The 10-Game NBA All-Stars, MVP, & Award Winners

Ten games into the 2019 NBA season, who’s MVP or Rookie of the Year, who are the All Stars, and what have we learned so far?

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, EVERY NBA TEAM WILL HAVE PLAYED ITS TENTH GAME OF THE SEASON. Most teams have played 11 or 12 by now, but the Washington Wizards dragged their heels. Either way, we’re almost a month into the season, and nothing is more fun than making serious analysis and award picks with only 12% of the data.

Seriously, 10 games is not much in an NBA season. It’s enough to get a good idea of how teams will build their rotations, which teams will play defense, and what teams are in trouble. And it’s enough to start seeing flashes and leaps from certain players. But at 10 out of 82, this is roughly the equivalent of finishing Week 2 of the NFL season. We’ve got a bunch of data points, but there’s a long ways to go.

Still, it’s never too early to peek in on the MVP and Rookie of the Year races, tab some early All Stars, and check in on the playoff picture a month in. There’s no need for a ton of analysis or defense on these yet, with not a ton of data to go on. We’ll stick with winners and analyze later. These are the official 10-Game NBA Awards…

Rookie of the Year

1. Ja Morant, Memphis 2. Brandon Clarke, Memphis 3. Kendrick Nunn, Miami 4. R.J. Barrett, New York 5. Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia

We may as well start with a fun one.

Memphis has the top two rookies thus far, thanks to the Zion Williamson injury. If the season ended today, Ja Morant would be the Rookie of the Year at 18 points, three and a half boards, and six dimes a game. Remember, ROY is mostly a counting numbers game. Brandon Clarke’s counting numbers will never measure up, but he’s already a clear positive on both ends of the court and might be the best Grizzlies player already.

I’m not sold on Kendick Nunn lasting on this leaderboard, but at over 17 points a game as an undrafted rookie starter for an 8–3 team, let’s appreciate the hype. Miami does it again.

R.J. Barrett was my pick, and he still would be. Barrett’s over 15ppg plus six boards and four dimes, and those numbers are slowly rising. I just think he’s going to have the best counting numbers at the end of the season.

Matisse Thybulle will never get a vote, but I just want to point out that Thybulle has an absurd 5.8 Defensive Box Plus-Minus so far, which puts him among the all-time elite wing defenders on the tiniest of sample size. He’s abysmal offensively right now, but get him on your radar.

P.J. Washington is a very Charlotte player. He’s exceedingly competent. Tyler Herro and Rui Hachimura have nice counting numbers. Eric Paschall is all opportunity. Let’s stop with the Draymond talk, shall we? Paschall has an awful -3.8 DBPM. That’s a no from me, dawg. Coby White has moments but it’s a long road ahead.

This is a pretty open race. It looks like Morant or Barrett will win it, but both have been “just okay” enough to leave the door cracked for a torrid 50-game finish by Zion stealing it.

Most Improved Player

1. Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota 2. Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana 3. OG Anunoby, Toronto 4. Jonathan Isaac, Orlando 5. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans

The truth is that Luka Doncic ought to win this award after going from very promising rookie to MVP contender overnight. You can’t improve much more than that. But that’s not the sort of player this award is meant for, nor Pascal Siakam for taking another voluminous step forward.

OG Anunoby and Jonathan Isaac aren’t the type that win this award either, because of their lack of counting stats, but both have been defensive monsters and appear to be taking the next step forward.

The three big names were are Wiggins and Ingram, who have made similar leaps, and Brogdon. Brogdon has been by far the best player of the bunch. He’s an All-Star lock at this point and could even contend for All-NBA. No one saw this coming. Wiggins and Ingram are the more shocking developments, especially Wiggins in Year 6. He’s already got that early season narrative, if he can keep the production up.

Comeback Player of the Year

1. Gordon Hayward, Boston 2. Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers 3. Jabari Parker, Atlanta

The NBA doesn’t give out this award, but they should. Hayward and Howard can’t really count as Most Improved, and Derrick Rose was a poor fit last year. But more and more guys are coming back from big time injuries and performing at high levels. The Celtics and Lakers are at the top of the league’s standings, and they wouldn’t be there without Gordon Hayward and Dwight Howard.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Jonathan Isaac, Orlando 2. Rudy Gobert, Utah 3. Bam Adebayo, Miami 4. Anthony Davis, L.A. Lakers 5. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia

The Lakers have the #1 defense, and Brow has been wonderful defensively (not so much on offense), but he’s getting a ton of help from LeBron and the Lakers centers.

