Detroit Lions EDGE rusher Trey Flowers and linebacker Jamie Collins have been recognized on PFF’s Team of Week 6.
Winning sure does wonders for national recognition.
After hardly sniffing any weekly honors nationally over the first month of the season, the Detroit Lions have seen player’s names show up all over the place to kick off Week 7.
Flowers earned a 92.0 grade from PFF, securing five tackles, two pressures, and a strip-sack — which per Next Gen Stats, was the fastest sack of Week 6:
Collins earned an 89.8 grade, recording seven tackles, a quarterback hit, and a key pass break up, late in the game on the final drive.
While Flowers was top graded Lions player of the week, Collins was actually third on the list, checking in behind safety Duron Harmon who had a 90.4 grade from PFF. Unfortunately for Harmon, his high grade was still behind Minkah Fitzpatrick (Steelers) and Marcus Maye (Jets) for the week, so he missed the recognition.
Interestingly, if you eliminate the snap count threshold, then Jarrad Davis’ grade of 95.2 would have topped them all, but with only 11 snaps on the day, it’s not enough to garner recognition. If you’re interested in reading about how Davis is finding success in his new role, be sure to check out our film study from Week 6.
Detroit Lions RB D’Andre Swift is nominated for this week’s NFL Rookie of the Week Honors. Vote for Swift!
The recognitions keep coming for Detroit Lions rookie running back D’Andre Swift. After being nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of Week 6 award, the young rookie is also up for Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week. Vote for him here!
Swift’s Week 6 performance speaks for itself. He led Lions running backs in snaps, was this week’s LionsWire top star, and headlined in our Stud and Duds. According to PFF, he also earned a grade of 72.0, narrowly missing out on landing in the Top 5 among Lions offensive players. Another fun tidbit, excluding offensive lineman, he was the Lions’ highest-graded pass blocker in Week 6.
Swift was able to capitalize on the increase in snaps this week, rushing for 116 yards with 8.3 yards per attempt clip. He was able to push it into the endzone twice and added three receptions for seven yards.
If you forget how masterful Swift was in Week 6, check out his highlight reel:
Detroit Lions rookie running back D’Andre Swift has been nominated for the NFL Ground Player of Week 6 award — here’s how to vote!
Detroit Lions rookie running back D’Andre Swift has been nominated for the NFL Ground Player of Week 6 award, given to the best performance by a running back in the current week — here’s how to vote for him to win!
On a career day, Swift was able to rush for 116-yards on 14 carries, for an 8.3 yards per carry average, while also scoring on two rushing touchdowns. He also added three receptions for seven receiving yards for good measure.
Here’s a look at his top-3 plays of the day, including a speedy 54-yard rush that helped the Lions establish an early lead on the Jaguars:
His competition for this week’s award is Tennesse Titans’ Derrick Henry (212 yards on 22 carries, 9.6 avg., and 2 TDs) and Ronald Jones (113 yards on 23 carries, 4.9 avg., 2 TDs).
Jack Fox has been named Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2020, becoming the first Detroit Lions’ punter win this award.
Jack Fox has introduced himself to the NFL in emphatic fashion.
Through the first month of the 2020 season, Fox leads the league in Average Punt Yards per Attempt (53.1 yards), Net Punting Yards (51.1 yards), and Hang Time on punts (4.78 seconds). Additionally, Fox sits atop Pro Football Focus’ punter rankings with a 92.8 grade and is nearly 20 points higher than the next punter.
Fox’s hard work and fantastic performances throughout September have been recognized by the NFL and he has been named Special Teams Player of the Month — the first time a Detroit Lions punter has ever be recognized with this award.
As impressive as Fox has been throughout the year, both he and special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs have bigger aspirations ahead:
“Me and Jack are kind of on the same page in terms of the more success we have, we’re just going to keep raising the bar,” Coombs told the media on Tuesday. “We’re not really looking back right now and talking about anything that we’ve done. As he continues to go out and do better, then we’re just going to raise the goals higher and try to accomplish more… He knows that I’m very, very confident in him. I just don’t want he, or us, ever to feel satisfied or like we’ve arrived. We’re just going to keep trying to reach higher and higher and see how far we can take it.”
If Fox improves — or even maintains his pace — he will blow the NFL records out of the water. For perspective, the single-season NFL record for Net Punting yards is 46.0, and last year’s leader finished with an average of 44.5 yards.
After his game-winning field goal in Week 3, Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater was successful on all four of his field-goal attempts in Week 3, connecting from 37, 24, 35, and 39-yards. He scored the last six points of the game from either team, tieing the game up with just over six minutes remaining and then connecting on the game-winning field goal as time expired.
For his clutch efforts, Prater has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
This is the 11th time in Prater’s career that he has been named the Special Teams Player of the Week — including his sixth time since rejoining the Lions.
Additionally, Prater earned our top post-game award as Lions Wire’s No. 1 Star of the Game and was also recognized in our By The Numbers evaluation of last weekend’s game, as this is the 15th time Prater has kicked a game-winning field goal.
Prater wasn’t the Lions only special teams player who deserves recognition, as punter/holder Jack Fox has been dynamic every time he steps on the field.
