Days after we announced Nikola Jokic as the winner of the first ever NIHOF Cup, we are pleased to announce our official regular season awards for the 2020-21 NBA Season.

There are five awards, the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Sophomore of the Year.  We will not award a Coach of the Year until the playoffs are over.  These awards ONLY reflect the regular season.

MVP: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Jokic did everything for the Nuggets, finishing in the top ten in Points, Rebounds and Assists, and was the league-leader in PER.  The Joker played all 72 Games this year, and his defense showed significant improvement this season.  Missed games by Joel Embiid, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo gave Jokic an edge, as we were focused on the 72 Games in question, and not what might have occurred. Also considered were Steph Curry and Luca Doncic

Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

For the second straight season, Gobert averaged 10.1 Defensive Rebounds, with his blocking numbers rising from 2.0 to 2.7 per Game.  Gobert led the NBA in Defensive Win Shares (5.2), and is the best all-around player on a Utah Jazz squad that was among the best this season.  Our runner-up was Clint Capela, who for years has been underrepresented in terms of press, won his first Blocks Title.

Rookie of the Year: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

LeMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets looked to be the runaway winner at the first half of the season, but Ball got injured and missed over 20 Games, and Edwards became a more prominent part of the T-Wolves offense, and had there been a full 82-game season, he would have likely cracked the 20 PPG threshold (he finished at 19.6). Edwards also won the Rookie of the Month Award in March and April.  Frankly, we think Ball has a better future, but the better overall rookie season belongs to Edwards.

Sophomore of the Year: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans

We opted against doing the most Improved Player in lieu of this award, the Sophomore of the Year. An NBA player’s second season is vital to their success, and many top rookies struggle in year two, a.k.a., the sophomore jinx.  The first award goes to Zion Williamson of the Pelicans, and nobody was even close to touching him.  The big man averaged 27.0 Points per Game with a PER of 27.1 to match.

Sixth Man of the Year: Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz

The Jazz has two award recipients this year, as Clarkson wins our first Sixth Man Award.  Clarkson came off of the bench in all but one of his 68 Games, and he had career-highs in Points per Game (18.4) and Rebounds (4.0). Montrezl Harrell of the Los Angeles Lakers was also considered.

Thanks for reading, and to all the winning players, please visit the home office in Barbados to pick up your trophy!

The third overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, Deron Williams had taken the University of Illinois Fighting Illini to the NCAA Championship Game prior to being drafted.  While Illinois lost to UNC, Williams established himself as a future NBA Star, which was what he would become. 

A member of Duke’s 2001 NCAA Championship team, Carlos Boozer was a late draft pick in 2002 (35th overall) and played for the Cleveland Cavaliers for two years before a free agent controversy saw him bolt for the Utah Jazz (allegedly the Cavs released him making him a conditional free agent so that they could sign him back to a larger deal, which allowed him to sign with Utah for more money; Boozer said he never agreed to that with Cleveland) and it was in Salt Lake that his star rose.  Boozer would be a two time All Star with Utah and also a Third Team All-NBA Selection and in his six seasons as a member of the Jazz he averaged a healthy 19.3 Points and 10.5 Rebounds per Game.  It should be mentioned that during this time he helped the United States win the 2008 Olympics Gold Medal.

For years when you thought of Soviet born basketball players they were faceless drones, but that would change with the likable (and Ivan Drago lookalike), Andrei Kirilenko who would become a star with the Utah Jazz.

Jeff Malone was just another pedestrian shooting guard who will never get in though he scored over 17,000 points at a 19 point per game average.  If you look at the previous entry, the Hall of Fame just does not like shooters.

Jeff Hornacek was a late second round pick out of Iowa State where he had played point guard.  His ability to pass was often overlooked later in his career as he is currently in the top fifty in career assists.  One of the great shooters in the history of the league, Hornacek was a great third scoring option on two different title contenders.  Best known for his play with the Jazz when they challenged the Bulls in back to back years, Hornacek's consistency helps his chances but the fact he was never even the second best player on teams that didn’t win greatly hamper his Hall of Fame chances.

The second best player ever to come from Louisville, Darrell Griffith led Coach Denny Crum’s Cardinals to their first National Title and was the National Player of the Year in 1980.  Griffith had incredible leaping ability and used this to finish plays with style.  He also was a potent jump shooter though he never became the superstar many thought he would be out of college.  Griffith still had a very solid NBA career but was overshadowed by his great career at Louisville.