In 2007, the Dallas Mavericks ran away with the league's best record in the regular season, then were ambushed in the first round by the Golden State Warriors, one of the few times a top seed has gone down in the first round. Dirk Nowitzki won the MVP narrowly over his good friend Steve Nash, preventing the Suns' star from taking home his third straight trophy. The Spurs eventually went on to win the championship in a sweep over LeBron James and the Cavaliers. These are my rankings of which players should have won and been in contention for each of the major offensive awards that year. Actual rankings determined by voters in parentheses.
Most Valuable Player
1. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 24.6 pts, 8.9 reb, 3.4 ast (1)
Statistically, Dirk was actually down slightly from the year before, but the Mavericks were unquestionably up, losing only 15 games in the regular season and finishing 6 games ahead of Phoenix for the best record in the league, and Dirk was definitely one of the top 5 players in the entire league. No contest here.
2. Tim Duncan - SAS - 20.0 pts, 10.6 reb, 3.4 ast (4)
One season after averaging fewer than 20 points per game for the first time in his career, Duncan bounced back with his final 20-point season, and in the process earned his 4th championship with the Spurs. Even though he had dropped off a little from his prime, he was still the driving force behind the NBA champs.
3. Steve Nash - PHX - 18.6 pts, 3.5 reb, 11.6 ast (2)
Nash led the league in assists for the third straight year while setting a new career high in that category, and he also nearly matched his career high in scoring, which he set the previous year, all while guiding the Suns to the league's #2 record and another disappointing playoff loss to San Antonio.
4. LeBron James - CLE - 27.3 pts, 6.7 reb, 6.0 ast (5)
James' averages dropped in nearly every category, but the Cavaliers were able to obtain the second seed in the Eastern Conference, which they used to upset the Detroit Pistons to earn the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. Even at age 22, James was already one of the best players in the entire league.
5. Tracy McGrady - HOU - 24.6 pts, 5.3 reb, 6.5 ast (6)
The former league scoring leader got his name into the MVP discussion for the final time in a great career after the Rockets lost Yao Ming for a large portion of the regular season. McGrady was there to pick up the slack, and Houston earned the 5th seed in the West and nearly beat the Jazz in the first round.
6. Carlos Boozer - UTA - 20.9 pts, 11.7 reb, 3.0 ast (9)
Boozer set new career highs in scoring, rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage after missing most of the previous season, and led Utah to the 4th seed in the playoffs and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. It was his first healthy season in Utah, and it gave the Jazz a lot of hope for the future.
7. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 31.6 pts, 5.7 reb, 5.4 ast (3)
Kobe led the league in scoring for the second straight year, but the Lakers narrowly reached the playoffs, then lost 4-1 in the first round to the Phoenix Suns. It finally became apparent that Kobe couldn't do it alone, and the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol the next season, and Kobe won his first MVP.
8. Yao Ming - HOU - 25.0 pts, 9.4 reb, 2.0 blk (NR)
He may have missed 34 games due to injury, but when he was on the court, he was virtually unstoppable. He had his best season statistically, and Houston was a real threat in the West until he went down, and he's only had one healthy season since.
9. Chris Bosh - TOR - 22.6 pts, 10.7 reb, 2.5 ast (7)
Bosh improved upon the career highs he set the previous season in scoring and rebounding and the Raptors were able to win their division behind their young star. Bosh was incredibly steady for the remainder of his time in Toronto, but the Raptors were never as good again.
10. Carmelo Anthony - DEN - 28.9 pts, 6.0 reb, 3.8 ast (15)
Carmelo increased his scoring average yet again to set a career high that is still standing as he guided the Nuggets into the playoffs, where they lost to the eventual champions in the first round. Anthony finished behind only Kobe Bryant in scoring average, but still didn't garner many MVP votes.
Rookie of the Year
1. Brandon Roy - POR - 16.8 pts, 4.4 reb, 4.0 ast (1)
Despite missing 25 games due to injury, there was no other rookie in the league that was on the same playing field with Brandon Roy in 2007. He was a starter almost immediately and led all rookies in scoring.
2. Randy Foye - MIN - 10.1 pts, 2.7 reb, 2.8 ast (5)
Foye was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in December, and he continued to improve throughout the season, ending up as the only major rookie to play in every game in the regular season, although he was no match for Roy.
