shoot. So, we need an award commemorating the league’s advancement in this. This award is given to the player who’s the best at shooting outside of close range (mid-range, 3 pointer). Why Stephen Curry? Because he revolutionized shooting.
Finalists: Grayson Allen, Donte Divencnezo, Stephen Curry
Winner: Stephen Curry! Yes, Curry wins the award named after him. This isn’t particularly close though. Curry led the league in 3-pointers made by over 70 3-pointers. Additionally, he has recorded a 100 SQ (shooting quality) on CraftedNBA (“Shooting Quality - ((Spacing x 2) + ((Standardized Padded FT% + Standardized Padded 3P%) x 5)) / 7 2 parts spacing + 5 parts padding shooting percentages, blended 75/25 with a player's career spacing rating, converted to a 1-100 point scale.”)
Elgin Baylor Best Single Game Performance
Explanation: Some players come out of nowhere and have an insane game (ex. Malachi Flynn 50 point game). Some are expected to perform at a high level, but still rise above expectations for a game (ex. Jalen Brunson 61 point game). But which player had the best performance for a single game this season? The only rule is that your team must have won the game. Why Elgin Baylor? Because I would prefer not to use someone like Luka for this award, and Kobe as well as Wilt already have their own awards named after them.
Finalists: Luka Doncic 73, 7 and 10 vs Hawks, Joel Embiid 70, 5, and 18 vs Spurs, Giannis Antetokounmpo 64, 3 and 14 vs Pacers
Winner: Luka Doncic! According to ESPN’s Player Rating system, Doncic’s 73 point bomb vs the Hawks (on 75.8% from the field), along with his 10 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal recorded a season lead 116.6, which is one of the highest of the last two decades.
Ken Hudon Official of the Year
Explanation: To be honest, this wouldn’t be a particularly exciting award. However, if we have an award like Exec of the year, we should appreciate the great referees that call games fairly. Why Ken Hudson? He was the first African-American official in the NBA.
Finalists: Tony Brothers, Marc Davis, James Williams
Winner: Tony Brothers! In 2023, NBA players voted Brothers as the best official in the NBA, and the numbers back that up. He calls about 50% of fouls in games on home teams and 50% on away teams, which is practically perfect, and shows his unbiasedness. He officiated 7 games this year, in which home teams went 4-3, which is the 3rd closest to 50% of any referee that officiated 3+ games this season. Only reason it’s not 50% is because it’s 7 games, and that can't be split evenly.
Thoughts on these awards and possible winners? Any other award that should be added?