The NBA is a beyond-individual-centric sports league. It is one of the few avenues where one phenomenal player can turn the tide of an entire game, or even a season, by himself. Sure, there’s something to be said about general team play and unity and chemistry, but if you don’t have a lights-out star, or a lights-out shooter, or a lights-out role player, you’re out of luck.
That sort of distinction makes the individual hardware the league hands out every spring that much more valuable and noteworthy. You were the best at your specific job, in an environment that, at any given time, only employs 450 people in the world? Incredible. High marks to you. Cherish every bit of your honor.
But while there are the obvious favorites for awards like MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, we would be remiss if we didn’t keep an eye on the long-shots, er, potential sleepers. These are the guys who may, in time, find themselves snatching up a trophy to put in their case (mantel?) when everyone with Basketball Brain least expected it. And that surprise achievement, Dear Reader, is an even more tremendous honor.
All odds and ends via Tipico Sportsbook.