Currently, Fox leads the NFL in Average Punting Yards per Attempt (53.1-yards), Net Punting yards (51.1-yards), hang time (4.78 seconds), and has PFF’s highest score for a punter with an elite 92.8 grade.
Voting for the NBA’s prestigious Most Valuable Player (MVP) award has changed vastly throughout the years. First, it was the players who voted on the peer they thought most deserving of the pinnacle award in the sport. That was the case until the …
Voting for the NBA’s prestigious Most Valuable Player (MVP) award has changed vastly throughout the years.
First, it was the players who voted on the peer they thought most deserving of the pinnacle award in the sport.
That was the case until the 1980-81 campaign, when the voting was instead given to a panel of basketball media members, ranging from top sportswriters to the broadcasters who cover the league.
Since then, there have been a couple of minor tweaks to the system, from the NBA no longer allowing local broadcasters to vote for the winner of the award to avoid professional biases getting in the way to a 101st ballot being added to the fold so fans could get a say on MVP.
Below, we present how each media member has voted on MVP through the years. Oh, we should also note that the data below only goes back to 2015 because that’s when the NBA decided to make the process more transparent by releasing the full voting results.
CRAIG ACKERMAN (SPORTSTALK 790 AM)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard
JA ADANDE (ESPN.COM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
SCOTT AGNESS (THE ATHLETIC)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
MARV ALBERT (TURNER SPORTS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant
ANDRE ALDRIDGE (FOX SPORTS SOUTH)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant
DAVID ALDRIDGE (TURNER)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook
SAM AMICK (THE ATHLETIC)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
JASON ANDERSON (SACRAMENTO BEE)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
GREG ANTHONY (TURNER SPORTS)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook
KEVIN ARNOVITZ (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul 2017: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
STEVE ASCHBURNER (NBA.COM)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Damian Lillard
JIM BARNETT (COMCAST SPORTSNET BAY AREA)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis
BRENT BARRY (TURNER)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis
JON BARRY (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Paul George, Stephen Curry
MICHELLE BEADLE (ESPN)
2017: Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Damian Lillard
ROD BEARD (DETROIT NEWS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
HOWARD BECK (BLEACHER REPORT)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook 2017: James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Paul George
KEN BERGER (CBSSPORTS.COM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook
MARC BERMAN (NEW YORK POST)
2015: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, James Harden, LeBron James 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard
GEORGE BLAHA (WMGC / FOX SPORTS DETROIT)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant
A. SHERROD BLAKELY (NBC SPORTS BOSTON)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James 2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Paul George
FRAN BLINEBURY (NBA.COM)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul 2017: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
STEFAN BONDY (NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
RICK BONNELL (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant
TIM BONTEMPS (ESPN)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic
ROD BOONE (NEWSDAY)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
RON BOONE (ROOT SPORTS)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Chris Paul
SCOTT BORDOW (ARIZONA REPUBLIC)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant
MARK BOYLE (107.5/1070 THE FAN)
2015: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant
MIKE BREEN (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
CHRIS BROUSSARD (FOX SPORTS)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Paul George
BRENDAN BROWN (MSG NETWORK)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul
CLIFTON BROWN (INDIANAPOLIS STAR)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant
HUBIE BROWN (ABC/ESPN)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, LeBron James 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Isaiah Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James
RIC BUCHER (BLEACHER REPORT)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, John Wall 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant
STEVE BUCKHANTZ (COMCAST SPORTSNET MID-ATLANTIC)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James
CANDACE BUCKNER (INDIANAPOLIS STAR)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, LeBron James 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Draymond Green
MATT BULLARD (ROOT SPORTS SOUTHWEST)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, LeBron James
DORIS BURKE (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
KEVIN CALABRO (ESPN RADIO)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green
DAVE CAMPBELL (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid
TIM CAPSTRAW (WFAN (660))
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
CHRIS CARRINO (WFAN (660))
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis
ADRIAN CHAVARRIA (KEYH 850 AM)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kyle Lowry
PHIL CHENIER (COMCAST SPORTSNET MID-ATLANTIC)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul
ANTHONY CHIANG (MIAMI HERALD)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
DAVIDE CHINELLATO (LA GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook
DAVID COBB (MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Rudy Gobert
DOUG COLLINS (ABC/ESPN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas
GLENN CONSOR (106.7 THE FAN)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James
BOB COONEY (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, LeBron James
CHUCK COOPERSTEIN (ESPN 103.3)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul
PAUL CORO (THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul
JOE COWLEY (CHICAGO SUN‐TIMES)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo
MIKE CRISPINO (MSG NETWORK)
2015: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Marc Gasol, Stephen Curry
ANTONI DAIMIEL (MOVIESTAR+)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas
BRIAN DAVIS (FOX SPORTS OKLAHOMA)
2015: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul
TED DAVIS (WTMJ RADIO)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green
BRETT DAWSON (THE OKLAHOMAN)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo
CHRIS DEMPSEY (DENVER POST)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant
CHRIS DENARI (FOX SPORTS INDIANA)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant
JOHN DENTON (ORLANDOMAGIC.COM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook
SEAN DEVENEY (THE SPORTING NEWS)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook 2017: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Nikola Jokic
KEVIN DING (BLEACHER REPORT)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, James Harden, Anthony Davis 2017: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard
IAN EAGLE (YES NETWORK)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
AMIN ELHASSAN (ESPN)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
VINCE ELLIS (DETROIT FREE PRESS)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant
J MICHAEL FALGOUST (CSN WASHINGTON)
2017: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, DeMar DeRozan
AARON FALK (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul
JONATHAN FEIGEN (HOUSTON CHRONICLE)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
TONY FIORENTINO (FOX SPORTS SUN)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant
BOB FITZGERALD (COMCAST SPORTSNET BAY AREA)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul
PAUL FLANNERY (SB NATION)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
MARK FOLLOWILL (TXA-21/FOX SPORTS NET)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard
REID FORGRAVE (CBSSPORTS.COM)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
MIKE FRATELLO (TNT)
2015: James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook
JOE FREEMAN (THE OREGONIAN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Damian Lillard 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
NICK FRIEDELL (ESPNCHICAGO.COM)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard
MIKE GANTER (TORONTO SUN)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan
CHARLES GARDNER (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo
JODY GENESSY (DESERET NEWS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard
GARY GEROULD (COMCAST SPORTSNET-CA)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant
BEN GOLLIVER (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant
VINCE GOODWILL (YAHOO!)
