Recap of the 2011-12 NBA Awards

NBA MVP: LeBron James from the Miami Heat won the 2011-12 NBA MVP. LeBron was a clear favorite with Kevin Durant very close. LeBron won with 1074 points and 85 of the 121 first place votes. Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder came in 2nd with 889 points and 24 of the 121 first place votes. Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers came in 3rd with 385 points and 6 of the 121 first place votes. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers came in 4th with 352 points and 2 of the 121 first place votes. Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs came in 5th with 331 points and 4 of the 121 first place votes. This is the third time LeBron has won the NBA MVP previously winning in 2009 and 2010 when he played in Cleveland. He enters the company of Kareem, Jordan, Russell, Wilt, Moses Malone, Bird and Magic to the MVP 3 times. He also was the first player since Magic Johnson to win 3 MVPs in 4 season span. Magic won in 1987, 1989, 1990. In the regular season LeBron averaged 27.1 PPG (3rd in the NBA), 7.9 RPG (tied for 25th in the NBA) and 6.2 APG (13th in the NBA). He shoot a career high 53.1 field goal percentage (12 in the NBA). He also average 1.9 SPG (3rd in the NBA) and also led the NBA in PER with a 30.80 rating 3.71 points ahead of Chris Paul was 2nd in PER. This award choice was perfect. LeBron only has played 9 season and with 3 MVPs all ready he should be able to catch with Kareem who has 6 MVPs.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year: Tyson Chandler from the New York Knicks won this award. This is Chandler first time winning this award. He broke Dwight Howard's streak of 3 in a row. Tyson Chandler won this award with 311 points and 45 out of 121 first place votes. Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder came in 2nd with 294 points and 41 out of the 121 first place votes. Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic came in 3rd with 186 points and 18 out of the 121 first place votes. LeBron James of the Miami Heat came in 4th with 112 points and 7 out of the 121 first place votes. Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics came in 5th with 44 points and 2 out of the 121 first place votes.

I thought Serge Ibaka should had won this award. Ibaka led the NBA in blocks with 3.7 per game and Chandler only averaged 1.4 per game and came in 19th in the NBA. Chandler did average 6.5 DRPG compared to Ibaka just 4.6. Chandler did make a big culture change in New York after signing there as a free agent after playing in Dallas last year. The Knicks went from a very bad defensive team to one of the better teams with Chandler help. I don't see Chandler repeating next year or winning this award again.

NBA Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers won this award. He is the first Cavalier to win this award since LeBron James in 2004. Kyrie Irving won this award with 117 put of the 120 first place votes and 592 points. Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves came in 2nd with 170 points, Kenneth Faired of the Denver Nuggets came in 3rd with 1 first place vote of 120 and 129 points. Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs came in 4th with 1 first place vote of 120 and 47 points and Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks came in 5th with 1 first place vote of 120 with 33 points. Kyrie Irving was clearly the best rookie this season after the Cavaliers toke with the #1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He led all rookies in scoring averaging 18.5 PPG, the closest person was Brandon Knight at 12.8 PPG. He was also 2nd in assist with 5.4 APG only behind Rubio with 8.2 APG. He was also 16th among rookies in rebounds averaging 3.7 RPG. He also 11th among rookie shooting 46.9%. He also help Cleveland improve slightly. The Cavaliers went 19-63 with a 23.2 winning percentage but this year they went 21-45 with a 31.8 winning percentage. Kyrie Irving develop into one of the best point guards over the next decade and should make some All-Star Games and maybe a MVP or All-NBA Team Selections. I agree completely with Kyrie Irving winning this award. 

NBA Sixth Man of the Year: James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder won this award. James Harden won this award 115 of the 119 first places earning 584 points. Louis Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers came in 2nd with 3 first place votes of 119 and 231 points. Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks came 3rd with 81 points and Al Harrington of the Denver Nuggets came in 4th with 42 points. Manu Ginobili of San Antonio Spurs and Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls tied for 5th with 28 points and Gibson got 1 first place vote out 119. James Harden led all NBA reserves in scoring with 16.8 PPG and came off the bench in 60 of 62 games he appeared in. Kevin Duarnt, Russell Westbrook and Harden helped Oklahoma City finish with the NBA's third-best record going 47-19. He scored in 10 or more in 58 of 62 game he played and averaged 4.1 RPG and 3.7 APG in 31.4 MPG. He scored 20 points or more in 15 games, with the Thunder going 14-1 in those games. His season high was 33 points. He shot 49.1%, 84.6% from the free throw line and 39.0% from three-point range. I agree with James Harden getting this award.

