This season marked the first year when there was an actual show and ceremony to announce the NBA Awards. It was an amazing night, between Russell Westbrook’s MVP speech, a real tearjerker for anyone watching, Bill Russell offering an ass-kicking to five Hall of Famers, Drake’s hosting, and the multiple great performances. Today, we’re going to focus on the actual awards. There was a variety of awards given out, but the focus here is on seven of them: Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year, Best Sixth Man, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year and obviously MVP.

This year’s MVP was the prolific Russell Westbrook. It had to be. How often do you see such a historic season? 42 triple-doubles is no easy feat. In any other year, James Harden or Kawhi Leonard would have taken home the honors, but Russ leaves them in the dust in 2017. Harden put up stats close to Westbrook’s and had a respectable playoff run in the difficult Western Conference, and Leonard is the best two-way player in the league, highlighted by the fact that he was a contender for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. Harden and Leonard at least had strong teams around them. Kevin Durant’s departure was a huge blow for the Thunder, as Westbrook’s supporting cast shot 32.7% from the field. Westbrook singlehandedly lifted an otherwise abysmal roster to playoff contention: the very definition of being an MVP.

In my eyes, Defensive Player of the Year was a tight race between dominating center Rudy Gobert and two of the best on-ball defenders in the league: Draymond Green and Leonard. Green’s stellar defense was integral to Golden State’s championship run and his DPOY campaign. He can rack up statistics in every major category (points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks) on any given night. He’s one of the most versatile defenders, able to guard every position. My personal pick for the award was Rudy Gobert, a commanding post-presence who grabbed 12.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a night. Leonard turned in an equally impressive season because, as mentioned before, he remains the Spurs’ primary offensive and defensive option. Still, Draymond, one of the most important cogs to the machine that was the 2016/17 Warriors, is very deserving of the award.

Most Improved Player was also a pretty tight race between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokic. Antetokounmpo and Jokic were actually given the same odds (3/2) to win the award. Jokic’s improvement came from moving to the center position in November. The entertainment that comes from watching a big man pass like a point guard is enough to win him MIP, but what Giannis has done for his team this season after the performance he turned in last season gives it to him any day. The Greek Freak became the first player in history to finish top-20 in all five major categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Giannis’s step-up from solid pro to All-Star allows him to take this award over his worthy competitors.

Malcolm Brogdon set a record as the lowest-drafted player to win Rookie of the Year. His 10 PPG and 4 APG coupled with his stellar defense were key to Milwaukee’s playoff berth, but some of that is due to the weak Eastern Conference, where a 42-40 record warrants the sixth spot. Still, Brogdon defied his pre-draft expectations to win ROTY. My personal pick to win the award was Dario Saric, who took off in the second half of the season in the absence of candidate number three, Joel Embiid. In that time, he posted 16.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG in only 29 MPG on a youthful, but thin 76ers roster.

What’s amazing about Sixth Man of the Year winner Eric Gordon is that he’s a sixth man who played starter minutes this year. Andre Iguodala is a great candidate to take this, due to his ability as a two-way small forward, but Eric Gordon had to win it. He scored 16.2 PPG and knocked down 37.2% of his three-pointers. He was key to the Rockets’ three-point attack that made them a serious contender.

Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni was the only coach in the league to manage an improved record from the 2015/16 season. He oversaw Harden’s switch from shooting guard to point guard and his jump into MVP contention in a deadly three-pointer-oriented offense that turned them into one of the best in the West. Gregg Popovich is a perennial candidate for this award and was able to lead the Spurs to the two-seed in the post-Tim Duncan era and Erik Spoelstra was able to rally a Heat squad that was marred by injuries. They started the season 11-30 and had a 30-11 record in the second half of the season, finishing as a playoff contender and just barely missed the playoffs. Still, the way D’Antoni maximized the offensive skill-sets of his players in Houston to become one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league earns him this award.

Warriors General Manager Bob Myers had to win Executive of the Year. He signed Finals MVP, Kevin Durant. Enough Said

Other Awards

Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
NBA Sportsmanship Award: Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Season-long NBA Cares Community Assist Award: Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Performance of the Year: Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson drops 60 in thirty minutes against Indiana Pacers
Game Winner of the Year: Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook vs. Denver Nuggets
Dunk of the Year: Oklahoma City Thunder’s Victor Oladipo against Dwight Howard
Assist of the Year: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry to Kevin Durant vs. Indiana Pacers
Block of the Year: San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard vs. Houston Rockets
Best Playoff Moment: Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant late-game three pointer vs. Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Finals
Best Style: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics legend
Sager Strong Award: Monty Williams, San Antonio Spurs
Hustle Stats Award: Patrick Beverley, Houston Rockets

