The LA Clippers, unfortunately, do not have many contenders for the NBA Awards on June 24. Nevertheless, I’ll give my picks from the Clippers roster for each of the seven main awards.
The LA Clippers do not have a James Harden to hit 3’s from 30 feet an they don’t have a Rudy Gobert to block shots into the third row. However, they do have a hardy group of role-players who worked together to make an impressive season.
Everybody underestimated this Clippers team, including myself. In my “2018-19 Season Predictions”, I estimated that the Clippers would finish 14th in the West, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings. Needless to say, I am bad at predictions.
However I wasn’t the only one. Who would’ve guessed that a squad led by Tobias Harris, Lou Williams, and Danilo Gallinari would make the playoffs? While they ended up in the eight seed and are set to play the best team of all time in the first round, it was still an incredibly impressive season.
There were a number of impressive performances by the young guys, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Montrezl Harrell included. Lou Williams had some memorable clutch game winners, as well a surprising bounce-back season for Danilo Gallinari. Not only was the on-court production something to behold, but so was the work done by the front office and coaching staff. Doc Rivers and company led the team to surpassing everyone’s expectations, while Jerry West, Michael Winger, and Lawrence Frank managed to pull off impressive trades and signings.
I will breakdown who is the Clippers’ Executive of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Most Valuable Player.