NBA Most Improved Player of the Year: Ryan Anderson from the Orlando Magic won this award. Ryan Anderson won this award with 33 of the 121 first place votes and 260 points. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks came in 2nd with 21 of the 121 first place votes and 159 points. Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves came in 3rd with 10 of the 121 first place votes and 104 points. Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers came in 4th with 14 of the 121 first place votes and 101 points. Greg Monroe came in 5th with 10 of the 121 first place votes and 96 points. Ryan Anderson had a very good improvement from his last season. He increased his PPG from 10.6 to 16.1, his RPG from 5.5 to 7.7 and his free throw percent from 81.2% to 87.7%. He also led the NBA in 3 points made and attempted with 166 made on 422 attempts shooting 39.2%. I thought Andrew Bynum should won this award. He improve a lot of was the starting center of the Western Conference All-Star Team. Ryan Anderson is now one of the best 3 point shooters in the game but besides that his game isn't that great.

All-NBA First Team: The All-NBA 1st Team included LeBron James from the Miami Heat, Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers, Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers and Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic. LeBron got 118 from the 120 first place votes and 596 points. This is LeBron's 8th All-NBA Team selection, his 6th First Team selection and 5th straight since 2008. Durant got 117 of the 120 first place votes and 591 points. This is Durant's 3rd All-NBA Team selection, his 3rd First Team selection and 3rd straight since 2010. Kobe got 104 of the 120 first place votes and 568 points. This is Kobe's 14th All-NBA Team selection (tied for 2nd most all-time), his 10th First Team selection (tied for 2nd most all-time) and 7th straight since 2006. Chris Paul got 74 of the 120 first place votes and 484 points. This is Chris Paul's 4th All-NBA Team selection, his 2nd First Team selection and 1st First Team selection since 2008. Dwight got 75 of the 120 first place votes and 476 points.This is Dwight's 6th All-NBA Team selection, his 5th First Team selection and 5th straight since 2008. LeBron averaged 27.1 PPG (3rd in the NBA), 6.2 APG (13th in the NBA), 7.9 RPG (25th in the NBA) and 1.9 SPG (3rd in the NBA). He also shoot 53.1% (12th in the NBA) and his PER was 30.80 (1st in the NBA). Durnat averaged 28.0 PPG (1st in the NBA), 3.5 APG, 8.0 RPG (24th in the NBA) and 1.3 SPG (Tied for 22nd in the NBA). He also shoot 49.6% (22nd in the NBA) and his PER was 26.26 (4th in the NBA). Kobe averaged 27.9 PPG (2nd in the NBA), 4.6 APG (25th in the NBA), 5.4 RPG and 1.2 SPG. He also shoot 43.0% and his PER was 21.95 (14th in the NBA). Chris Paul averaged 19.8 PPG (13th in the NBA), 9.1 APG (3rd in the NBA), 3.6 RPG and 2.5 SPG (1st in the NBA). He also shoot 47.8% (12th in the NBA) and his PER was 27.09 (2nd in the NBA). Dwight averaged 20.6 PPG, 1.9 APG, 14.5 RPG (1st in the NBA), 1.5 SPG, and 2.1 BPG (3rd in the NBA). He also shoot 57.3% (2nd in the NBA) and his PER was 24.29 (6th in the NBA). I agree with all five members of the All-NBA First Team.       