There was no Porzingis, no Butler, and no draft-night fireworks for the Boston Celtics. For the second straight year, the Cs used their lottery pick earned in the Garnett, Pierce and Terry trade to monotonously select a small forward coming out of college, despite a plethora of intriguing rumors centered around their high draft position. The pre-draft speculation got far more interesting on Thursday with the New York Knicks’ former President Phil Jackson announcing that the team would be entertaining trade offers on big man and budding superstar Kristaps Porzingis. Given the Celtics’ recent move of trading down to the number three draft spot, many believed that if Porzingis were to move, Boston would be a potential suitable location. On draft night, another rumor popped up involving the Celtics. Prior to his move to the Timberwolves, the Bulls reportedly offered to trade Jimmy Butler to the Celtics for the number three pick in this year’s draft, but Boston declined. While another year of drafting and developing may be the boring route to take, it is the right move for a team that should not be in win-now mode.

Despite their success this past season, the Celtics are currently building for the future. The 2014 trade with the Brooklyn Nets has allowed the Celtics to be a competitive team while they are rebuilding their young talent, which will eventually give them a chance to win a title. Notice how I called them a competitive team, not a contending team. In the modern NBA, there are two and a half teams in true contention for the title; Golden State, Cleveland and San Antonio. While the Spurs lag behind the top two, it is difficult for me to rule them out entirely. The playoffs say everything you need to know about the state on the NBA. This year, there was only one series upset in the entire tournament, with the fifth seeded Utah Jazz defeating the fourth seeded L.A. Clippers in seven games (I don’t count the Eastern Conference Finals). The last three years have featured the exact same Finals match-up. The NBA has become the worst thing a league can be: predictable. Almost a year before next year’s Finals, I predict that the Golden State Warriors will defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers to claim their second straight title, their third in four years.

The Celtics should take the state of the league into account when building their team this offseason. While their current success is exciting, the team cannot risk its chance to win a title four or five years from now in order to reach the Eastern Conference Finals now. This is not an argument for tanking, it is an argument for not being stupid. As a Celtics fan, I was praying for Porzingis to make a move to Boston, mostly because he is 22 years old. If another young, proven player is on the move, the team should use their assets to make the deal happen. However, I am not willing to give up the number three pick in a deep draft for two years of Jimmy Butler (before his contract expires and likely joins a super-team of his own). I would rather see Jayson Tatum in a Celtics uniform than Jimmy Butler, because Tatum has chance to play a role in a championship. The goal of the organization should be titles, not marginal competition. While that competition is great in the short-term, this team has amassed too many assets and has had too much of a winning history to be thinking about Eastern Conference Finals appearances over banners.

With Paul George off the table as of Friday night, the Celtics must turn towards free agency. While this is an option which will allow Boston to win in the short-term without giving up assets which may win them a championship in the future, drawing free agents to Boston has always been a challenge. In his 14-year tenure as the Celtics’ General Manager, Danny Ainge has hardly been known for his free agent signings. Before last years’ signing of Al Horford, Ainge’s notable free agents have included Rasheed Wallace and an extremely washed up Shaq. Given recent history, Celtics fans should be reluctant to fall into the whirlwind of free agent rumors. That being said, it is hard not to fall into the trap. Boston is currently one of three teams that will have a meeting with Gordon Hayward this off-season. Compared to the Jazz and the Heat, the Celtics are the best fit for Hayward from a basketball standpoint. Adding him would likely solidify the Celtics as the second best team in the East, and moving out of the West would keep Hayward away from the Golden State Goliath that swept his Jazz in the Conference Semifinals. Furthermore, the small forward is proven to work well in Brad Stevens’ system from his days playing under him at Butler.

If the Cs’ free agent woes continue and they are unable to sign Hayward, there are a few mid-level players that Boston should consider. Both Rudy Gay and Danilo Gallinari have been linked to the Celtics. I would be hesitant to sign either player to a long-term contract which would prevent the team from making moves in the future; I believe they would both be effective signings to help the team in the short-run and players would give the team a scoring boost as well as provide a height advantage over current small forward Jae Crowder (especially the 6’10” Gallinari). Despite these potential improvements and the fact that there are moves to make this offseason for the Celtics, who should look to upgrade at the small forward position, these moves could bind them financially from taking that next step of being able to vie for a spot in the Finals. They should remain the favorite for landing Gordon Hayward this July, and at the very least make a smaller acquisition if their bigger plans fall through. However, if this is another offseason of disappointment, the franchise should refrain from over-extending itself for a mediocre free agent. As far as this Celtics team is concerned, doing nothing is better than doing something which will prevent them from signing a marque free agent in five years.