NBA awards finalists include four players with ties to Kentucky
The NBA’s finalists for its six annual individual awards, announced Saturday, included two former University of Kentucky stars and two other players with ties to the Bluegrass state.
The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, along with Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), are the finalists for the Most Improved Player award while the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis is joined by Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) as finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.
The finalists for Rookie of the Year are former Murray State star Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), Kendrick Nunn (Heat) and Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans). Sixth Man finalists are former Louisville star Montrezl Harrell (Los Angeles Clippers); Dennis Schroder (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Lou Williams (Clippers).
Voting for NBA awards this season was based on games played from the start of the regular season through March 11, when play was suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Voting did not include seeding games, which began July 30 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
A global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters voted late last month for the awards, which also include All-NBA Teams, NBA All-Defensive Teams and NBA All-Rookie Teams. TNT will announce the award winners during the playoffs, which begin Aug. 17.
The MVP finalists have all won the award before including reigning MVP Antetokounmpo, four-time MVP LeBron James of Lakers and 2017-18 winner James Harden of the Houston Rockets.
James could join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (a six-time winner), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell as the NBA’s only five-time MVPs. Antetokounmpo is bidding to become the 12th back-to-back winner of the award, and Harden is vying for his second MVP in three seasons.
Coach of the Year finalists are Mike Budenholzer (Bucks); former Kentucky assistant coach Billy Donovan (Thunder) and Nick Nurse (Raptors).
In Adebayo’s third NBA season and his first as a full-time starter, he entered the league shutdown averaging career highs in points (16.2), rebounds (10.5), assists (5.1), steals (1.2), blocks (1.3) and minutes (34.4) on his way to earning his first All-Star Game appearance.
Adebayo, 23, and Antetokounmpo are the only two players in the league who entered the four-month layoff averaging at least 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block this season.
Adebayo, who was drafted by the Heat with the 14th pick in the 2017 draft, averaged 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks in 82 games last season. He started only 28 games, as he spent the first half of the season playing behind then-Heat starting center Hassan Whiteside.
Heat center Meyers Leonard said last month that he believes Adebayo deserves the Most Improved Player award.
“There’s one answer. It’s Bam,” Leonard said when asked how he defines the award. “That’s what it is. You talk about a young player who’s developing into a superstar right in front of our eyes.
“Obviously, I was in Portland (before) and I was wondering, ‘OK, well what is he capable of?’ To be completely truthful and I’ve said this to Bam before, I thought he was an incredibly athletic player, gifted on the defensive end and could finish around the rim. We all now know that that is the truth, but there’s just so much more.”
The entire TNT team announcing the finalists — Charles Barkley, Draymond Green, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith — said Saturday that Adebayo should be named the league’s Most Improved Player.
Davis is averaging 26.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.4 steals this season.
Morant is the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year. He’s averaging 17.8 points, 7.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 steals.
Harrell’s stats this season: 18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks while shooting 58.0 percent from the field.