Rarely, if ever, has there been less suspense surrounding the eventual NBA champion than 2016-17. The Cleveland Cavaliers, last year's title winner, once again look like prohibitive favorites in the East. The Golden State Warriors, with Kevin Durant joining the core of a 73-win club, could be completely peerless across the Association.
Yet, when it comes to the Association's other awards—the ones contingent on votes rather than victories—there's never been so much parity.
MVP candidates will steal votes from each other, as teammates and combatants. A rising tide of young talent should turn the races for Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player into free-for-alls. With so many productive veterans moving to benches around the NBA, the field for Sixth Man figures to be flush with second-unit studs.
And that's to say nothing of all of the big names—players and otherwise—that will draw praise for their defense, coaching and front-office work in the months to come.
Let's handicap the competition for each of the seven major awards, replete with other potential contenders.
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Article written by Josh Martin
Predicting Every Major NBA Award Winner for the 2016-17 Season
October 26th, 2016 by Josh Martin Leave a reply »
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