Woods' NBA season awards
Ken Woods
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Sports
The NBA playoffs are under way, and the intensity is heating up. Now that the regular season is done, it is time to hand out some hardware.
This is the first installation of my NBA season awards. There were a lot of players that earned their stripes in the league this year.
MVP
Dwayne Wade was, without a doubt, the most valuable player in the league this year. The Miami Heat might have won 10 games this year without him. D-Wade was a one-man show and often served as the only significant source of offense on the team.
The Heat was a very young team, and Wade knew what he had to do and really stepped up his game. He averaged a league-high 30.2 points per game and led a Heat team to the playoffs that only won 15 games the previous season.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are in the conversation, but D-Wade did way more with less and is my choice for MVP. The NBA, however, will not agree and the real MVP will go to LeBron James. It seems that the player with a better supporting cast gets the award, which is contradictory to the award's purpose.
Rookie of the Year
Derrick Rose was the top rookie in this year's class. Rose was second in rookie scoring at 16.8 ppg, second in field goal percentage (47), and first in assists per game (6.3). O.J. Mayo may get some consideration, but Rose led his team to the playoffs and really performed well down the stretch.
Rose is a phenomenal athlete with the poise of a five-year veteran. He can play the pick and roll, and what he does well more than anything is push the tempo of the game. He is excellent in the open court and out-performed every other rookie in his class. The scary thing is that he will get much better - he's only 20 years old.
Most Improved
Danny Granger came out of left field this season and drastically improved his play from last year. Granger was a menace to opposing defenses averaging 25.8 points per game, which is good for fifth in the league. Granger also shot over 40 percent from deep this year.
This is the first installation of my NBA season awards. There were a lot of players that earned their stripes in the league this year.
MVP
Dwayne Wade was, without a doubt, the most valuable player in the league this year. The Miami Heat might have won 10 games this year without him. D-Wade was a one-man show and often served as the only significant source of offense on the team.
The Heat was a very young team, and Wade knew what he had to do and really stepped up his game. He averaged a league-high 30.2 points per game and led a Heat team to the playoffs that only won 15 games the previous season.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are in the conversation, but D-Wade did way more with less and is my choice for MVP. The NBA, however, will not agree and the real MVP will go to LeBron James. It seems that the player with a better supporting cast gets the award, which is contradictory to the award's purpose.
Rookie of the Year
Derrick Rose was the top rookie in this year's class. Rose was second in rookie scoring at 16.8 ppg, second in field goal percentage (47), and first in assists per game (6.3). O.J. Mayo may get some consideration, but Rose led his team to the playoffs and really performed well down the stretch.
Rose is a phenomenal athlete with the poise of a five-year veteran. He can play the pick and roll, and what he does well more than anything is push the tempo of the game. He is excellent in the open court and out-performed every other rookie in his class. The scary thing is that he will get much better - he's only 20 years old.
Most Improved
Danny Granger came out of left field this season and drastically improved his play from last year. Granger was a menace to opposing defenses averaging 25.8 points per game, which is good for fifth in the league. Granger also shot over 40 percent from deep this year.
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