Roundtable Sessions: OKC Thunder and NBA awards segment

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OKC Thunder: Steven Adams #12 guards Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz during an opening night game (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

Defensive Player of the Year:

Tamberlyn Richardson:

Joel Embiid told Rachel Nichols of The Jump he wants to win MVP, DPoY, be the clutch guy and also win the title. That’s a massive to-do list for the season. While the 76ers are considered likely to be first or second in the East remember last season the Celtics were tapped as the best Eastern club entering the season. The 76ers roster is impressive and yet one injury or locker room dissension is all it takes to flip a team and player’s chances.

Given these truths and the fact I believe the MVP will be a Western Conference player I think the pundits might reward an Eastern player with DPoY and since that would mean Giannis can’t repeat I’m leaning in his direction.

NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo

OKC: Andre Roberson (fingers crossed) if he doesn’t play enough games SGA