2017: James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
MIKE GORMAN (COMCAST SPORTSNET)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis
SEAN GRANDE (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
MICHAEL GRANGE (ROGERS SPORTSNET)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Damian Lillard
JARED GREENBERG (TURNER)
2017: James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Paul George
WILL GUILLORY (THE ATHLETIC)
2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Stephen Curry
ISRAEL GUTTIEREZ (ESPN.COM)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant
DOUG HALLER (ARIZONA REPUBLIC)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
SHERMAN HAMILTON (NBA TV CANADA)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul
KEVIN HARLAN (TURNER SPORTS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
ZACH HARPER (THE ATHLETIC)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
ANTONIO HARVEY (FOX SPORTS RADIO/620AM)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green, LeBron James
ERIC HASSELTINE (92.9 FM ESPN/680 AM ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul
SCOTT HASTINGS (ALTITUDE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
CHRIS HAYNES (YAHOO! SPORTS)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic, Paul George
KURT HELIN (NBCSPORTS.COM)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard
ADAM HIMMELSBACH (BOSTON GLOBE)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant
STEVE HOLMAN (HAWKS RADIO NETWORK)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
ERIK HORNE (THE OKLAHOMAN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
ALAN HORTON (WCCO 830-AM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul
LISA HSU (TENCENT)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid
CASSIDY HUBBARTH (ESPN)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
CHASE HUGHES (NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.COM)
2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo
AL IANNAZZONE (NEWSDAY)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant
KELLY IKO (THE ATHLETIC)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid
MIKE INGLIS (WAXY RADIO)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
FRANK ISOLA (SIRIUS RADIO/THE ATHLETIC)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
MARK JACKSON (ESPN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook
LEE JENKINS (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, John Wall 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant
DAVE JOHNSON (106.7 THE FAN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul
EDDIE JOHNSON (FOX SPORTS ARIZONA)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green
ERNIE JOHNSON (TURNER)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Giannis Antetokounmpo
KC JOHNSON (CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
JASON JONES (SACRAMENTO BEE)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, LeBron James 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook
MARK JONES (ESPN)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
PAUL JONES (TSN 1050/SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
TONY JONES (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE)
2017: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
FRED KATZ (THE ATHLETIC)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry
SEAN KELLEY (WRNO 99.5 FM)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James
TIM KEMPTON (KTAR RADIO)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard
MARC KESTECHER (ESPN)
2017: Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
NIRA KHURANA (PERFORM)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Stephen Curry
JASON KOSMICKI (ALTITUDE RADIO NETWORK)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Anthony Davis
JOHN KRAWCZYNSKI (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook
JON KRAWCZYNSKI (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, John Wall
STEVE KYLER (BASKETBALL INSIDERS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas
BILL LAND (FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST)
2015: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
KENNEGH LAU (BESTV)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid
RALPH LAWLER (PRIME TICKET)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook
KRISTEN LEDLOW (TURNER SPORTS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid
CONNOR LETOURNEAU (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo
BRIAN LEWIS (NEW YORK POST)
2016: Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
JASON LIESER (PALM BEACH POST)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant
JASON LLOYD (THE ATHLETIC)
2015: LeBron James, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo
GREG LOGAN (NEWSDAY)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant
MASSIMO LOPES PEGNA (LA GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry
ZACH LOWE (ESPN)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul 2017: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
TIM MACMAHON (ESPN)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry
JACKIE MACMULLAN (ESPN)
2017: James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
BRIAN MAHONEY (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Draymond Green 2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James 2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
ROB MAHONEY (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic
MAXIME MALET (L’EQUIPE)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Joel Embiid
CHRIS MANNIX (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Damian Lillard
TJ MANOTOC (ABS‐CBN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard
DANTE MARCHITELLI (FOX SPORTS FLORIDA)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook
CHRIS MARLOWE (ALTITUDE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Chris Paul
STEVE MARTIN (FOX SPORTS CAROLINAS/SPORTSOUTH)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard
DIEGO MARTINEZ (REFORMA)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
CEDRIC MAXWELL (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant
DARNELL MAYBERRY (OKLAHOMAN)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis
DAVID MAYO (MLIVE MEDIA GROUP)
2015: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Damian Lillard
JEFF MCDONALD (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS‐NEWS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2017: Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
TOM MCGINNIS (SIXERS RADIO)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard
FRED MCLEOD (FOX SPORTS OHIO)
2015: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant
DAVE MCMENAMIN (ESPN)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Joel Embiid
MARK MEDINA (LA DAILY NEWS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
JOEL MEYERS (FOX SPORTS NEW ORLEANS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, LeBron James 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant
REGGIE MILLER (TURNER SPORTS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Kevin Durant
YOKO MIYAJI (SPORTS GRAPHIC NUMBER)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook
GINA MIZELL (DENVER POST)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo
JACQUES MONCLAR (BEIN SPORT)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Isaiah Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James
MIKE MONROE (THE RIVARD REPORT)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green
MATT MOORE (CBSSPORTS.COM)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, John Wall
GRANT NAPEAR (COMCAST SPORTSNET-CA)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Draymond Green
MANNY NAVARO (MIAMI HERALD)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas
MANNY NAVARRO (MIAMI HERALD)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook
DENNIS NEUMANN (ESPN 580 AM)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Tim Duncan
RACHEL NICHOLS (ESPN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
MARCELO NOGUEIRA (OLE)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry
KEVIN O’CONNOR (THE RINGER)
2017: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Joel Embiid
ROSALYN GOLD‐ONWUDE (TURNER)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard
BILL ORAM (THE ATHLETIC)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant 2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
DAVE PASCH (ESPN)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
JIM PASCHKE (FOX SPORTS WISCONSIN)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant
KEVIN PELTON (ESPN)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Russell Westbrook 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry
JIM PETERSEN (FOX SPORTS NORTH)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant
MATT PINTO (WWLS / 98.1)
2015: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, James Harden, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James
KEITH POMPEY (PHILADELPHIA INQURIER AND DAILY NEWS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
PETE PRANICA (FOX SPORTS SOUTHEAST)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Damian Lillard
DWAIN PRICE (FT. WORTH STAR TELEGAM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis
JASON QUICK (NBC SPORTS NORTHWEST)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan
DUANE RANKIN (ARIZONA REPUBLIC)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry
BOB RATHBUN (FOX SPORTS SOUTH)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Klay Thompson 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant
LEO RAUTINS (SPORTSNET/TSN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
STEPHANIE READY (FOX SPORTS CAROLINAS/SPORTSOUTH)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
ERIC REID (SUN SPORTS)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook
JOHN REID (NEW ORLEANS TIMES PICAYUNE)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Chris Paul
BILL REITER (CBSSPORTS.COM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant
TIM REYNOLDS (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook 2017: LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Damian Lillard
MIKE RICE (COMCAST SPORTSNET NW)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard
JOSH ROBBINS (THE ATHLETIC)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
JALEN ROSE (ESPN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard
TIM ROYE (KNBR RADIO)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green
BILL SCHOENING (WOAI RADIO)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul
JOHN SCHUHMANN (NBA.COM)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Damian Lillard
GUILLERMO SCHUTZ (TELEVISA)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
DENNIS SCOTT (TURNER SPORTS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Paul George
EDDIE SEFKO (DALLAS MORNING NEWS)
2015: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant
ANDREW SHARP (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
2017: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
RAMONA SHELBURNE (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid
LISA SHEN YANG (TENCENT)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid
CHRIS SHERIDAN (SHERIDANHOOPS.COM)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, LeBron James
BRIAN SIEMAN (THE BEAST 980)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Draymond Green
BILL SIMMONS (THE RINGER)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Draymond Green, Chris Paul 2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Victor Oladipo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Paul George
RUSTY SIMMONS (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Draymond Green
MIKE SINGER (DENVER POST)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
ETHAN SKOLNICK (MIAMI HERALD)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant
ANTHONY SLATER (THE ATHLETIC)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Nikola Jokic
DOUG SMITH (TORONTO STAR)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, LeBron James 2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid
ERIC SMITH (TSN 1050/SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul
MICHAEL SMITH (PRIME TICKET)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard
SAM SMITH (BULLS.COM)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard
SEKOU SMITH (NBA.COM)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
STEVE SMITH (TURNER SPORTS)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
THALES SOARES (GLOBOESPORTE.COM)
2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo
MARC SPEARS (THE UNDEFEATED)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, LaMarcus Aldridge 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard 2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James
DAVID STEELE (FOX SPORTS FLORIDA)
2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant
SAGE STEELE (ABC/ESPN)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Draymond Green 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
MARC STEIN (ESPN.COM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
CASEY STERN (TURNER SPORTS)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard
MIRJAM SWANSON (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEWS GROUP)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, Damian Lillard
CHUCK SWIRSKY (WMVP AM 1000)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
NATE TAYLOR (INDIANAPOLIS STAR)
2017: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
ELLIOTT TEAFORD (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEWS GROUP)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo
JUSTIN TERMINE (SIRIUS RADIO)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Damian Lillard
RON TILLERY (MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard
MIKE TIRICO (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green
FLAVIO TRANQUILLO (SKY ITALIA)
2017: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard
JEFF TURNER (FOX SPORTS FLORIDA)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
OLGUN ULUC (FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic
JOE VARDON (THE ATHLETIC)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Paul George
ANDY VASQUEZ (BERGEN RECORD)
2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry
XAVIER VAUTION (BEIN SPORT)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis
MATT VELAZQUEZ (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL)
2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
JUSTIN VERRIER (ESPN.COM)
2017: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry
ANDRE VOIGT (DAZN)
2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
AILENE VOISIN (SACRAMENTO BEE)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard
RICHARD WALKER (GASTON GAZETTE)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Isaiah Thomas, Kawhi Leonard 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard
GARY WASHBURN (BOSTON GLOBE)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge 2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Isaiah Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard
CALVIN WATKINS (ESPN.COM)
2017: James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James
CHRIS WEBBER (TURNER)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan, Anthony Davis
BILL WENNINGTON (WMVP AM 1000)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
DAVID WESLEY (FOX SPORTS NEW ORLEANS)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kyle Lowry
LANG WHITAKER (NBA.COM)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas
MICHAEL WILBON (ESPN)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Draymond Green 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry
IRA WINDERMAN (SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Anthony Davis
BRIAN WINDHORST (ESPN)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry
MATT WINER (TURNER SPORTS)
2015: James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard 2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
DAN WOIKE (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis
RYAN WOLSTAT (TORONTO SUN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
ERIC WOODYARD (DESERET NEWS)
2019: James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard
BILL WORRELL (ROOT SPORTS SOUTHWEST)
2016: Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul
JABARI YOUNG (COMCAST SPORTSNET NW)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, LeBron James
ROYCE YOUNG (ESPN)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Paul George, Nikola Jokic
JERRY ZGODA (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook 2017: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas 2018: James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard
WEIPING ZHANG (CCTV)
2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Stephen Curry 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Paul George
JEFF ZILLGITT (USA TODAY)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook 2016: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook 2017: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry 2018: LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard 2019: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard
MARC ZUMOFF (SIXERS TV)
2015: Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul 2016: Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant
Third-year center Frank Ragnow is named the Detroit Lions’ most underrated player by Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus tasked its staff to come up with the most underrated player on all 32 NFL teams. For the Detroit Lions, the quest wasn’t a difficult one.
Center Frank Ragnow earned the honor for being the most underrated Lions player. Given that Ragnow was PFF’s No. 6 overall center in 2019 and No. 2 run blocking center, it makes sense. He doesn’t get nearly the acclaim he deserves, either locally or nationally. Ragnow quickly proved to be a near-elite talent at his first NFL season playing the position after starting at guard in his rookie 2018 campaign.
Set to remain the team’s starting center heading into 2020, Ragnow is poised to continue to develop into one of the top young interior offensive linemen in the NFL.
Ragnow also merits extra credit for playing in the middle of an intentionally revolving door in the Lions’ unconventional guard rotation. Continuity flies out the window for Ragnow but he remains a very good center despite the adversity.
Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker has landed on Pro Football Focus’ Team of the Week for the third time in the last four weeks.
As a team, the Detroit Lions have been struggling, but over the last month, Taylor Decker has been dominant.
Decker has been recognized by Pro Football Focus’ for the third time in the last four weeks. In Week 9, Week 10, and now Week 12, Decker has been PFF’s highest-graded left tackle in the league and earned a spot on their team of the week.
“Decker earned an impressive 82.7 overall grade along with an 81.4 pass-blocking grade and a 79.7 run-blocking grade against the Redskins in Week 12,” the PFF team said. “He allowed zero total pressures across 45 pass-blocking snaps in the contest, as well. He enters Week 13 ranked inside the top-15 in overall grade among qualifying offensive tackles.”
There aren’t currently a lot of bright spots for the Lions, but right now Decker is shining.
On the season, Decker joins several other Lions who have earned a spot on PFF’s team of the week, including:
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives our Top 10 candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award. Which stars have stood out thus far?
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives our Top 10 candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award. This list highlights stars who are in the mix for the 2019-20 MVP award due to their impressive play.
Which stars have stood out? Here are our latest MVP rankings:
Leonard hasn’t been super effective in the three games that he’s played since returning from a left knee contusion. The Clippers managed to win all three contests (over the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans), but Leonard seems a bit limited. Sure, Kawhi at 70-80 percent is better than most players at 100 percent, but we dropped him down our rankings a bit as he gets back to full strength. It’s worth noting that Leonard has been much less efficient than usual this season, which is something that the 28-year-old will surely work on. He’s shooting just 43.5 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three-point range – both of which would easily be career-lows for Leonard. He’s only appeared in 12 games, though, so perhaps it’s just a small sample size. Fortunately for the Clippers (and basketball fans in general), Leonard and Paul George are finally playing together and it’s been fun to watch. So far, L.A. is undefeated when they have their two stars in the lineup at the same time.
Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls was a perfect example of how adding Carmelo Anthony may help the Blazers win some additional games this season. Lillard scored just 13 points on 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 25.0 percent from three, but Portland still won because Anthony had 25 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent from three. Lillard has been outstanding for the Blazers this year, but one player can only do so much. If Anthony continues to score this efficiently, it’ll be difficult for defenses to shut down Carmelo, Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard recently missed a game due to back spasms (insert joke about Dame carrying the Blazers on his back) and the point guard said that the issue is going to linger for a bit, so that may be why he’s struggling as of late. On the season, Lillard ranks fifth in Offensive Box Plus/Minus (6.9), seventh in Win Shares (2.4), seventh in Value Over Replacement Player (1.1) and 10th in Player Efficiency Rating (25.0).
This is Butler’s first time cracking our MVP rankings this season, but he’s been playing well all year for the Heat. Butler’s decision to leave the Philadelphia 76ers for Miami was one of the biggest surprises of this past offseason, but the 30-year-old forward has fit in perfectly with the Heat’s culture. With Butler leading the way on the perimeter, Miami currently has the second-best defense in the NBA (allowing just 100 points per 100 possessions). This has helped the Heat get off to a 12-4 start, which is the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Over the weekend, Butler returned to Philadelphia to face off against the Sixers for the first time since his departure and while he would’ve loved to have a monster showing and get the win, he finished with just 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 30.8 percent from the field (including 0-2 from three) in a losing effort. Still, Butler is having a strong campaign and he has the Heat near the top of the East, which is why he’s in our Top 10 this week.
Siakam has emerged as an elite scorer this season, while continuing to play the strong defense that we’ve seen from him in the past. At the moment, Siakam is ranked ninth among all players in Defensive Win Shares (0.9), 16th in Win Shares (1.8) and 18th in Value Over Replacement Player (.7). Interestingly, Siakam’s stats (25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 threes, 0.8 steals, 47.4 FG%, 37.4 3P%) are actually very similar to the numbers of his former teammate Kawhi Leonard (25.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.8 threes, 2.1 steals, 43.5 FG%, 30.0 3P%). Everyone expected the 25-year-old to take on a bigger role this season and show some progress in Leonard’s absence, but this kind of leap is just incredible. He’s becoming one of the game’s elite two-way players and he seems poised for superstardom. Not bad for someone who didn’t play organized basketball for the first time until he was nearly 18 years old!
Towns continues to shoot the ball extremely well, making 44.4 percent of his three-pointers on 9.0 attempts per game. He’s more than doubled his number of three-pointers per game this season, which has made him an even scarier offensive weapon for Minnesota. Believe it or not, Towns’ 57 three-pointers is third-best in the NBA behind only James Harden (79) and Devonte’ Graham (60). The 24-year-old’s game perfectly fits in the modern NBA. Between Towns’ strong play and Andrew Wiggins’drastic improvement, it’s possible that the Wolves could shock everyone and sneak into the playoffs for just the second time in 16 years. After winning three-straight games (including an impressive victory over the Miami Heat), Minnesota has the seventh-best record in the Western Conference at 9-8.
The Lakers’ roster features 11 new players (including Davis), but you’d never know it from watching this team play. Rather than struggling out of the gate as they try to develop chemistry and get everyone on the same page, L.A. opened their season by winning 15 of their first 17 games. Davis and LeBron James have been a terrific one-two punch out of the gate, bringing the best out of each other. Davis may not be posting the jaw-dropping stat lines we got used to seeing from him with the New Orleans Pelicans, but that’s because he has a better supporting cast now and the Lakers aren’t asking him to carry the team on his own. Still, he’s been a dominant rim protector (leading the league in blocks) and he’s capable of scoring from anywhere on the court (averaging a career-high 1.2 threes per game). It may be tough for Davis to win MVP because he’s playing alongside James (and vice versa, perhaps), but there’s no question that he’s having a terrific season. It’ll be interesting to see how this Lakers team looks at midseason once they’re even more cohesive (and once their schedule gets a bit more difficult).
Last week, we praised Harden’s offensive output and moved him up our rankings because the Rockets held the second-best record in the league and were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. Unfortunately, Houston went on to drop their next three games to tough teams (the Denver Nuggets, L.A. Clippers and Dallas Mavericks). Harden continues to score at will, despite constantly being double-teamed by opponents. He recently voiced his displeasure with the constant double-teaming, telling reporters: “The whole season, they’re running doubles teams at me. I’ve never seen that in an NBA game where you’ve got really good defenders and someone else running at the top of the key. Y’all let me know the last time you’ve seen that.” He uses this to his advantage at times, drawing contact from both defenders and getting to the foul line (which he’s doing more often than anyone since prime Wilt Chamberlain). With the Rockets’ current losing streak, Harden dropped one spot this week, but there’s no question that he’ll be in the mix for this award come the end of the season as long as he stays healthy.