This award will probably end up a three-man race between Gobert, Brow, and Embiid at the end of the year, but for now, let’s give a shout to Jon Isaac and Bam Adebayo. Bam is the breakout anchor of a top-5 defense (and another strong MIP candidate), while Isaac is the only great defender on a top-5 D and leads the league in blocks.

Honorable mention to LeBron, Giannis and Kawhi, but big men just impact the game more on defense.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Montrezl Harrell, L.A. Clippers 2. George Hill, Milwaukee 3. Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers

This award is barely worth debating in April, so let’s not waste much time on it here. Just know that Harrell should be a runaway winner if the season ended today. Devonte’ Graham would be a great pick too, but he’ll be starting over Terry Rozier soon enough.

Honorable mention to Kenrich Williams and Goran Dragic. And sure, Lou Williams and Derrick Rose. POINTZ!!

Coach of the Year

1. Brad Stevens, Boston 2. Monty Williams, Phoenix 3. Erik Spoelstra, Miami

Coach of the Year basically goes to the league’s biggest overachiever, and it’s way too early for this race to be meaningful in any way.

It always felt like this would be a much better-fitting team for Brad Stevens, and they have the league’s best record and haven’t lost since opening night. He’s a shoe-in right now. Williams has turned the Suns into a real NBA team. Spo has been awesome, with an assist from the development team.

Ryan Saunders deserves a mention for getting Andrew Wiggins to try. You can make a case for Mike Vogel, Nick Nurse, Nate McMillan, and others too.

East Playoff Race

Favorites

Milwaukee Bucks

Contenders

Philadelphia 76ers Boston Celtics

Playoff Locks

Miami Heat Indiana Pacers Toronto Raptors

Playoff Hopefuls

Brooklyn Nets Atlanta Hawks Chicago Bulls Detroit Pistons Orlando Magic

Lottery Bound

Charlotte Hornets Cleveland Cavaliers

Fighting for #1

Washington Wizards New York Knicks

The East looks better and deeper than expected, so far. That middle tier is pretty healthy. The Celtics haven’t lost since opening night. The Heat have been excellent, and the Raptors have hung tough and would rank higher if not for all their injuries. The Pacers overcame a rough start and are playing very well, with Victor Oladipo on the way. The East playoffs look like they’ll be fun.

Two of those five playoff hopefuls will be first-round fodder, but it’s anyone’s guess who at this point. The Nets have Kyrie and not much else. The Magic have an elite defense and no offense. The Hawks are losing a lot of key playing time and are a three-week Trae Young injury away from being sunk. The Pistons are boring. And the Bulls probably stink. Let’s just say it will matter who gets the 2-seed in the East.

West Playoff Race

Favorites

I have no idea

Contenders

Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Houston Rockets

Playoff Locks

Utah Jazz Denver Nuggets

Playoff Hopefuls

Dallas Mavericks Portland Trail Blazers Minnesota Timberwolves San Antonio Spurs Phoenix Suns

Lottery Bound

Oklahoma City Thunder New Orleans Pelicans Sacramento Kings

Fighting for #1

Memphis Grizzlies Golden State Warriors

So much for the loaded West. Remember when all but one West team had legit playoff hopes and it felt like there were nine or 10 playoff locks? So much for that. A month later, only five teams seem certain to make the playoffs, and even they aren’t playing particularly well (Rox and Nugs in particular).

The Kings and Pelicans simply have too many injuries to contend, even in a weakened West. They’ll be too far behind once they get healthy. And the Thunder, though they were my 8-seed pick, just don’t look good enough.

That leaves five teams for three spots in a suddenly somewhat wide-open West. The Blazers stink right now even with Dame playing better than ever, but they always find a way. So do the Spurs. The Mavs are the best of the bunch but got swept by the Knicks. The Wolves and Suns sure feel like there’s something real there, but it’s tough to buy stock this early on. None of these teams look like a serious threat to win a playoff series, but everyone except the Blazers are pretty happy to have moved up into this tier already.

Eastern All-Stars

Starters

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Trae Young, Atlanta Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Kemba Walker, Boston Jimmy Butler, Miami

Reserves

Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Joel Embiid, Philadelphia Pascal Siakam, Toronto Andre Drummond, Detroit Bam Adebayo, Miami Bradley Beal, Washington Jonathan Isaac, Orlando

Not paying much attention to positions here, so these are just the 12 most deserving East All-Stars. Only one team has two All-Stars right now — who could have guessed that would be the Miami Heat? Jimmy Butler is deserving even after missing the first week and having uneven scoring numbers, for everything else he’s contributed. He’s been better than any Philly player, though Embiid might have taken his starting spot if he hadn’t missed 36% of his team’s games so far.

