NBA Players Association – Full recap of 2016-17 NBAPA awards

The NBA Players Association (or NBAPA) handed out their annual NBAPA awards with several Thunder players recognized.

As the players continues their offseason working toward training camp the league handed out some hardware via the NBAPA Annual Awards.

For OKC Thunder fans it may seem like awards season has carried on all summer, but that is due to the numerous awards Russell Westbrook has won. Obviously, the biggest award for Westbrook came in late June when he was crowned the regular season Most Valuable Player by the media. When his career is complete and he looks back upon it all the awards he received this summer won’t be listed in his bio. Rather the  NBA regular season MVP will be what gets listed in his basketball bio and on sites like Basketball Reference.

OKC Thunder Players Honored:

Yet the award which may bear more meaning for Westbrook is likely the one his peers just awarded him as MVP. In all Westbrook took 3 awards as Tony Heim outlined in his article. Specifically, Westbrook won MVP, Best Dressed and Hardest to Guard. Also of note, Nick Collison was honored as Best Thunder Teammate (also outlined by TI here).

Full NBAPA Awards:

Former player and recent retiree Chris Bosh hosted the Third Annual Players Voice Awards announcing the winners for each of the 14 categories.

Aside from the three awards Westbrook won, here’s the list of the other 11  winners by category:

Best Rookie: Malcolm Brogdon

Comeback Player of the Year: Joel Embiid

Best off the Bench: Lou Williams

He may have lost out to former teammate Eric Gordon via the media vote, but this time round his peers give Sweet Lou the nod.

Best Defender: Kawhi Leonard

That’s the thing about these awards, your peers know you better than anyone, so not exactly surprising Leonard gets the nod. Just ask 29 opponents who they would rather avoid  guarding them Draymond Green or Kawhi Leonard… here’s the answer

Player you secretly wish was on your team: LeBron James

Seven trips in seven years to the finals – not exactly a big surprise the King gets the nod

Coach you would most like to play for: Gregg Popovich

No surprise here, hey as fans I think we’d all pick Pops too.

Home Court Advantage: Golden State Warriors fans and Oracle Arena

With all due respect to Warriors fans, I’d make the argument Chesapeake might be as equally daunting. Moreover, just ask LeBron James how much he abhors playing north of the border during playoffs. And, based on the 2017 playoffs the Milwaukee Bucks BMO Harris Bradley Center is no cake walk to play in either.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Clutch Performer: Isaiah Thomas

Being located in the East gave ample opportunity to witness Thomas’  late game heroics. Others who likely factored into the mix were Kyle Lowry (just check all the double digit comeback wins the Raptors registered),  Kyrie Irving is lethal at the clock and though not a clear stand out Giannis Antetokounmpo is a scary proposition with the game on the line.

In the West Id argue the OKC Thunder’s own Westbrook could have notched his 4th honor easily (just ask Maverick, Magic or Nuggets fans). Also likely in the mix were Stephen Curry, KD, James Harden Damian Lillard and Chris Paul.

Social Media Follow: Joel Embiid

Although Embiid did end up getting a few wrist slaps this season he’s still a great follow.

https://twitter.com/TheNBPA/status/898572719981117444

Most Influential Veteran: Vince Carter

Still able to dunk (and put the ball between his legs) it’s his off court efforts which garnered him this honor.

Global Impact: LeBron James

Does make you wonder if this award is based solely on brand awareness, as I’d argue players who are traveling with charitable offerings might be the better pick. To wit, Enes Kanter and Steven Adams have been actively involved with basketball development in their country and philanthropic efforts respectively. Yet, hard to quibble over the King’s selection.

And finally the award Nick Collison won for the OKC Thunder also handed out similar honors to every team. Here’s the full list of winners.

Best Teammate (by team):

West:

East:

That’s it for the 2016-17 season. This should wrap up the awards portion of last season’s campaign and with that highlights the new season is just around the corner.