NBA 2018 awards picks: James Harden, Ben Simmons, Rudy Gobert lead the way - Washington Post

James Harden has led this year's Most Valuable Player Award race from wire-to-wire, and is The Post's pick to win it. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

This first appeared in the April 9 edition of The Washington Post's NBA newsletter, the Monday Morning Post Up. You can subscribe by clicking here.

The NBA's regular season draws to a close Wednesday, which means the annual rite of passage of giving away the league's various awards can begin.

This year, like every other, has seen spirited debate about each of the honors listed below. After months of deliberations, here is how The Washington Post has determined the winners:

Most Valuable Player

1. James Harden, Houston Rockets
2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
4. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
5. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

Harden goes wire-to-wire in this race, and will be a fully deserving MVP after finishing as a runner-up twice in the past three years. There has been a late push from James and some voters that he should be the pick for what would be a fifth time.

James had his chance to take control of the race when Harden went down with a hamstring injury on Dec. 31. Instead, January wound up one of the worst months of his career, the Cavaliers subsequently imploded and eventually swapped out nearly half their roster at the trade deadline. That simply can't be ignored, nor should it be considered a positive even though the Cavaliers are better for making the trades.

As for the rest of the ballot, Davis edges out Lillard for third because of his contributions at both ends. Fifth place could go in a few directions — including toward Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo — but Durant gets the nod for helping lead the Warriors to near 60 wins despite the team's myriad injuries.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
3. Al Horford, Boston Celtics

Gobert has been the NBA's best defensive player this season. The only debate is whether he's played enough games to edge out the league's second best defender, Embiid. But that was before Embiid's recent orbital bone fracture, which knocked him out for the final few games of the regular season. The difference thus became negligible, paving the way for Gobert to win. Horford gets the nod in third for being the linchpin of Boston's defense, the NBA's best this season.

[ Is Rudy Gobert among the NBA's top 10? Some of the Jazz center's stats say yes. ]

Rookie of the Year

1. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

One of the year's most contentious races. Simmons and Mitchell look like future superstars, and both are deserving. But Simmons gets the nod for how he's played down the stretch — including a triple-double in Friday's thrilling victory over the Cavaliers — helping the 76ers to what should be the third seed in the East. Tatum gets third place due to his contributions in Boston.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Lou Williams, Los Angeles Clippers
2. Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
3. Fred Van Vleet, Toronto Raptors

Williams and Gordon are closer to starters than bench players, but since they qualify they are atop this list. Williams gets the nod for his brilliant play with the Clippers, who he helped stay in the West playoff race until a loss to Denver Saturday. Van Vleet gets third place for his role as the leader of Toronto's brilliant second unit, the NBA's best this season.

Coach of the Year

1. Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
2. Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
3. Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors

This was, by a significant margin, the toughest race to figure out. There are eight legitimate candidates: Stevens, Snyder, Casey, Philadelphia's Brett Brown, Indiana's Nate McMillan, Portland's Terry Stotts, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and Houston's Mike D'Antoni. A case can be made for all of them.

Stevens gets it, though, for the way he's helped the Celtics to 50-plus wins despite losing Gordon Hayward five minutes into the season, and Kyrie Irving after just 60 games. Snyder is second for turning a rookie (Mitchell) into the focal point of his offense who led the Jazz to a top-four playoff spot in the West, while Casey is third for guiding the Raptors from one style of play to another with largely the same personnel, an extremely difficult task.

Most Improved Player

1. Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
2. Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
3. Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets

Oladipo will almost certainly be the unanimous winner given that he went from being an awkward-fitting sidekick to Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City to an all-star in Indiana. Drummond gets second for his all-around improvement — including his stunning turnaround at the free throw line, while Dinwiddie takes third after going from being a fringe NBA player entering the season to a surefire rotation player in Brooklyn.

[ NBA podcast: Spencer Dinwiddie on his path to starting for the Brooklyn Nets ]

All-NBA First Team

Guard: James Harden, Houston Rockets
Guard: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Forward: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Forward: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Center: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

The five players from my MVP ballot fit nicely here. Stephen Curry and Chris Paul could've gotten Lillard's spot, but both played less than 60 games. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed out on a first team forward spot only because of the brilliance of James and Durant, while Joel Embiid wasn't good enough this season to outdo Davis for the first team center spot.

All-NBA Second Team

Guard: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Guard: Chris Paul, Houston Rockets
Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
Center: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Curry, Paul, Antetokounmpo and Embiid were all obvious selections for the second team, leaving just one forward spot up for grabs. That went to Aldridge, who has been outstanding for San Antonio, keeping the Spurs in the playoff hunt despite only having Kawhi Leonard for nine games due to his bizarre, season-long quad issues.

All-NBA Third Team

Guard: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Guard: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
Forward: Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder
Forward: Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves
Center: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Westbrook is close to averaging another triple-double, while DeRozan has been the engine of a Raptors team that could win 60 games this season. George and Butler were the clear choices as third-team forwards, with the NBA thankfully changing Butler's eligibility from guard only to guard/forward, alleviating a very difficult task of trying to find a sixth forward worth including.

The final spot came down to Karl-Anthony Towns or Gobert, the league's best offensive and defensive centers, respectively. By the slimmest of margins, Gobert gets the nod.

All-Defensive First Team

Guard: Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans
Guard: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Forward: Al Horford, Boston Celtics
Forward: Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder
Center: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Gobert, the defensive player of the year, was an easy choice, and sliding Horford over to forward makes for two of those. Holiday and Oladipo make their teams massively better when they are on the court (Indiana is 7.3 points per 100 possessions better with Oladipo out there and New Orleans is a full nine points per 100 possessions better when Holiday plays). George gets the final spot — both because he's a great defender and as a nod to Andre Roberson, who was on pace to be the league's best defensive player before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

All-Defensive Second Team

Guard: Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves
Guard: Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs
Forward: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Forward: Robert Covington, Philadelphia 76ers
Center: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Minnesota has struggled on defense all season long, but would be completely lost without Butler (they are 7.4 points per 100 better defensively with him on the court). Murray, on the other hand, made a real impact in his second season, and first as a starter. Covington is the prototypical "3-and-D" player, and Davis is simply a monster. Embiid was the automatic choice as the second-team center.

All-Rookie First Team

1. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
4. Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls
5. Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers

Simmons, Mitchell and Tatum were automatics. Markkanen has exceeded just about everyone's expectations this season in Chicago, looking like the foundational piece of the Bulls' rebuild the team hoped he'd be. Kuzma has predictably cooled off after his hot start, but still has been a gem of a find as a late-first rounder.

All-Rookie Second Team

1. John Collins, Atlanta Hawks
2. Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
3. Dennis Smith, Jr., Dallas Mavericks
4. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings
5. Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

Trying to fill out the all-rookie second team is always a challenge, but this year was easier than most thanks to a deep class. Collins has emerged as a long-term rotation piece in Atlanta. Ball — despite all of the noise surrounding him — has actually contributed to winning as a rookie point guard, which is hard to do. Smith had an encouraging year in Dallas, where he's been given the reins as the future of the franchise. Bogdanovic has been Sacramento's best player, while Adebayo has shown the supreme athletic tools that will likely make him Hassan Whiteside's successor in the middle in Miami.

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