Award Predictions for the 2019-20 Season, plus Notes on Player Vlogs and Lou Will's Visit

With the NBA back up and running, it's time to bestow honors.

It has been 139 days since the NBA suspended its season following Rudy Gobert's Coronavirus diagnosis.

And in two days, this Groundhog Day-like reality will finally be over as we know it with the season's resumption. That is to say, we still don't know anything about how this will play out.

After all, it's hardly admirable to have created a disease-free "bubble" among one of the world's COVID hotspots. Having a player leave and break protocol further complicates its efficacy.

But following a COVID outbreak within the Miami Marlins clubhouse just three games into Major League Baseball's return, the NBA has seemingly done things as well as imagined. Yes, professional basketball is back.

And now that the season's continuation is coming full steam ahead and we know it's down to the eight seeding games before the playoffs, we can comfortably make our predictions for the 2019-20 award winners.

Here are mine, the correct predictions:

Most Valuable Player

Winner: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Runner-Up: LeBron James

I outlined Antetokounmpo's obvious MVP resume in my last article pre-pandemic (B.C.?). The numbers are eye-popping —30 points, 14 boards, and 6 assists on a 58.3% effective field goal percentage — and he is well in contention for Defensive Player of the Year.

The criteria to be MVP certainly is not rigid. Undoubtedly, Year 17 LeBron is still playing at an MVP caliber. But playing alongside Anthony Davis is a boon to his candidacy that Antetokounmpo doesn't have, and they are both No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. I'm not fence sitting, but it is enough to tip the scales.

The scariest of all: he is doing all of this without a consistent 3-ball, and it sure seems like it is coming along.

Rookie of the Year

Winner: Ja Morant

Runner-Up: Kendrick Nunn

Sorry Zion, it’s going to take more than 19 career games to qualify for ROY. The Grizzlies were an afterthought coming into this season. The fact they sit at the No. 8 seed right now speaks volumes to the job Taylor Jenkins has done. Morant, who is averaging 18 points and 7 boards a game, made Jenkins’ job much easier with how quickly he took the mantle as floor general. This is Morant’s team, and even without experienced talent on the roster, they could hang with anyone on any given night.

Coach of the Year

Winner: Billy Donovan

Runner-Up: Nick Nurse

Nurse is the popular candidate to win this award. Being a No. 2 seed after losing your Finals MVP warrants that consideration. But the Raptors were solid before and after Kawhi Leonard’s pitstop, and I don’t think any team has surpassed expectations more than the Thunder.

Following the Paul George deal, the beginning of the end of OKC’s reign near the top of the Western standings appeared imminent. After the Russell Westbrook trade, fans wondered if Chris Paul would even suit up for OKC. And if Westbrook was gone, surely that meant Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari were to be shown the door as well.

Donovan and the Thunder had other plans. They are one of the most fun, surprising teams in the league. Their 3-point guard lineup with Paul, Dennis Schroeder, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander works really well and it’s brought them to the fifth spot in the west, just a game back on Utah for fourth. This success comes without mentioning their bevy of future assets, and a future franchise leader in SGA.

Sixth Man of the Year

Winner: Montrezl Harrell

Runner-Up: Lou Williams

Depending on your definition of “sixth man”, Harrell and Williams could automatically be disqualified and you could just give the award to Schroeder now. But not in my book. I think it’s as simple as who is the most impactful bench player in the league. Even when Harrell comes in for Ivica Zubac and plays with the starters, the lineup adjusts to his athleticism and shifts the Clippers’ pace of play. Harrell is only 6-foot-7, but can hold his own defensively among the league’s top big men. His 23.2 PER is 15th(!) in the NBA. Sure, Williams is one of the most gifted scorers in the league, but his defense is a liability whereas Harrell’s is not.

Most Improved Player of the Year

Winner: Luka Doncic

Runner-Up: Bam Adebayo

Okay, maybe these aren't really predictions, but how things would go if I had it my way. Yes, I love Bam. The Heat were billed as a one-star team with Jimmy Butler. Adebayo’s ascendence coupled with the savvy play of Miami’s rookies made them championship contenders. But no other player in the league took the step that Doncic did. He was a revelation his rookie year, posting 21-8-6. This year, he cranked it into overdrive. He became the venerable leader for the Mavericks, and is averaging 29-9-9, which, to put appropriately, is stupid good. Doncic’s rookie year may leave him off voters’ ballots, but he still made significant strides that not only helped Dallas this year, but portend its success for a long time.

Defensive Player of the Year

Winner: Antetokounmpo

Runner-Up: Anthony Davis

The first MVP and DPOY since Hakeem Olajuwon! Giannis has the highest defensive win shares in the league at 0.206, and the guys that follow him haven’t seen much floor time. His defensive rebound percentage trails only three starters — Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and Kevin Love. Oh, he also has the lowest defensive rating in the league (96.5) because he is basically Mr. Fantastic.

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Both Matisse Thybulle and JaVale McGee have been keeping up vlogs in the bubble. They are both pretty well produced, and actually offer fascinating insight into life as a temporary resident at Disney World.

These videos not only show fun player interactions and minutiae like how players spend their days golfing, fishing, practicing, and hanging out. You can see the security and testing apparatuses implemented to ensure player accountability and safety.

In one of Thybulle’s vlogs, Tobias Harris calls the trip to the bubble as going to “luxury jail”. Outsiders may never know the veracity of that description, but it seems apt to the strict protocols the athletes are kept in. Ignoring the sacrifice these players are making to entertain fans and make money, it still seems like a fun place to be.

Another aspect I love about these vlogs is that it demonstrates another example of athletes creating their own brands. McGee is a veteran, but Thybulle, as a rookie, obviously has the charisma and the tech savviness to create an online persona outside of basketball. Player empowerment is amplified by how they can market themselves, and Thybulle’s outreach with his vlogs is an awesome example of that.

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Yes, Lou Williams did have a legitimate reason to leave the bubble to attend the funeral of someone close to him. And yes, Williams breaking protocol to go to Magic City for food and to hang out with rapper Jack Harlow was short-sighted. But the wings have got to be pretty good if it costs a two-game absence and a 10-day quarantine. I loved the take on Magic City wings from The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.

Williams missing two games when the No. 2 Clippers are only up 1.5 games on the Nuggets is less than ideal. The roster is strong enough, though, to stave off any surge and to sit comfortably in the two-spot. Williams said it best: “Leave it alone. Just enjoy the memes.”