Sports

Everything you need to know for the 2019 NBA awards

June 25, 2019
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Giannis Antetokounmpo captured his first MVP, Luka Doncic was named top rookie and Lou Williams won his third Sixth Man award. Who else took home the hardware?

Note: Six of the awards are voted on by the media: MVP, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award and Most Improved Player. Other awards include Executive of the Year (voted on by the league’s executives), Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year (voted on by the players), NBA Sportsmanship Award (voted on by the players), the NBA Cares Community Assist Award (voted on by fans and a panel of judges), the Lifetime Achievement Award, the NBA Hustle Award and the Sager Strong Award.

More: All-NBA | All-Rookie | All-Defense | Awards history

Most Valuable Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Stats & Info: Giannis Antetokounmpo is the second Bucks player to win the NBA MVP award, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won it three times. Antetokounmpo is the third-youngest player to win MVP over the last 40 seasons, trailing only Derrick Rose and LeBron James, and he ties Steve Nash for the lowest-drafted MVP in the lottery era (15th overall pick).

Other finalists:
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder
James Harden, Houston Rockets

Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Jazz

Stats & Info: After winning the award in 2017-18, Rudy Gobert is the first player to win Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons since Kawhi Leonard in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Before that, it was Dwight Howard in three straight seasons from 2008-11.

Other finalists:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder

Coach of the Year: Mike Budenholzer, Bucks

In the 2018-19 season, Mike Budenholzer became the seventh head coach in NBA history to win at least 60 games in a season with multiple franchises, joining Pat Riley (three times), Phil Jackson, K.C. Jones, Mike D’Antoni, Don Nelson and Rick Adelman.

Other finalists:
Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets
Doc Rivers, LA Clippers

Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams, Clippers

Stats & Info: Lou Williams is the second player to win Sixth Man of the Year three times, joining Jamal Crawford. Williams joins Kevin McHale and Detlef Schrempf as the only players to win the award in consecutive seasons.

Other finalists:
Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers
Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers

Most Improved Player: Pascal Siakam, Raptors

Stats & Info: Pascal Siakam increased his points per game average by 9.7 points in 2018-19, most by any player to play at least 40 games in each season. Siakam held opponents to 39.4 percent as the closest defender during the 2018-19 season, lowest by any player to face at least 500 shots, per Second Spectrum tracking. He is also the first Raptors player to win the award.

Other finalists:
De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
D’Angelo Russell, Brooklyn Nets

Rookie of the Year: Luka Doncic, Mavericks

Stats & Info: Luka Doncic is the second Mavericks player in franchise history to win Rookie of the Year, joining Jason Kidd, who shared the award with Grant Hill in 1994-95. Doncic was the fifth rookie to average 20+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a season — all five won the ROY award.

Other finalists:
Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Sager Strong Award: Robin Roberts

Lifetime Achievement: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson

The stars hit the red carpet

More NBA awards

Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Winner: Mike Conley

NBA Sportsmanship Award Winner: Mike Conley

NBA Cares Community Assist Award Winner: Bradley Beal

Executive of the Year Winner: Jon Horst, Milwaukee Bucks GM

Hustle Award Winner: Marcus Smart

NBA Moment of the Year: Derrick Rose’s career-high 50 points (Oct. 31)


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