All-NBA Second Team: The All-NBA 2nd Team included Andrew Bynum from the Los Angeles Lakers, Tony Parker from the San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Blake Griffin from the Los Angeles Clippers. Bynum got 33 from the 120 first place votes and 400 points. This is Bynum's 1st All-NBA Team selection and his 1st Second Team selection. Tony Parker got 41 of the 120 first place votes and 367 points. This is Parker's 2nd All-NBA Team selection and his 1st Second Team selection. Kevin Love got 16 of the 120 first place votes and 365 points. This is Love's 1st All-NBA Team selection and his 1st Second Team selection. Westbrook got 5 of the 120 first place votes and 239 points. This is Westbrook's 2nd All-NBA Team selection, his 2nd Second Team selection and 2nd straight Second Team selection since 2011. Griffin got 170 points. This is Griffin's 1st All-NBA Team selection and his 1st Second Team selection. Bynum averaged 18.7 PPG (20th in the NBA), 1.4 APG, 11.8 RPG (3rd the in the NBA) and 1.9 BPG (6th in the NBA). He also shoot 55.8% (4th in the NBA) and his PER was 23.00 (Tied for 10th in the NBA). Tony Parker averaged 18.3 PPG (22nd in the NBA), 7.7 APG (8th in the NBA), 2.9 RPG and 1.0 SPG. He also shoot 48.0% (22nd in the NBA) and his PER was 22.04 (16th in the NBA). Kevin Love averaged 26.0 PPG (4th in the NBA), 2.0 APG, 13.3 RPG (2nd in the NBA) and 0.9 SPG. He also shoot 44.8% and his PER was 25.41 (5th in the NBA). Russell Westbrook averaged 23.6 PPG (5th in the NBA), 5.5 APG (Tied for 16th in the NBA), 4.6 RPG and 1.7 SPG (8th in the NBA). He also shoot 45.7% and his PER was 23.00 (Tied for 10th in the NBA). Griffin averaged 20.7 PPG (10th in the NBA), 3.2 APG, 10.9 RPG (6th in the NBA) and 0.8 SPG. He also shoot 54.9% (7th in the NBA) and his PER was 23.50 (8th in the NBA). I agree with all five members of the All-NBA Second Team.

All-NBA Third Team: The All-NBA 3rd Team included Dwyane Wade from the Miami Heat, Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks, Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Tyson Chandler from the New York Knicks. Wade got 1 of the 120 first place votes and 235 points. This is Wade's 7th All-NBA Team selection, his 2nd Third Team selection and 1st Third Team selection since 2007. Carmelo got 1 of the 120 first place votes and 154 points. This is Carmelo's 5th All-NBA Team selection, his 4th Third Team selection and his 1st Third Team selection and 2009. Rondo got 4 of the 120 first place votes and 142 points. This is Rondo's 1st All-NBA Team selection and his 1st Third Team selection. Nowitzki got 136 points. This is Nowitzki's 12th All-NBA Team selection (tied for 6th all-time), his 3rd Thid Team selection and 1st since 2004. Chandler got 60 points.This is Chandler's 1st All-NBA Team selection and his 1st Third Team selection. Wade averaged 22.1 PPG, 4.6 APG, 4.8 RPG,1.7 SPG and 1.3 BPG. He also shoot 49.7% (20th in the NBA) and his PER was 26.37 (3rd in the NBA). Carmelo averaged 22.6 PPG (6th in the NBA), 3.6 APG, 6.3 RPG and 1.1 SPG. He also shoot 43.0% and his PER was 21.05 (28th in the NBA). Rondo averaged 11.9 PPG, 11.7 APG (1st in the NBA), 4.8 RPG and 1.8 SPG. He also shoot 44.8% and his PER was 17.55. Nowitzki averaged 21.6 PPG (8th in the NBA), 2.2 APG, 6.8 RPG and 0.7 SPG (8th in the NBA). He also shoot 45.7% and his PER was 21.81 (20th in the NBA). Chandler averaged 11.3 PPG, 0.9 APG, 9.9 RPG (9th in the NBA) and 1.4 BPG (Tied for 17th in the NBA). He also shoot 67.9% (1st in the NBA and 3rd highest all-time) and his PER was 18.66. I agree with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Rajon Rondo making Third Team, but I thought LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol should had made All-NBA Third Team instead of Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler.

