National Basketball Association

NBA Awards Watch Predictions For 2016-17

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:29 a.m. ET

foxsports

Heading into the 2016-17 NBA season, here’s a look at the top candidates to win each award, including Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP.

Oct 19, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) tries to get past Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) in the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

After months of waiting, the NBA is finally back! With professional basketball returning Tuesday night in a three-game docket, all those summer weeks of NBA draft talk, free agency rumblings, Summer League overreactions, preseason storylines and offseason predictions are finally ready to give way to actual NBA basketball.

Before Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks tips off the new season, however, we might as well squeeze every last ounce of speculation out of the waning hours of the offseason with some NBA Awards predictions!

Heading into the 2016-17 campaign, there are plenty of deserving candidates for the NBA’s major awards, which include Executive of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, and of course, the highly coveted Most Value Player Award.

The question is, where do those candidates all stack up against each other for these awards?

Can anyone unseat Bob Myers and Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors for the front office awards? Will Kawhi Leonard three-peat as Defensive Player of the Year? Who fills the void left by Ben Simmons in the Rookie of the Year race? And can Russell Westbrook or James Harden put up big enough numbers to throw their names into the MVP conversation?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been taking a look at the top 10 candidates for each major NBA Award, but we’ve gathered them all in one place for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to check out our picks for the 2016-17 season and browse through each top 10!

May 10, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers speaks during the 2015-2016 NBA Most Valuable Player trophy awarded to guard Stephen Curry (not pictured) at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Executive Of The Year Award

The NBA is a league of superstars, but how teams acquire those superstars is perhaps just as important as what they’re able to do on the court.

It’s not the most popular of awards at the end of each NBA regular season, but the league’s Executive of the Year Award usually paints a good picture of which general manager had the best offseason, either because of the draft, free agency, trades or all of the above.

After a summer that featured major superstars like Kevin Durant and Al Horford changing hands, is anyone capable of upsetting Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers for this award? More than likely, no.

Pick: Bob Myers (Golden State Warriors)

Click here to check out the rest of the top 10.

Oct 19, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (center) laughs next to forward Draymond Green (23) during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Valley View Casino Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Of The Year Award

Head coaches don’t last very long in the NBA, which is why the league’s Coach of the Year Award is such a fleeting but ultimately important distinction.

Hardly anyone can be Gregg Popovich, earning 20+ years of trust with the same organization, winning a few championships and enjoying unparalleled success by cranking out 50-win seasons year after year.

But as much as superstars and players win games, coaches are more than capable of losing them. Finding a coach who will put players in position to be successful can be crucial, while managing egos and be just as important as managing minutes and Xs and Os.

With plenty of quality candidates to choose from like Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich and Brad Stevens, this top 10 is pretty loaded. Kerr gets the nod by virtue of the Kevin Durant effect, but there’s a number of candidates who will be deserving here.

Pick: Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors)

Click here to check out the rest of the top 10.

Oct 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) dunks the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie Of The Year Award

With 30 teams and only one championship trophy handed out each year, there are 29 NBA fan bases that are left wanting more at the end of every season.

For many of the teams who miss the playoffs, and even for some of those who sneak into the postseason, the NBA Draft is a source of hope. Even with all the changes to the salary cap and free agency, the draft is still the best avenue for teams to cultivate championship-level talent.

In the 2016 NBA Draft, plenty of teams found promising young rookies to help build for a brighter future. Not every selection was a franchise player, but most of the teams in the draft lottery will be excited to see what their rookie(s) can do in the upcoming season.

Ben Simmons was the heavy favorite to win this award before his unfortunate foot fracture, but now the focus shifts to Buddy Hield, Brandon Ingram and Joel Embiid. Ingram gets the nod in the actual article below, but after watching Embiid rip through the preseason, even in limited minutes, we’re going to have to change our answer to the future franchise center of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Pick: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)

Click here to check out the rest of the top 10.

Mar 6, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter (11) keeps a ball in bound against Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) in the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Thunder beat the Bucks 104-96. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Sixth Man Of The Year Award

The NBA is a league of superstars, but teams win championships. Depth becomes less important in the playoffs, but being able to afford rest for a team’s starters can often be the difference between advancing and going home in a closely contested playoff series.

As the league has evolved, having a quality sixth man has become more and more important. It’s almost become a designated position in and of itself on a roster, and there’s a now a more positive connotation to being a team’s primary scoring option off the bench.

With a Sixth Man of the Year Award being given out every year, there’s a little more incentive for talented players to sacrifice and embrace a role other than starter. Every player wants to hear his name called out during starting lineups, but there’s a special kind of glory in winning over a crowd with tough, high-scoring play off the bench.

From Andre Iguodala to Enes Kanter to Brandon Knight to Greg Monroe, there are quite a few starting-caliber players who will be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year in 2016-17. Kanter gets the nod due to his expanded role with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but don’t sleep on any of these guys to snag this award when all is said and done.

Pick: Enes Kanter (Oklahoma City Thunder)

Click here to check out the rest of the top 10.

November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) shoots the basketball against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Player Of The Year Award

Playoff series can be taken over by superstars, but most of the time, NBA championships are won and lost on defense.

Of the last 30 teams to reach the NBA Finals, 25 of them ranked in the top-10 for defensive efficiency, and in that 15-year span, most of the other five were right on the cusp of that line.

Defense becomes paramount in the playoffs when possessions slow to a grind and fast breaks become harder to engineer, but even during the regular season, a team’s commitment heading into the postseason gives us an inside look at what to expect when it arrives.

Kawhi Leonard seems to have a vice grip on the voting for this category, and rightfully so as the most imposing wing defender the league has seen since Scottie Pippen. However, strong cases can also be made for Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green, who probably should’ve won this award already in 2014-15, when he earned more first place votes and still lost.

Pick: Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz)

Click here to check out the rest of the top 10.

Mar 26, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) looks to pass the ball as Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) and center Alex Len (21) defend during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 105-94. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Most Improved Player Of The Year Award

Heading into every new NBA season, it’s usually pretty easy to predict which teams will fall into each tier of the league hierarchy.

Either way, the fan bases of contenders and tankers alike have reason to tune in every season — their star players. The contenders get to enjoy their superstars who decide playoff series and rise to the occasion to compete for championships; the tankers get to enjoy the gradual growth of their younger cornerstones and dream of a brighter future when those players rise to superstardom.

It’s a never-ending cycle, and a huge part of the fun for the non-contender fan bases is watching it all unfold. The NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year Award embodies that mindset, celebrating young and overlooked players who step into the spotlight as surprising success stories.

There are a TON of deserving candidates in this category, with youngsters all around the league poised for breakout seasons to put their names on the map. From Dennis Schroder to Devin Booker to Harrison Barnes to Steven Adams, there’s no shortage of quality names, but with the Milwaukee Bucks needing him to step up in the wake of Khris Middleton‘s injury, Giannis Antetokounmpo gets the top spot.

Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)

Click here to check out the rest of the top 10.

Jun 13, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter in game five of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

MVP

The NBA is a league of superstars, and although championships are won with defense, depth, team chemistry, three-point shooting, injury luck and a myriad of other factors, at the end of the day, it often takes heroic play from a top superstar to carry the load and win a title.

There are plenty of fun awards to hand out at the end of every season, but none is more important than the Most Valuable Player Award. It’s a means for not only measuring individual greatness, but for defining seasons as a whole. As in, “THIS player was the story of the league in that season,” or “That was the year that so-and-so took over the NBA.”

MVP candidacy becomes a hot topic of debate every season. There have been no-brainer selections, close contests that could’ve gone either way and downright egregious misfires on this award in the past.