NBA says races for the season’s individual trophies are over

The NBA’s MVP race is over. So is the battle for each different particular person regular-season trophy.

The league advised groups Friday that not one of the seeding video games can be considered for any postseason award, and that voting for these honors — similar to All-NBA, rookie of the 12 months and defensive participant of the 12 months — can be accomplished earlier than the July 30 restart of the season at Walt Disney World.

Typically, these votes are forged nearer to the top of the common season. So the postseason races are nonetheless going in lots of circumstances, however the person award chases are actually full.

“The decision to exclude seeding games from awards voting ensures a fair process in which players and coaches from all 30 teams will have the same opportunity to be honored as top performers for the regular season,” the NBA wrote in a memo despatched to groups Friday. The Associated Press obtained a replica of the memo.

Only 22 of the league’s 30 groups are taking part within the NBA restart.

The league’s choice — it was not surprising — signifies that Milwaukee ahead Giannis Antetokounmpo’s marketing campaign for back-to-back MVP awards technically ended greater than 4 months in the past when the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Antetokounmpo gained his first MVP award after averaging 27.7 factors and 12.5 rebounds per sport final season. This season, he’s anticipated to be an MVP frontrunner once more with averages of 29.6 factors and 13.7 rebounds for the Bucks — who’ve the league’s greatest file.

The NBA’s choice additionally signifies that New Orleans’ Zion Williamson, who has appeared in solely 19 video games this season, gained’t get to make a late push to try to catch presumed top-rookie frontrunner Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.

It’s unclear if Williamson will even be with the Pelicans for re-opening night time on July 30 after they face the Utah Jazz within the first sport on the Disney campus. He left the NBA’s so-called bubble Thursday to take care of what the group referred to as “an urgent family medical matter,” and the Pelicans mentioned he intends to return at an unspecified date.

Statistical championships, such because the scoring, rebounding, help and steal titles, are technically up for grabs via the top of the seeding video games in mid-August. The league introduced that portion of the plan when the schedules for the eight seeding video games had been launched final month.

Most of these stat-trophy races are all-but mathematically determined. Houston’s James Harden has a commanding lead within the scoring race as he closes in on his third consecutive title in that class — and turns into the seventh participant in NBA historical past to win the scoring crown in at the very least three straight seasons.

Cleveland’s Andre Drummond has a large lead within the race for the rebound title. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers would stay forward of second-place Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks within the assist-per-game race even when James performs in all eight seeding video games and doesn’t register a single help.

If the 35-year-old James wins the help title, and it might take a mathematical oddity to maintain that from taking place, he would be the second-oldest participant to assert that award. Steve Nash was 37 when he gained his final assists crown.

And James can also be in line to be, by far, the oldest participant in NBA historical past to complete a season averaging at the very least 25 factors and 10 assists. That’s occurred solely 9 different occasions within the NBA, the final to take action being Russell Westbrook when he was 29 in 2017-18.

The steals race remains to be unsure; Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons leads at 2.13 per sport, whereas Chicago’s Kris Dunn — at the moment in second place — completed his season at 1.98 per sport.