NBA All-Defensive First Team: The NBA All-Defensive 1st Team included LeBron James from the Miami Heat, Serge Ibaka from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers and Tony Allen from the Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron got 24 of the 30 first place votes and 53 points. This is LeBron's 4th All-Defensive Team selection, his 4th All-Defensive First Team selection (tied for 18th all-time) and his 4th straight All-Defensive First Team since 2009. Ibaka got 20 of the 30 first place votes and 47 points. This is Ibaka's 1st All-Defensive Team selection and his 1st All-Defensive First Team selection. Dwight got 16 of the 30 first place votes and 41  points. This Dwight's 5th All-Defensive Team selection, his 4th All-Defensive First Team selection (tied for 18th all-time) and his 4th straight All-Defensive First Team since 2009. Chris Paul got 13 of the 30 first place votes and 35 points. This Paul's 4th All-Defensive Team selection, his 2nd All-Defensive First Team selection and his 1st straight All-Defensive First Team since 2009. Tony Allen got 13 of the 30 first place votes and 33 points. This Allen's 2nd All-Defensive Team selection and his 1st All-Defensive First Team selection. LeBron averaged 6.4 DRPG (18th in the NBA), 1.9 SPG (3rd in the NBA) and 0.8 BPG. Ibaka averaged 4.6 DRPG, 0.5 SPG and 3.7 BPG (1st in the NBA). Dwight averaged 10.8 DRPG (1st in the NBA), 1.5 SPG and 2.1 BPG (3rd in the NBA). Chris Paul averaged 2.9 DRPG, 2.5 SPG (1st in the NBA) and 0.1 BPG. Tony Allen averaged 2.3 DRPG, 1.8 SPG (5th in the NBA) and 0.6 BPG. I agree with all the NBA All-Defensive First Team. 

NBA All-Defensive Second Team: The NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team included Tyson Chandler from the New York Knicks, Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett from the Boston Celtics, Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls and Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers. Chandler got 13 of the 30 first place votes and 36 points. Chandler is the third NBA Defensive Player of the Year to make the All-Defensive Second Team. The other 2 players were Mutombo in 1995 and Alvin Robertson in 1986. I find this really weird but I didn't think Chandler should have won Defensive Player of the Year award anyway. This is Chandler's 2nd All-Defensive Team selection, his 2nd All-Defensive Second Team selection and his 2nd straight All-Defensive Second Team since 2011. Rondo got 9 of the 30 first place votes and 29 points. This is Rondo's 4th All-Defensive Team selection, his 2nd All-Defensive Second Team selection and his 1st All-Defensive Second Team since 2009. Garnett got 8 of the 30 first place votes and 26 points. This Garnett's 12th All-Defensive Team selection (tied for 2nd all-time), his 3rd All-Defensive Second Team selection and his 1st All-Defensive Second Team since 2007. Luol Deng got 6 of the 30 first place votes and 20 points. This Deng's 1st All-Defensive Team selection and his 1st All-Defensive Second Team selection. Kobe Bryant got 7 of the 30 first place votes and 17 points. This Bryant's 12th All-Defensive Team selection (tied for 2nd all-time), his 3rd All-Defensive First Second selection and his 1st All-Defensive Second Team since 2002. Chandler averaged 6.5 DRPG (17th in the NBA), 0.9 SPG and 1.4 BPG (tied for 17th in the NBA). Rondo averaged 3.7 DRPG, 1.8 SPG and 0.1 BPG. Garnett averaged 8.2 DRPG (23rd in the NBA), 0.9 SPG and 1.0 BPG. Luol Deng averaged 5.1 DRPG, 1.0 SPG and 0.7 BPG. Kobe averaged 4.3 DRPG, 1.2 SPG and 0.3 BPG. I agree with all the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.  

