Back in October, just before the 2015-16 NBA season kicked off, a panel of writers at Last Word On Sports predicted award winners for every category. Many of those predictions will turn out to be spot-on, while some will surely fall flat. But with the regular season now in the books, six members of the LWOS basketball department will give their takes on who deserves to win each award. We’ll go through all six of the main awards, including Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Valuable Player.
For a complete listing of picks for the 2015-16 NBA awards at LWOS, click here.
Let’s start off by looking at our choices for the NBA Coach of the Year award.
2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year Award Picks
Harrison Marcus, senior editor: The Warriors just set the record for best regular season in NBA history – how can you not give it to Steve Kerr and Luke Walton? Much of the Warriors success is due to Kerr’s offensive system that is based off of ball movement, spacing, and shooting, with a heavy focus on analytics – these Warriors don’t take many shots that aren’t either in the paint or beyond the arc. Kerr and Walton have done a fantastic job keeping the team loose all year, maintaining a relaxed yet focused attitude even though they’ve constantly been in the national spotlight, chasing records on what seemed like a nightly basis. Walton went 39-4, including 24 straight wins to start the season, while filling in for Kerr while he recovered from back surgery. Even though the ridiculous NBA rule credits all 73 wins to Kerr, the award certainly deserves to be split between the two.
Thomas Mooney, staff writer: There’s no way I can go against Steve Kerr and Luke Walton in good conscience. They’re going to set the record for the best season in the history of basketball and they did it with two head coaches. It says a lot that they came back as defending champions and not only didn’t have a championship hangover, but have shown they’ve completely mastered the new NBA game. Honorable Mentions: Gregg Popovich, Dwane Casey, Brad Stevens.
Lior Kozai, associate editor: Between Dwane Casey, Terry Stotts, the Luke Walton-Steve Kerr combination, and more, there have been several deserving candidates for this title. Somehow, even Gregg Popovich has outdone himself, with his San Antonio Spurs having their winningest season to date. But to me, Brad Stevens has to win this award, after guiding the Boston Celtics to a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference – especially since Walton and Kerr each only coached about half the season. The Celtics aren’t the most talented team, with only one real shot creator in Isaiah Thomas, but Stevens’ excellent system and ability to draw up terrific plays, coming out of timeouts and otherwise, has helped their offense immensely. On the other end of the floor, the Celtics have been elite, ranking fourth in the league in defensive efficiency. Stevens has to get a ton of credit for the defensive excellence, given that the Celtics don’t have a single great rim protector. The most unique thing about Stevens is that he is truly Boston’s leader, with the Celtics lacking a star player to fill that role. The team has taken on Stevens’ identity on its way to success, so he gets the nod over the other deserving candidates.
Chris Voloschuk, staff writer: Gregg Popovich. It’s not easy voting against a Warriors team setting a regular season wins record when the schedule is such a grind, but, once again, Pop showed his ability to work new players into his system (Aldridge, West, Anderson) while keeping his proven horses (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili) rested and didn’t sacrifice any wins. In fact, Kawhi Leonard’s continued development into an elite player made the Spurs better. They just missed going 41-0 at home.
Matthew Cardenas, associate editor: This is a tough one. There are so many coaches who deserve it this year. Yes, I understand that the Golden State Warriors just broke the record for most wins in a regular season. The majority of people are going to give this award to Steve Kerr and Luke Walton. But this year, I think the award should be given to someone who got his team to exceed expectations. Terry Stotts led the Portland Trail Blazers to a fantastic season. Last offseason, they lost four of five starters. Everyone expected Portland to take a huge step back and be lottery bound. Instead, they are the 5th seed in the Western Conference with a 44-38 record. ESPN predicted the Trail Blazers to only win 26 games. The roster had a complete turnaround. Stotts brought out the best in each of his players and has one of the best backcourts in the league with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Seasons like this one for the Trail Blazers show just how much coaching can have an impact. It’d be great to see Stotts get this award.
Grant Funtila, staff writer: I really want to put Steve Kerr in but he didn’t coach at the start of the season so I’ll go with Brad Stevens. When your best player is a 5’9 PG and your sixth man is Evan Turner AND you have the same record as the third seed you know you’re a great coach. He’s one of the reason this team is one of the most underrated offensive and defensive team in the east. He’s great at making and drawing plays and he understands how to properly rotate guys to keep them satisfied with their role and minutes. Honorable Mention: Terry Stotts. After losing 4 out of his 5 starters from last season, everyone expected Stotts to coach a lottery team this season but no. He lead the team to the fifth seed with a record of 44-38 while being one of the best offensive team out their. He understands his players and he’s respected in return. If he lead the team to at least the fourth seed then he deserves all the vote in the world.
