From the moment Dennis Schroder arrived in Oklahoma City, he helped fill a gaping hole in Billy Donovan’s lineup. He spelled Russell Westbrook while providing the Thunder’s reserve unit a steady hand and immediately became a valuable member of the team’s rotation.
Now, in his second year with the club, the young German is averaging 19 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game off the bench. Through games played prior to the suspension of play, Schroder had emerged as a lead candidate for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.
After a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Friday, Schroder may now be a shoe-in.
Technically, despite the four-month suspension, when games resume on July 30, they will still be considered a part of the 2019-20 season. Media and fans alike have wondered whether the eight seeding games that will be contested in Orlando should and would have any impact on how the votes and awards are handled, and it turns out that the league took matters into its own hands.
According to Charania, the league distributed a memo to its teams declaring that the end-of-season awards are to only take into account games played through March 11. Doing so, according to the memo, gives all members of each of the league’s 30 teams equal opportunity to receive votes.
The ruling makes sense considering the fact that eight of the league’s won’t be competing in Orlando, though in practical terms, the winners of the end-of-season awards typically come from playoff contenders, anyway — all of whom will be playing in Orlando.
Sources: NBA has informed teams: "The decision to exclude seeding games from awards voting ensures a fair process in which players and coaches from all 30 teams will have the same opportunity to be honored…" League will soon announce voting process and plan to announce winners. https://t.co/lTyO11LtFN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 17, 2020
While the awards won’t take the seeding games into account, the league will record the statistics of the players who compete, including for historical and “league-leading” purposes.
As it relates to Schroder, many feel that the ruling gives him a leg up on his competitors for the award, especially since he is expected to depart the Orlando bubble in the next couple of weeks due to the birth of his second child.
His departure is sure to cause him to miss at least a few seeding games. Fortunately for him, though, that won’t negatively impact his chances of walking away with at least one trophy this season.