3. Rudy Gay - MEM - 10.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 1.3 ast (3)
Gay had a decent rookie season, which he immediately followed up with a season where he was squarely in the Most Improved Player discussion. Being allowed to play good minutes as a rookie definitely contributed to his quick ascension to stardom.
4. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 6.4 pts, 3.7 reb, 3.8 ast (12)
Rondo didn't get noticed by many people during his rookie year, but the Celtics sure knew what they had. In his second year he became the team's full-time starting point guard, and in his fifth season he became an All-Star.
5. Adam Morrison - CHA - 11.8 pts, 2.9 reb, 2.1 ast (4)
Morrison looked like a great prospect coming out of Gonzaga, which is why the Bobcats took him with the third overall pick in the draft, but he shot only 37.6% as a rookie, and that has turned out to be his career high so far in a very disappointing start to his career.
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Manu Ginobili - SAS - 16.5 pts, 4.4 reb, 3.5 ast (2)
Ginobili's minutes were his lowest since his rookie season, but he set a new career high in scoring while coming off the bench for the majority of the season for the Spurs, who went on to win the NBA title, thanks in part to Manu's willingness to take on a new role.
2. Leandro Barbosa - PHX - 18.1 pts, 2.7 reb, 4.0 ast (1)
Barbosa recorded new career highs in nearly every category in his breakout season, with a 5 point per game increase coinciding with a 5 minute per game increase in playing time. He has not come close to matching his production from that season in the four years since.
3. Josh Childress - ATL - 13.0 pts, 6.2 reb, 2.3 ast (11)
Childress missed quite a bit of time with injuries, but when he was healthy he was Atlanta's best player off the bench, and the result was his best professional season. One year later, he decided that the Hawks weren't offering to pay him enough, and he left to play in Greece, which has not payed dividends yet.
4. Corey Maggette - LAC - 16.9 pts, 5.9 reb, 2.8 ast (7)
After missing much of the previous season with an injury, Maggette was brought off the bench for most of his comeback season, and the results weren't bad, although they weren't up to his usual standards. The following year he returned to the starting lineup and averaged 22.1 points per game for the Clippers.
5. David Lee - NYK - 10.7 pts, 10.4 reb, 1.8 ast (4)
Lee was the only bench player to average a double-double for the season, and even with time missed due to injury he was one of the best young forwards in the league in just his second season.
Most Improved Player
1. Amare Stoudemire - PHX - +11.7 pts, +4.3 reb, +0.3 ast (16)
A lot of voters didn't vote for Amare because he had previously been a superstar player, but the fact that he returned from two major knee surgeries to make the All-NBA First Team the next season has to earn him some recognition. If there were still a Comeback Player of the Year award, it would be his, but in its absence, this award will have to do.
2. Al Jefferson - MIN - +8.1 pts, +5.9 reb, +0.8 ast (6)
Jefferson was the main piece in the trade that sent Kevin Garnett to Boston, and he showed why in his first season leading a team, doubling his averages in each of the three major statistical categories, and his improvement was just beginning.
3. David Lee - NYK - +5.6 pts, +5.9 reb, +1.2 ast (10)
Lee had just as much a right to this award as he did to the Sixth Man award, showing increases across the board and shooting 60% for the season, all while coming off the bench for the Knicks. Just three years later he had nearly doubled his scoring average again after he became a starter.
4. Mikki Moore - NJN - +6.5 pts, +2.3 reb, +0.3 ast (12)
In his first season as a starter, Moore led the league in shooting percentage and nearly tripled his scoring average in his lone season in New Jersey. The next season he started for Sacramento with similar results, but has since started to show his age.
5. Monta Ellis - GSW - +9.7 pts, +1.1 reb, +2.5 ast (1)
Ellis may have won the award given by the league's voters, but his only significant improvement was in scoring, which is not difficult to do for the Warriors. His increase in production was impressive, but many other deserving players were overlooked in the process.
NBA Player of the Day - 11 Mar
Monta Ellis - GSW - 39 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast, 4 stl, 14-24 FG, 7-9 3P, 4-5 FT
While I didn't award Ellis the 2007 Most Improved Player award, I did give him today's Player of the Day award after he shot the lights out as the Warriors took down the heavily-favored Magic last night in a game that featured an NBA-record 36 3-point field goals, 7 of which came off the hands of Golden State's star.