The Bucks have now won 13 of their last 14 games (including eight-straight), climbing to No. 1 in the Eastern Conference standings. Not only have they lost just one game in the month of November, they’re winning convincingly – as evidenced by their +9.3 average point differential, the highest in the NBA. That’s in large part due to Antetokounmpo, who continues to dominate on both ends of the floor. On Monday, he had perhaps his best outing of the season in a win over the Utah Jazz, finishing with 50 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 threes, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. The Jazz entered the game with the NBA’s top-ranked defense (allowing just 99.3 points per 100 possessions), yet Giannis did whatever he wanted against them. Antetokounmpo became just the second player in NBA history to hit all of those statistical marks in a single game, joining Michael Jordan (who did it against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989-90).
Recently, a courtside fan captured a funny interaction between James and a referee, with James saying, “I know you’ve been reading and they’re saying that I haven’t been playing defense these last couple of years, but it’s a new year!” Well, this season, it seems that James’ main focuses are defending and facilitating. His much-improved defense is perhaps the starkest difference between 2018-19 and this year. James ranks fifth in the NBA in Defensive Win Shares (+1.0) and 20th in Defensive Rating (101.9), and his effort on that end of the floor has been significantly better. Perhaps Anthony Davis deserves credit for this, as he’s been saying since the offseason that he was going to hold LeBron accountable and push him to play at an All-Defensive-Team level like he’s capable of doing. After Monday’s games, the Lakers actually have the best defense in the NBA (allowing just 99.7 points per 100 possessions). As for LeBron’s playmaking, he leads the league in assists per game (10.8) and assist percentage (50.7) by wide margins. In fact, he’s been involved in 49.0 percent of the Lakers’ points, which is easily the highest percentage among all NBA players this season. Los Angeles has won eight-straight and sit at 15-2, which is the NBA’s best record.
Early in the season, people were praising Doncic’s game while wondering when the sophomore would come back down to the Earth. Well, rather than regressing, Luka has only gotten better and he’s even closer to averaging 30-10-10. Doncic currently leads all NBA players in Win Shares (3.6), Box Plus/Minus (14.2), Value Over Replacement Player (2.2) and Player Efficiency Rating (33.3). In fact, his 33.3 PER puts him on pace for the best single-season efficiency rating of all-time. He makes the game look incredibly easy, destroying teams offensively. Not only does he have the league’s second-best scoring average (30.6), he ranks second in the NBA in assists per game (9.8) and assist percentage (48.9), showing just how many buckets he’s creating for himself and others. Doncic secured this week’s top spot after delivering an MVP-like performance in Dallas’ win over James Harden and the Houston Rockets, finishing with 41 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 threes, 2 steals and 1 block. And his production is translating into victories for the Mavs, as they’ve now won five-straight games. Dallas is 11-5, which is the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. Right now, Doncic may be the frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award and the Most Improved Player award.
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives their Top 10 candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award. Check out this week’s rankings.
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives our Top 10 candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award. This list highlights stars who are in the mix for the 2019-20 MVP award due to their impressive play.
Which stars have stood out? Here are our latest MVP rankings:
Siakam is making the Raptors look smart for giving him that four-year, $130 million extension. This is Siakam’s first appearance in our Top 10, but he’s been playing well all season. Even if he doesn’t receive significant MVP love this year because there are so many great candidates, it’s possible that he could become the first player in NBA history to win the Most Improved Player award twice. One could make the argument that his growth over the last year (+8.8 ppg, +1.7 rpg, +1.1 apg) is just as impressive as his sophomore-to-junior leap (+9.6 ppg, +2.4 rpg, +1.1 apg). Regardless of whether he wins MIP for a second-straight year, he’s made huge strides this season. Becoming a team’s No. 1 option and a 25-point-per-game scorer is extremely hard, but Siakam has made it look easy. The 25-year-old has essentially filled the Kawhi Leonard role in this offense and it’s been amazing to watch his development in recent years. He has the Raptors sitting at 9-4, which is the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Leonard dropped down our list over the last week because he’s missed three-straight games due to a left-knee contusion that he suffered in the Clippers’ loss to the Houston Rockets last Wednesday. Leonard has been terrific on both ends of the floor when he’s suited up, but he’s now missed five of a possible 14 games this season. As we wrote in this space last week, voters tend to reward players who haven’t missed significant time when considering Most Valuable Player. The last 15 MVP winners have missed an average of 3.93 games in the season in which they won the award (with no individual missing more than 10 games). The Clippers are likely going to be cautious with Leonard moving forward to ensure that he’ll be at 100 percent for their playoff run (like the Toronto Raptors’ approach that worked so well last year). Also, when two MVP candidates have teamed up in the past (like Kevin Durant and Steph Curry on the Golden State Warriors), voters weren’t sure what to do and they basically canceled each other out. It’s possible that could happen with Leonard and 2018-19 MVP finalist Paul George, who returned recently.
The big news in the NBA over the last week was the Trail Blazers’ decision to sign free agent Carmelo Anthony. After sustaining numerous injuries and getting off to a slow start (5-9, which is the third-worst record in the Western Conference), Portland is hoping that Anthony can help revitalize this team. Last time Anthony was in the NBA, he averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 threes while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from three-point range in 10 games with the Houston Rockets. It remains to be seen how much this addition will impact Lillard and CJ McCollum, who are Portland’s top options on offense. Lillard is averaging career-highs across the board, but he’s received little help from his supporting cast, which is why the Blazers are struggling so much.
