Five contenders for each NBA award

As Marc Stein of The New York Times reported in May, members of the NBA community were downright stunned to learn Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens did not receive a single vote for Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 season. That wrong could be righted next spring. Kyrie Irving's knee is probably as good as it's going to get. Gordon Hayward has returned from the horrific injury he suffered early in last season's debut. Finishing atop the conference standings could be enough for Stevens to win the award. 

At the risk of incurring the wrath of NBA Twitter: What if the Toronto Raptors made the right call by replacing Dwane Casey, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year, with former assistant Nick Nurse? Nurse inherits a talented roster that could, theoretically, be made that much better by Kawhi Leonard, a two-way star with plenty to prove and, potentially, a chip on his shoulder. As Holly MacKenzie of Raptors.com wrote, Nurse will look to make the Raptors a more aggressive side in 2018-19. 

The Philadelphia 76ers made life easier for head coach Brett Brown by removing responsibility from his shoulders and naming Elton Brand  general manager. According to NBA.com, Brown did not want to hold multiple positions, and he can now focus on guiding a tremendous lineup featuring Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and, maybe, the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year for 2018-19. More on that young man later. 

In August 2018, D.J. Foster of The Ringer suggested the Utah Jazz may, in reality, be the second-best team in the Western Conference. Say, for the sake of argument, Donovan Mitchell competes for an MVP award, the duo of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors dominate on the defensive end of the hardwood and rookie Grayson Allen  silences all critics with stellar performances en route to the Jazz finishing behind only the Golden State Warriors in the conference standings. Why, in such a scenario, wouldn't Quin Snyder win NBA Coach of the Year?  

Don't sleep on Mike D’Antoni winning his third Coach of the Year award just because he has the reigning MVP on his roster and because the Houston Rockets are supposed to compete for the title. The backcourt of James Harden and Chris Paul should be just as good, if not better, than it was during its first season together, and getting the best out of whatever is left of Carmelo Anthony could propel D’Antoni to the top of this category. 

Per CBS Boston, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens wants to get guard Terry Rozier "as many minutes as possible." With Kyrie Irving healthy and back in the lineup, Rozier's offensive production could, understandably, dip from the previous campaign, but a healthy desire to show he can be a starter for a playoff team could lead to him taking this award home. 

At this point, betting against Lou Williams to win NBA Sixth Man of the Year may just be silly. The 31-year-old claimed this honor a second time following the 2017-18 season after averaging 22.6 points, a career best, coming off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers. He'll have a similar role during the upcoming campaign, and he's shown no signs of slowing down. 

In April 2018, Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer wrote about the Toronto Raptors' "Bench Mob." Guard Fred VanVleet, arguably the star of that unit and a Sixth Man of the Year candidate for 2017-18, re-signed with the Raptors in July after the 24-year-old improved his offensive statistics across the board during his second season. This past June, Jacob M. Mack of Raptors HQ called VanVleet "the best bench player in the league." 

Andy Kamenetzky of The Athletic and Jason Reed of LA Sports Hub are just two individuals mentioning Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate ahead of the season. After averaging 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a rookie, the 23-year-old will sit underneath the learning tree and behind LeBron James. Torching secondary units, improving his shooting and tallying solid numbers while on the floor alongside the King could all make Kuzma a favorite to win this award by March. 

As Steve Dewald of Rockets Wire/USA Today explained, Carmelo Anthony told reporters in September he wants to do "whatever I have to do to help (the Houston Rockets) win a championship." A bench role is what he should've had with the New York Knicks years ago, and it's the perfect spot for him on the Houston roster. The 34-year-old is no longer an All-Star. But as the scorer that he still is at his age, Anthony could be the league's most important sixth man, especially when the games really matter. 

It's no coincidence members of the Boston Celtics are spread throughout this piece. Last season, guard Jaylen Brown improved his points-per-game average from 6.6 to 14.5, and he tied for seventh in the league with 3.8 defensive win shares, as explained by Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. The 21-year-old (he turns 22 later this month) begins the 2018-19 campaign with both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward in the lineup, meaning his true breakout season could be to come. 

The hottest take you may find about this prediction is that sophomores rarely win NBA Most Improved Player these days. That's fair, but 20-year-old Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz has nowhere to go but up. As Ricky O'Donnell of SB Nation and others pointed out, Fultz worked to improve his broken jumper over the summer, and he's actually managed to make some shots in the preseason. We'll see if he can do so under the bright lights of regular-season contests. 

The tradition of analysts and fans expecting Brooklyn Nets guard D’Angelo Russell to enjoy a breakout year continues up through the opening tip of the 2018-19 campaign. For this to be possible, the 22-year-old on the verge of a contract season must first show his knee can survive playing longer than half a season. Health isn't the only thing standing between Russell and this award. Having the ninth-most turnovers in the NBA while posting his numbers won't cut it. 

New Orleans Pelicans forward Julius Randle may have to post a double-double to be even a candidate for this award. After all, he averaged 16 points and eight rebounds per game last season. Fortunately, he's in an ideal situation with a team keen on playing at a high pace for 48 minutes. Per Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com, the Los Angeles Lakers, Randle's former club, finished 2017-18 first with 102.78 possessions per 48 minutes, No. 1 in that stat. 

