2018 NBA Awards wrapped up on Monday and it was Houston Rockets’ guard James Harden who came out with the most prestigious award of them all, NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
Harden had a spectacular regular season, averaging 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game, and was considered the favorite to win the award all along. Many will say that it’s been long overdue since Harden finished second in the voting on previous two occasions.
“The last four years have been like knocking on the door, knocking on the door,” – said Harden in his acceptance speech. “Now the moment is finally here. Just every single year, you try to come back and be better than you were the year before, and just to be holding that trophy finally, it means a lot. But it doesn’t stop here. We’ve got a long way to go. But it feels good to have it though.“
NBA also handed out several other awards, including the one for the Rookie of the Year, which went to Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons. The 21-year-old Australian was the most important player on the 76ers team that managed to clinch the third seed in the Eastern Conference and advance to the second round of the playoffs. For comparison, the 76ers finished 14th and had only 28 wins in the prior season. Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the regular season.
You can check out the full list of 2018 NBA Awards winners below.
Most Valuable Player
Winner: James Harden, Houston Rockets
Other finalists: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans; LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Rookie of the Year
Winner: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Other finalists: Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz; Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Coach of the Year
Winner: Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors
Other finalists: Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz; Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
Sixth Man Award
Winner: Lou Williams, LA Clippers
Other finalists: Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets; Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
Defensive Player of the Year
Winner: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Other finalists: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans; Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Most Improved Player
Winner: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Other finalists: Clint Capela, Houston Rockets; Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets
