NBA MVP Rankings - Final

With the regular season over, I've come up with my lists showing which players should win several of the major awards, including MVP, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and All-NBA Teams, along with honorable mentions for each as well. 

Most Valuable Player

1. Nikola Jokic - C - DEN

24.5 Pts, 11.8 Reb, 9.8 Ast, 1.3 Stl, 0.7 Blk, .632 FG%, .383 3P%, .822 FT%

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF - MIL

31.1 Pts, 11.8 Reb, 5.7 Ast, 0.8 Stl, 0.8 Blk, .553 FG%, .275 3P%, .645 FT%

3. Joel Embiid - C - PHI

33.1 Pts (#1), 10.2 Reb, 4.2 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 1.7 Blk, .548 FG%, .330 3P%, .857 FT%

4. Jayson Tatum - PF - BOS

30.1 Pts, 8.8 Reb, 4.6 Ast, 1.1 Stl, 0.7 Blk, .466 FG%, .350 3P%, .854 FT%

5. Trae Young - PG - ATL

26.2 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 10.2 Ast, 1.1 Stl, 0.1 Blk, .429 FG%, .335 3P%, .886 FT%

Rookie of the Year

1. Walker Kessler - C - UTA

9.2 Pts, 8.4 Reb, 0.9 Ast, 0.4 Stl, 2.3 Blk, .720 FG%, .516 FT%

2. Jalen Duren - C - DET

9.1 Pts, 8.9 Reb, 1.1 Ast, 0.7 Stl, 0.9 Blk, .648 FG%, .611 FT%

3. Paolo Banchero - PF - ORL

20.0 Pts, 6.9 Reb, 3.7 Ast, 0.8 Stl, 0.5 Blk, .427 FG%, .298 3P%, .738 FT%

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Russell Westbrook - PG - LAC

15.9 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 7.5 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 0.5 Blk, .436 FG%, .311 3P%, .656 FT%

2. Bobby Portis - PF - MIL

14.1 Pts, 9.6 Reb, 1.5 Ast, 0.4 Stl, 0.2 Blk, .496 FG%, .370 3P%, .768 FT%

3. Tyus Jones - PG - MEM

10.3 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 5.2 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 0.1 Blk, .438 FG%, .371 3P%, .800 FT%

All-NBA Teams

First Team

Nikola Jokic - C - DEN

Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF - MIL

Joel Embiid - C - PHI

Trae Young - PG - ATL

Luka Doncic - PG - DAL

Second Team

Domantas Sabonis - C - SAC

Jayson Tatum - PF - BOS

LeBron James - PF - LAL

Ja Morant - PG - MEM

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG - OKC

Third Team

Anthony Davis - C - LAL

Kevin Durant - PF- PHX

Julius Randle - PF - NYK

Damian Lillard - PG - POR

De'Aaron Fox - PG - SAC

Honorable Mention: Jrue Holiday - PG - MIL, James Harden - PG - PHI, Stephen Curry - PG - GSW, Jimmy Butler - SF - MIA, Jaren Jackson Jr - C - MEM

All-Time Player Rank Changes

Giannis Antetokounmpo has passed Bob Pettit and Allen Iverson to move up to #38.

Nikola Jokic has passed Manu Ginobili and Reggie Miller to move up to #60.

Anthony Davis has passed Bob McAdoo to move up to #65

Kyrie Irving has passed Carmelo Anthony to move up to #72

NBA MVP Rankings - 2016

Now that the season is over, I've compiled my list of the top contenders for each of the major NBA regular season awards, with the top 10 MVP candidates, the All-NBA Teams, and the top 5 Sixth Men, Rookies, and Most Improved Players of the season, all based on my statistical formula for player performance.

Most Valuable Player

1. Stephen Curry - GSW - 30.1 P, 5.4 R, 6.7 A, 2.1 S, .504 FG, .454 3P, .908 FT

2. LeBron James - CLE - 25.3 P, 7.4 R, 6.8 A, 1.4 S, .520 FG, .309 3P, .731 FT

3. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 23.5 P, 7.8 R, 10.4 A, 2.0 S, .454 FG, .812 FT

4. James Harden - HOU - 29.0 P, 6.1 R, 7.5 A, 1.7 S, .439 FG, .359 3P, .860 FT

5. Kevin Durant - OKC - 28.2 P, 8.2 R, 5.0 A, 1.2 B, 1.0 S, .505 FG, .386 3P, .898 FT

6. Draymond Green - GSW - 14.0 P, 9.5 R, 7.4 A, 1.4 B, 1.5 S, .490 FG, .388 3P, .696 FT

7. Klay Thompson - GSW - 22.1 P, 3.8 R, 2.1 A, .470 FG, .425 3P, .873 FT

8. DeMar DeRozan - TOR - 23.5 P, 4.5 R, 4.0 A, 1.0 S, .446 FG, .338 3P, .850 FT

9. Kyle Lowry - TOR - 21.2 P, 4.7 R, 6.4 A, 2.1 S, .427 FG, .388 3P, .811 FT

10. Kawhi Leonard - SAS - 21.2 P, 6.8 R, 2.6 A, 1.0 B, 1.8 S, .506 FG, .443 3P, .874 FT

Honora"Paul" Mention: Paul George - IND, Chris Paul - LAC, Paul Millsap - ATL

There is no real race here, since no reigning MVP has ever improved by this much in the following season, and he did it while destroying the record for 3-pointers in a season and leading his team to the best record in history. If Curry had sat out this season, the next 4 in line would all have legitimate claims to the MVP, although Harden would probably be eliminated due to barely making the playoffs, and Durant since he wasn't the best on his team this year.