In August 2017, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report listed Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner as a breakout candidate for the 2017-18 campaign. Instead of matching those expectations, the 22-year-old regressed, dropping in points, blocks and rebounds per game. Turner has the physical tools and skills to get to the top tier among those at the position. If he isn't a Most Improved Player candidate by January, though, the Pacers may consider fielding calls for his services.  

The famous cliche teaches that if it ain't broke, you don't fix it. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and he earned that honor despite the fact that he missed 26 games. The 26-year-old could be better and on the court more than in the previous season. Bet against him at your own risk. 

New Orleans Pelicans center Anthony Davis is a future Defensive Player of the Year and possibly the best overall talent in the Association not named LeBron James or Kevin Durant. The future could be now for him to win more than just one personal honor. The Brow led the NBA in blocks last year, and he'll no longer be sharing duties at the position with DeMarcus Cousins. At just 25 years old, Davis isn't yet in his prime. That's scary stuff for opposing teams. 

Looking for a sleeper candidate? Al Horford may be your guy. As Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe pointed out, the Boston Celtics finished the 2017-18 season with a league-leading defensive rating of 101.5, and that was before the Boston big man was eyeing a potential opt-out. If the Celtics are as good as many predict and Horford works to earn one last massive payday, the trophy could be his. 

It's now a matter of when, not if, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will win Defensive Player of the Year. The 24-year-old finished second in voting last season, and he may already be the second-best player at the position. It's easy, because of the hype and social-media buzz he generates, to forget Embiid has played in only 94 regular season games. Like Anthony Davis, Embiid will contend for an even bigger personal award sooner rather than later. 

Isiah Thomas' pick for Defensive Player of the Year is a two-time winner of the award. When fully healthy and fully motivated, forward Kawhi Leonard is, arguably, the league's best two-way player. Leonard has plenty to prove after joining the Toronto Raptors. As Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun explained, the 27-year-old is no stranger to this type of pressure. 

As Keith M. Scheessele of Bright Side of the Sun explained, Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton tied with Cleveland Cavaliers first-year pro Collin Sexton as the top candidate to win this award in a preseason peer vote. The 7-footer picked first overall in this year's draft looked the part during Summer League and early preseason contests, but he has a ways to go to silence criticisms of his defensive play. 

With superstar unicorn Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, maybe for the entire season, New York Knicks rookie forward Kevin Knox could quickly become the face of the roster and a candidate for this award. The 6-foot-9 youngster should see plenty of opportunities to score and produce numbers while featuring for a team that calls Madison Square Garden home. Per ESPN's Ian Begley , head coach David Fizdale hinted in September that he's going to throw the 19-year-old into the figurative deep end of the NBA right away. 

As mentioned earlier in this piece, it's clear Collin Sexton's fellow rookies rate him ahead of the campaign. Those familiar with the 19-year-old point guard know he's also confident in his own abilities. He's a streaky shooter, and it's possible he could get frustrated if the Cavs are sellers at the trade deadline. If Cleveland is to make any noise in the spring, however, it will be because Sexton is as good, if not better, than advertised. 

In June, Mark Titus of The Ringer called Marvin Bagley III the "most NBA-ready player" of the draft. That's high praise for the forward selected second overall by the Sacramento Kings. Defending is a weakness he isn't fixing overnight, but routinely tallying double-doubles could cause voters to ignore that aspect of his game. Then again, the Kings may be so awful, nobody cares what he does on the court. 

There are a plethora of reasons to explain why Luka Doncic would win Rookie of the Year if the voting was held before the season. The 19-year-old who went viral as a European superstar joined the Dallas Mavericks as a winner of international team and personal awards. He's the favorite to win Rookie of the Year because, simply put, he's the most skilled of the bunch. Doncic is also featuring for a Dallas side that could make the playoffs. 

Whatever happened between Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs is in the past. The 27-year-old two-way talent has already proved he has the goods to win MVP. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Leonard wants to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers or Los Angeles Lakers next summer. Having a banner one-and-done year with the Toronto Raptors could help him make that wish come true. 

Unless you've completely ignored the NBA the past several years, you already know Milwaukee Bucks "Greek Freak" Giannis Antetokounmpo is a future MVP and an athlete unlike any other in the league. Take statistics and individual contributions out of the equation. The Bucks may not win enough games for Antetokounmpo to win the award in 2019, but his time is coming. 

We already know Russell Westbrook is going to get his and do whatever possible to notch triple-doubles. It is what it is, and it may not even be all that impressive anymore. The Oklahoma City Thunder don't pay him to be a perimeter shooter, but converting more than 29.8 percent of his three-point attempts could help his cause in the race for 2018-19 MVP. 

In September, the Action Network's Rob Perez wrote that Houston Rockets guard James Harden is the favorite to repeat as scoring champion. Would doing so be enough for the 29-year-old to also repeat as NBA MVP? The Houston offense, as it exists, is built to ensure Harden gets his buckets at an efficient rate. Another career-best year could make voting against him an impossible task. 

In May 2018, NBA.com staff wondered if LeBron James is actually the MVP every year. Yes, yes he is, but basketball, like life, isn't fair. No disrespect to James Harden, but King James carrying the 2017-18 Cavaliers on his back for 82 games, which is ridiculous considering the mileage on James' body and the fact that the three-time champ is 33 years old, should have made him a unanimous MVP. Voters owe him a solid.