Not only has Towns been filling the stat sheet, he’s been extraordinarily efficient in the process. He’s shooting 51.2 percent from the field on 17.9 field goal attempts and he’s making 43.5 percent of his threes on 9.0 attempts. Only James Harden (4.9) is making more threes per game than Towns (3.9), and the big man’s three-point percentage is 6.5 percentage points higher than Harden’s. Also, Towns currently ranks fourth in Box Plus/Minus (+10.1), fourth in PER (30.4) and fifth in Value Over Replacement Player (1.2). With Towns making his presence felt all over the court and Andrew Wiggins playing the best basketball of his career, the Timberwolves are now 8-6 and holding the Western Conference’s eighth seed, putting them just 3.5 games back from the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
It didn’t take long for Davis and LeBron James long to develop chemistry, as they’ve been a terrific one-two punch for the Lakers thus far. As our Bryan Kalbroskynoted, James is passing the ball to Davis 25.2 times per 36 minutes, which is more than he dished to any other past teammate, including Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love. It’s clear that James trusts his big man and if they’re playing this well with very little time spent getting acclimated to each other (and their many new teammates), it’ll be interesting to see how well they’ll be playing together toward the end of the season when they’ve learned each other’s tendencies more. Davis is leading the NBA in blocks per game and he’s swatted 24 shots in his last seven games.
Kyrie Irving who? When news broke over the summer that Irving (and Al Horford) planned to leave Boston via free agency, it seemed like the Celtics were going to take a significant step back. It would’ve been understandable if they shifted their focus to developing Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Co. Instead, the Celtics found a terrific replacement for Irving in Kemba Walker. The 29-year-old is posting impressive numbers and he has Boston sitting at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference standings with an 11-2 record (which is also tied for the best record in the entire NBA). It seems that Walker brings production similar to that of Irving without the behind-the-scenes drama and chemistry issues that hurt the Celtics last year. If Boston can keep this up and sit atop the East, Walker would get some MVP consideration (and deservedly so) and Brad Stevens would likely get some Coach of the Year love. And as Walker gets more comfortable with his new team, his play should only improve. With that said, there seems to be a significant gap between the Top-4 players on this list and everyone else.
Doncic is used to having unprecedented success for someone his age. Remember, he won the Euroleague MVP award at 19 years old prior to entering the NBA. Now, as a 20-year-old sophomore in the Association, his numbers aren’t too far off from what Russell Westbrook averaged back in 2016-17 when he won MVP (31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals). While posting triple-doubles no longer seems to draw the same jaw-dropping reaction since Westbrook normalized it, it’s unheard of for a 20-year-old to be having this kind of success. He had an MVP performance on Monday night, dropping 42 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and 5 threes in a win over the San Antonio Spurs. Only two players in NBA history have posted a 40-point triple-double at age-20: Doncic and LeBron James. The sophomore is having a special campaign, his Mavericks are fifth in the West at 8-5 and he deserves to be high on this list as long as he keeps this up.
If the season ended today, Harden’s 39.2 scoring average would be the highest since Wilt Chamberlain posted 44.8 points per game in the 1962-63 season. In fact, Harden is on pace to join Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to average 39 or more points in a season. (Michael Jordan came close in 1986-87, but he finished the campaign averaging 37.1 points). Harden’s shooting percentages aren’t pretty – 42.5 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from deep – but when Houston is winning and he’s averaging nearly 40 points and eight assists per game, it feels like nitpicking to complain about his efficiency. Also, it’s worth noting that his True Shooting Percentage (.618) is actually up from last season. The Rockets have won eight-straight games and are 11-3, which is the second-best record in the Western Conference (and the third-best record in the NBA). If Harden continues at this pace, this season will go down as one of the most impressive offensive displays in league history.
At this point, James has the “best player on the best team” argument going for him. He’s filling the stat sheet on a nightly basis and it’s translating into wins for the Lakers, who are an NBA-best 11-2 (with a league-best +10.2 average point differential) thus far. Can the Lakers sustain this level of play? That remains to be seen, but James will have a strong case as long as they do. If James were to win his fifth MVP award this season, he’d become the second-oldest MVP in NBA history behind only Karl Malone (who was named Most Valuable Player in his age-35 season). Malone was 35 years and 284 days old at the end of the 1998-99 regular season. James is also in his age-35 season, but he would only be 35 years and 107 days old at the end of this regular season. Whether he ultimately wins the honor or not, nobody can deny how impressive it is for James to be producing like this at 35 years old.
Antetokounmpo is having another incredible season and while it may not feel like past years because his cheat-code dominance is no longer fresh and surprising, at the end of the day, he’s the reigning MVP and he has somehow managed to improve his stats across the board. He’s averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, Player Efficiency Rating, Box Plus/Minus, Defensive Rating and the list goes on and on. The advance stats love him too, as he leads all NBA players in Box Plus/Minus, Value Over Replacement Player and PER. He’s led the Bucks to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 10-3 (with an East-best +9.5 average point differential). He has the numbers, record and signature performances to potentially win back-to-back MVP awards. Also, he’s doing this without another star on his team, unlike LeBron James (who has Anthony Davis) and James Harden (who has Russell Westbrook). It remains to be seen if voters will take that into consideration, as they have in the past.
