NBA Awards finalists announced
Fred Jeter | 5/31/2019, 6 a.m.
The envelope please ...
Finalists for the 2019 NBA Awards, the NBA’s version of the Oscars, have been announced. Winners will be named June 24 from Santa Monica, Calif.
Awards are based on regular season play.
Here are the finalists:
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers, Michael Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks and Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets.
Most Valuable Player: James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee.
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Golbert of the Utah Jazz, George of Oklahoma City and Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee.
Sixth Man: Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers and Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers.
Rookie of the Year: Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
Most Improved: De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings, D’Angelo Russell of the Brooklyn Nets and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors.
Former basketball greats Larry Bird and Magic Johnson will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards and television commentator Robin Roberts will be presented the Sager Strong Award.
There is a bit of a Virginia connection. Harrell, a native of Tarboro, N.C., played a post-graduate season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. He first signed to play for Virginia Tech but later opted for the University of Louisville.
