There were no surprises in the 2018 National Basketball Association Awards. In yesterday鈥檚 festivities held at the Barker Hangar in California, the league handed out hardware to prohibitive favorites. James Harden finally received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for his stellar play with the Rockets. Dwane Casey was honored as Coach of the Year for spearheading the Raptors鈥 cultural transformation. Ben Simmons was named the top rookie for historical performances that accelerated the Sixers鈥 drive to respectability. Rudy Gobert got the nod as the best of the best in defense for anchoring the Jazz鈥檚 elite coverage.
Not that the aforementioned personalities were consensus picks. On the contrary, there were other legitimate challengers to the recognition they garnered. Harden was crowded by LeBron James, who played every single regular-season game and posted career highs in rebounds and assists. Casey could have lost to Brad Stevens, who mentored the heck out of the largely starless Celtics. Simmons was pushed by Donovan Mitchell, who provided the engine for the Jazz鈥檚 competitiveness. Gobert may well have finished runner-up to Joel Embiid had the latter not been sidelined by a facial fracture.
Moreover, the awardees had causes that carried asterisks. Harden once again had an up-and-down postseason stint — in that order; meanwhile, James put up otherworldly showing after otherworldly showing. Casey was given the pink slip after his playoff run ended in a whimper; in contrast, Stevens led the supposedly inexperienced green and white to within one game of a Finals appearance. Simmons blew cold in the end, opposing the trajectory of the heady Mitchell. Gobert missed an even larger chunk of the season compared to Embiid.
In any case, the worth of the winners cannot be understated, even when juxtaposed with the worthiness of the contenders. Rather, they highlight the strength of the league itself. Precisely because talent is in abundance, recognition can come in many forms, and yesterday鈥檚 is but one.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
