NBPA Award Winners

NBA players have long since stressed that the way they evaluate team and individual performances differs from fans and media. In the NBA players association's first ever "Players' Awards," they underlined the supposed distinction, selecting James Harden as Most Valuable Player.

Results:
MVP - James Harden
Clutch Performer of the Year - Stephen Curry
Hardest to Guard - Stephen Curry
Best Home-Court Advantage - Oracle Arena
Player who secretly wish was on your team - LeBron James
Coach you most want to play for - Gregg Popovich
Best Defender of the Year - DeAndre Jordan
Oscar Robertson Visionary Award - Chris Paul
Man of the Year - Ray Allen
Gamechanger - Allen Iverson

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13298 ... ers-awards

Interesting results, given the suggestions that players and coaches should select the awards rather than the media. Speaking of which:

"Yeah, I think media and guys get too much power to vote on stuff that, quite frankly, I don't think you really know a lot about [or] as much as we know about it," Durant said. "So, yeah, we play against these guys every single night. We battle against these guys. We know what they say on the court. We know how they handle their teammates. We know how they approach the game. And our vote should count. Our opinions should count. Like I said, I don't think you guys know as much as we do, and I don't see why you have more power than we do."

"You guys really don't know s---," Durant told reporters.

Those in attendance at Sunday's event weren't as pointed, but they agreed that players should have a say in the process.

Shots fired.

I get where Kevin Durant is coming from, but saying the players know better than media makes him just as stupid as them.

Am I the only one around here who thinks Durant is getting meaner and meaner? It just seems weird to me specially his background. His little speech was okay until he said the media "don't know shit".

I get where Kevin Durant is coming from, but saying the players know better than media makes him just as stupid as them.

It seems likely that they'd have their own biases, at the very least.

Am I the only one around here who thinks Durant is getting meaner and meaner? It just seems weird to me specially his background. His little speech was okay until he said the media "don't know shit".

I don't know about "meaner", but certainly blunter, choosing his words less carefully, and lacking in some of the PR savvy he's previously displayed. Dancing around the truth about why he quit Team USA last year is another good example: it would've been a better look if he'd just come right out and basically said "Look, I just saw a teammate suffer a horrific injury, I'm actually battling one myself, and will likely have to undergo surgery. So, much as I hate to do it, I'm going to have to drop out." In whatever words he wants to use, or have his PR reps craft for him, of course.

Durant has a history with the media so it's no surprise that he feels this way.

I think it's a great idea for the players to have there own awards as I think it shows a great level of respect to each other.

Don't really get the "man of the year" and "Game changer" awards though

Player who secretly wish wasn't on your team


This would have been more meaningful and funny. Who cares what players think anyway. Just another headache.

Anthony would win that award in a landslide.

Your mistaking it Kevin for the awards the players vote for not the fans mate...

what

I watched part of the event on BET last night and I gotta say it was really hokey. It seemed like they tried to do something different from revoting the NBA awards, but it turned into basically voting for the "best player" 4 different times in voting for MVP, Most Clutch (How was Westbrook even in the category?), Hardest to Guard, and Player you secretly wish to be on your team. some categories weren't a "of the year" category so I could see Pop & Lebron winning that every year until they retire
Plus they had way too many musical performances.

But all in all, I guess it was a cool alternative for players, especially those that agree that media doesn't know shit. Of course this is the first year that theyve put this on and perhaps it will become bigger and better in the future. Interesting note that Jalen pointed out: The DPOY Kawhi Leonard wasn't even nominated for the defensive category.

Player who secretly wish wasn't on your team


This would have been more meaningful and funny. Who cares what players think anyway. Just another headache.

Anthony would win that award in a landslide.

Your mistaking it Kevin for the awards the players vote for not the fans mate...

Anthony is pretty well liked among his fellow players, assuming we are talking about Melo here.

If he's talking about Greatness, that'd be an automatic ban.

Unless of course, proof can be provided.