2013-2014 NBA Regular Season Awards
By Jason Gold
Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Rookie of the Year – Michael Carter-Williams
This was one of the most putrid NBA Rookie classes in the history of the league. The only piece of garbage that can compare to it is the 2000 NBA Draft class, which featured Jamal Crawford and Kenyon Martin as it’s star players. The 2013 class may not have two guys that will impact the basketball landscape as much as Crawford and Martin, which is a really sad statement. However, there have been a few guys that have proved they can play and may be All-Stars in the future.
I’m voting for Michael Carter-Williams who burst on to the scene in November with a triple-double in his first career NBA game. While MCW has had an up-and-down season for the Philadelphia 76ers, he has produced more than any other rookie and I believe that he possesses the brightest future from this class along with second place finisher Victor Oladipo.
MCW is averaging 16.7 ppg, 6.3 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. There is no doubt that at 6’6 he can become one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA and can grow into an All-Star type player. I could see him averaging 20/8/6 with 2.5 steals per game in the future. That’s a pretty bright future for a 21-year old, especially if he improves his shooting percentage, which is around 40% for the season.
Oladipo is Russell Westbrook-light to me and I’ve been saying that for about a year now. Go and look at Russell’s first year as a pro and then go look at Victor’s stats from this season. They’re eerily similar. I’m in no way saying that Oladipo is going to turn into Russell Westbrook. However, I do believe that he possess a similar skill set and may be a dynamic player for a contender at some point in the future.
Vote: 1. MCW 2. Victor Oladipo 3. Giannis Antetokuonmpo