The NBA handed out a list of awards on Monday night to recognize and honour some of the most outstanding players, coaches and performances during the 2017-2018 season.
Some of the top awards given out on Monday night included Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the year, Coach of the Year, Sixth Man Award, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player.
Below we have revealed some of the winners of the biggest awards of the night
James Harden Wins MVP Award
Some of the nominees in this category included James Harden from the Rockets, LeBron James from the Cavaliers and Anthony Davis from the Pelicans. Harden received the award and very few will argue with that as he finished as the top scorer in the NBA during the regular season.
House of Highlights
Coach of the Year Award
Coach Dwayne Casey for the Toronto Raptors did a good job this season but he still got fired after the Raptors lost the playoffs to the Cavaliers. The NBA conferred the Coach of the Year award on Casey who is now with the Detroit Pistons.
Rookie of the Year Award
This is one of the most prestigious awards in the NBA and there were a number of good performances coming in from the likes of Jayson Tatum from the Boston Celtics, Ben Simmons from the Philadelphia 76ers and Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. Simmons was given the award for his consistent performances across 52 games for the 76ers in which he averaged over 15 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds.
In a statement, Simmons said
For me, I am obviously happy that I won the award. I try not to let the media hype things up or fans .That doesn't take anything away from Jayson or Donovan from having an excellent season.
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Past winners in this category include Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs who won the award in 2015 and 2016; Joakim Noah for the Bulls in 2014 and Draymond Green from the Warriors in 2017. The nominees for this year included Anthony Davis from New Orleans Pelicans, Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz and Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers. Even though Gobert missed 26 games for the Jazz, he made his presence felt when he did represent the Jazz and was given the award for his outstanding defensive play.
The Most Improved Player of the Year award went to Victor Oladipo from the Indiana Pacers.
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