Brogdon is an All-Star lock and a potential starter. Trae Young will be starting. Those two and Pascal Siakam are pretty surefire first-time All Stars. Guys like Adebayo and Isaac aren’t really the sort of guys that make All-Star teams, so figure that eventually turns into a second Celtic or Sixer. Close enough, maybe Kyle Lowry or Eric Bledsoe. They’re the top snubs, along with Tristan Thompson (seriously) and Domantas Sabonis.

Western All-Stars

Starters

Luka Doncic, Dallas LeBron James, L.A. Lakers Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota James Harden, Houston Damian Lillard, Portland

Reserves

Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers Anthony Davis, L.A. Lakers Donovan Mitchell, Utah Nikola Jokic, Denver Devin Booker, Phoenix Rudy Gobert, Utah Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota

Seven of the best eight players in the NBA so far are playing out West. It’s a real shame two of them won’t get voted in as starters. In this scenario, it’s two L.A. guys that miss out: Kawhi for missed time and Davis because they others have just been better. The reality will see both voted in as starters, and probably Paul George too.

It’s an absolute travesty that Rudy Gobert hasn’t made an All-Star team yet. He and Spida are the third set of teammates to make my ASG (along with the Lakers). Jokic hasn’t been his elite self, but he’s so awesome normally that even a drop-off is still a clear All Star.

You can make a case for three different Suns: Booker, Aron Baynes, and Ricky Rubio. Baynes is probably the most deserving, but that’s not how this works. I might take Booker last really, based on only these opening games, and his shooting numbers will regress. But I’ll fight that fight another day.

Andrew Wiggins gets the last spot over Brandon Ingram. Both have similar cases, but Wiggins has done it in more meaningful minutes and closed out at least three wins with big clutch performances.

Ingram is the top snub, and Will Barton has been so good that he’s worth mentioning. D’Angelo Russell has been outstanding offensively and might actually earn his spot this year. Russell Westbrook’s 21/8/7 feels downright disappointing.

All-NBA Teams

First Team

Luka Doncic James Harden Giannis Antetokounmpo LeBron James Karl-Anthony Towns

Second Team

Damian Lillard Trae Young Kawhi Leonard Anthony Davis Joel Embiid

Third Team

Kyrie Irving Kemba Walker Jimmy Butler Pascal Siakam Andre Drummond

This time, positions mattered. Not much more to say here since these guys were already in order on the All-Star teams above. Personally, I don’t think there’s even a conversation about the five guys on the First Team. No one else has a case. The Third Team spots will be interesting to watch as the year goes on. Inevitably, a few of these guys will get hurt.

Pascal Siakam has been incredible and still barely even made my All-NBA teams. That was admittedly a surprise. I’m not willing to break out the “overrated” label for a player I love, but let’s chill with the MVP talk and appreciate Toronto’s depth instead.

Hey speaking of MVP, let’s get to that last big award…

MVP

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee 2. Luka Doncic, Dallas 3. James Harden, Houston 4. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota 5. LeBron James, L.A. Lakers

That’s the MVP leaderboard, and honestly, I don’t believe anyone else even has a case to crack to the top-5 right now. Damian Lillard is playing MVP caliber ball without any help (*cough* C.J. McCollum 47% true shooting *cough*), but a 4–8 record is an auto elimination.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to win the MVP again. I’m sorry to bore you. He was my preseason pick and I might take him against the field at this point. The Greek Freak’s numbers are all up. He’s now #2 in both scoring and rebounding, and he’s top 20 in assists, steals, and blocks. If there’s a stat available, Giannis has it. He is single-handedly ruining fantasy leagues. Not even LeBron ever put up numbers like this. When’s the last time someone even finished top-5 in both rebounding and scoring?

And yes, that is seriously Luka Doncic at #2 in the MVP race at age 20. He has genuinely been the best offensive player in the NBA this season. Doncic has an OBPM of 10.4!! I fear you do not understand how absurd that is. There have been only three seasons of 10+ OBPM in NBA history: Stephen Curry’s unanimous MVP season, the best offensive season of all time; Russell Westbrook’s original triple-double MVP season; and James Harden’s 36.1ppg last year. That’s it.

LUKA DONCIC IS MATCHING THOSE SEASONS AS A 20-YEAR-OLD SOPHOMORE. This is absolutely insane. Doncic is fourth in scoring and second in assists. Luka is eight assists short of averaging a triple-double. Do you realize how absolutely bonkers we’d all be going right now if Russell Westbrook hadn’t ruined that for us?

Giannis may win the award (he will), but Luka Doncic is da real MVP.

See you in the next 10 games… ■

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