Rookie of the Year

1. Karl-Anthony Towns - MIN - 18.3 P, 10.5 R, 2.0 A, 1.7 B, .542 FG, .341 3P, .811 FT

2. Kristaps Porzingis - NYK - 14.3 P, 7.3 R, 1.3 A, 1.9 B, .421 FG, .333 3P, .838 FT

3. D'Angelo Russell - LAL - 13.2 P, 3.4 R, 3.3 A, 1.2 S, .410 FG, .351 3P, .737 FT

4. Jahlil Okafor - PHI - 17.5 P, 7.0 R, 1.2 A, 1.2 B, .508 FG, .686 FT

5. Emmanuel Mudiay - DEN - 12.8 P, 3.4 R, 5.5 A, 1.0 S, .364 FG, .319 3P, .670 FT

Honorable Mention: Devin Booker - PHX

Also no real race here. Towns is a legitimate NBA center, and the rest of these guys have the potential to be stars. Okafor was on pace to finish #2 before an injury knocked him out late in the season, and Booker made a late push but didn't do enough in the first half of the season to make the top 5.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Will Barton - DEN - 14.4 P, 5.8 R, 2.5 A, .432 FG, .345 3P, .806 FT

2. Enes Kanter - OKC - 12.7 P, 8.1 R, 0.4 A, .576 FG, .797 FT

3. Evan Turner - BOS - 10.5 P, 4.9 R, 4.4 A, 1.0 S, .456 FG, .827 FT

4. Ryan Anderson - NOP - 17.0 P, 6.0 R, 1.1 A, .427 FG, .366 3P, .873 FT

5. Darren Collison - SAC - 14.0 P, 2.3 R, 4.3 A, 1.0 S, .486 FG, .401 3P, .858 FT

Honorable Mention: Shabazz Muhammad - MIN, Jamal Crawford - LAC

Jamal Crawford won this award based on name recognition, since he had won the award multiple times before, but he did little more than score, just as he always has. Will Barton had better numbers in every category but free throw percentage, yet was overlooked because he plays in Denver.

Most Improved Player

1. CJ McCollum - POR - 20.8 P, 3.2 R, 4.3 A, 1.2 S, .448 FG, .417 3P, .827 FT
2015: 6.8 P, 1.5 R, 1.0 A, 0.7 S, .436 FG, .396 3P, .699 FT

2. Isaiah Thomas - BOS - 22.2 P, 3.0 R, 6.2 A, 1.1 S, .428 FG, .359 3P, .871 FT
2015: 16.4 P, 2.3 R, 4.2 A, 0.9 S, .421 FG, .373 3P, .868 FT

3. Rodney Hood - UTA - 14.5 P, 3.4 R, 2.7 A, .420 FG, .359 3P, .860 FT
2015: 8.7 P, 2.3 R, 1.7 A, .414 FG, .365 3P, .763 FT

4. Draymond Green - GSW - 14.0 P, 9.5 R, 7.4 A, 1.4 B, 1.5 S, .490 FG, .388 3P, .696 FT

2015: 11.7 P, 8.2 R, 3.7 A, 1.3 B, 1.6 S, .443 FG, .337 3P, .660 FT

5. Stephen Curry - GSW - 30.1 P, 5.4 R, 6.7 A, 2.1 S, .504 FG, .454 3P, .908 FT

2015: 23.8 P, 4.3 R, 7.7 A, 2.0 S, .487 FG, .443 3P, .914 FT

Honorbale Mention: Khris Middleton - MIL, Kemba Walker - CHA

There was a lot of talk saying that Curry should also win the MIP this season, and he obviously made a huge jump this year, but the improvement was almost exclusively in scoring. McCollum tripled his scoring average while also improving markedly in every other major category, so he definitely earned this award.

All-NBA Teams

First Team

F - LeBron James - CLE

F - Kevin Durant - OKC

C - DeMarcus Cousins - SAC

G - Stephen Curry - GSW

G - Russell Westbrook - OKC

Second Team

F - Paul George - IND

F - Draymond Green - GSW

C - Karl-Anthony Towns - MIN

G - James Harden - HOU

G - Kemba Walker - CHA

Third Team

F - Kawhi Leonard - SAS

F - Paul Millsap - ATL

C - Andre Drummond - DET

G - John Wall - WAS

G - Damian Lillard - POR