NBA All-Rookie First Team: The NBA All-Rookie 1st Team included Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ricky Rubio from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kenneth Faried from the Denver Nuggets, Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors, Iman Shumpert from the New York Knicks, Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spur and Brandon Knight from the Detroit Pistons. This is the an All-NBA had seven members on it because Shumpert, Leonard and Knight all tied for the 5 players with 40 points. Irving got 29 of the 30 first place votes and 58 points. Rubio got 21 of the 30 first place votes and 49 points. Faried got 19 of the 30 first place votes and 46 points. Klay Thompson got 16 of the 30 first place votes and 43 points. Shumpert got 15 of the 30 first place votes and 40 points. Kawhi got 14 of the 30 first place votes and 40 points. Brandon Knight got 13 of the 30 first place votes and 40 points. Irving averaged 18.5 PPG (1st among the rookies), 5.4 APG (2nd among the rookies), 3.7 RPG (16th among the rookies), 1.1 SPG (tied for 5th among the rookies) and 0.4 BPG (15th among the rookies). He also shoot 46.9% (11th among the rookies) and his PER was 21.49 (2nd among the rookies). Rubio averaged 10.6 PPG (7th among the rookies), 8.2 APG (1st among the rookies), 4.2 RPG (tied for 11th among the rookies) and 2.2 SPG (1st among the rookies). He also shoot 35.7% (11th among the rookies) and his PER was 14.64 (9th among the rookies). Faried averaged 10.2 PPG (8th among the rookies), 0.8 APG, 7.7 RPG (1st among the rookies), 0.7 SPG (14th among the rookies) and 1.0 BPG (4th among the rookies). He also shoot 58.6% (1st among the rookies) and his PER was 21.94 (1st among the rookies). Klay Thompson averaged 12.5 PPG (4th among the rookies), 2.0 APG (tied for 11th among the rookies), 2.5 RPG and 0.7 SPG (tied for 12th among the rookies). He also shoot 44.3% (18th among the rookies) and his PER was 14.97 (8th among the rookies). Shumpert averaged 9.5 PPG (9th among the rookies), 2.8 APG (8th among the rookies), 3.2 RPG and 1.7 SPG (2nd among the rookies). He also shoot 40.1% (11th among the rookies) and his PER was 10.83. Kawhi averaged 7.9 PPG (13th among the rookies), 1.1 APG (20th among the rookies), 5.1 RPG (4th among the rookies), 1.3 SPG (3rd among the rookies) and 0.4 BPG (17th among the rookies). He also shoot 49.3% (11th among the rookies) and his PER was 16.66 (5th among the rookies). Knight averaged 12.8 PPG (2nd among the rookies), 3.8 APG (5th among the rookies), 3.2 RPG and 0.7 SPG (tied for 12th among the rookies). He also shoot 41.5% (11th among the rookies) and his PER was 11.79. I wouldn't have put Brandon Knight or Iman Shumpert on my All-Rookie 1st team but beacause of the tied all agree with all the members on the NBA All-Rookie 1st Team.

NBA All-Rookie Second Team: The NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team included Chandler Parsons from the Houston Rockets, Isaiah Thomas from the Sacramento Kings, MarShon Brooks from the New Jersey Nets, Derrick Williams from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tristan Thompson from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Parson got 10 of the 30 first place votes and 33 points. Thomas got 5 of the 30 first place votes and 27 points. Brooks got 3 of the 30 first place votes and 18 points. Derrick Williams got 2 of the 30 first place votes and 16 points. Tristan Thompson got 2 of the 30 first place votes and 16 points. Parsons averaged 9.5 PPG (10th among the rookies), 2.1 APG (10th among the rookies), 4.8 RPG (tied for 6th among the rookies), 1.2 SPG (4th among the rookies) and 0.5 BPG (12th among the rookies). He also shoot 45.2% (14th among the rookies) and his PER was 13.33 (19th among the rookies). Thomas averaged 11.5 PPG (6th among the rookies), 4.1 APG (4th among the rookies), 2.6 RPG and 0.8 SPG (10th among the rookies). He also shoot 44.8% (16th among the rookies) and his PER was 17.68 (9th among the rookies). Brooks averaged 12.6 PPG (3rd among the rookies), 2.3 APG (9th among the rookies), 3.6 RPG (tied for 16th among the rookies) and 0.9 SPG (8th among the rookies). He also shoot 42.8% and his PER was 13.00 (20th among the rookies). Derrick Williams averaged 8.8 PPG (11th among the rookies), 0.6 APG, 4.7 RPG (8th among the rookies) and 0.5 BPG (11th among the rookies). He also shoot 41.2% and his PER was 12.98. Tristan Thompson averaged 8.2 PPG (12th among the rookies), 0.5 APG, 6.5 RPG (2nd among the rookies) and 1.0 BPG (3rd among the rookies). He also shoot 43.9% (19th among the rookies) and his PER was 13.37 (18th among the rookies). Since the All-Rookie 1st team had seven members, I agree with all five members of the All-Rookie 2nd Team.