The NBA finally announced their award winners on Monday night, a good six weeks after the season ended. Despite the long gap, there was still some intrigue with some of the awards, especially Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. The winners: Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons Simmons had a stellar year, and showed the potential to be a transcendent player en route to 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game while helping lead the Philadelphia 76ers to 52 wins. Simmons only real competition came from Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell. Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo A year after being traded from the Thunder in exchange for Paul George in what seemed like a lopsided deal for the Thunder, Victor Oladipo broke out in a big-time way. Oladipo made his first All-NBA team and averaged 23 points per game on 47 percent shooting from the field while leading the NBA with 2.4 steals per game. Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert Despite missing 26 games, Rudy Gobert showed just how valuable his defensive chops are for the Utah Jazz, leading them to a massive second half upon his return. Gobert, one of the premier shot-blockers and interior defenders in the NBA, had a 99 DRtg in the 2017-18 season en route to his first DPOY award. Gobert faced stiff competition from the likes of Draymond Green and Anthony Davis this season, though he may have benefited from Kawhi Leonard’s absence. Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams Sweet Lou took his late career resurgence to the next level in 2017-18, averaging a career high 22 points and five assists per game a 32 minutes a night for the Clippers. Williams previously won the award in 2015 with the Toronto Raptors. Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey Dwane Casey led the Toronto Raptors to a franchise-record 59 wins before running into the buzzsaw that is LeBron James in the playoffs. Despite LeBron owning the Eastern Conference for nearly a decade, Casey was relieved of his duties this offseason, and was just hired as head coach by the Detroit Pistons. Casey faced stiff competition from the likes of Quinn Snyder and Brad Stevens. Executive of the Year: Daryl Morey After the 2016-17 season, Morey declared an “arms race’ in the Western Conference and then took a very good Houston Rockets team and managed a crazy, multi-transaction trade to snag Chris Paul. Additionally, the acquisitions of Gerald Green, Joe Johnson, P.J.Tucker, and Luc Mbah ah Moute paid dividends at various times throughout the season. Most Valuable Player: James Harden Last season’s runner up, Harden was the model of efficiency in 2017-18. Harden averaged a career-high 30.4 points per game on virtually nothing but layups, free throws and 3-pointers. Despite adding Chris Paul to the Mike D’Antoni-run Houston Rockets, Harden averaged a hair under nine assists as well. Perhaps more importantly (for a regular season award), Harden led the Rockets to the first-seed in the Western Conference, ending the Warriors multi-year run on top of the regular season standings.<doc-sep>Most Valuable Player: Out of Anthony Davis of the Pelicans, LeBron James of the Cavaliers and James Harden of the Rockets, the 2018 NBA MVP is ... James Harden! Sager Strong Award: Dikembe Mutombo Executive of the Year: Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets NBA Play of the Year: The Clutch Shot of the Year by LeBron James on Feb. 7 vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves! King James takes home the fan vote for Best Play of the Year! #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/YW3GmRNzUS — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 26, 2018 NBA Hustle Award: Amir Johnson of the Philadelphia 76ers! Lifetime Achievement Award: Oscar Robertson Twyman Stokes Teammate of the Year: Jamal Crawford of the Minnesota Timberwolves! "Every team that I've ever had, I've tried to let them know I'll be there for them through good and bad." - @JCrossover on winning Twyman Stokes Teammate of the Year Award #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/cAXMrULDnh — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 26, 2018 Community Assist Award: The NBA Cares Community Assist Award goes to ... Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors! Coach of the Year: Out of Dwane Casey of the Raptors, Brad Stevens of the Celtics and Quin Snyder of the Jazz, the winner is ... Dwane Casey! "All the players in Toronto in the past four or five years... I'm so proud of them." - Dwane Casey on being named the 2017-2018 Coach of the Year #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/fdNS1VNR7E — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 26, 2018 Sixth Man of the Year: Out of Lou Williams of the Clippers, Fred VanVleet of the Raptors and Eric Gordon of the Rockets, the winner is ... Lou Williams! Defensive Player of the Year: Out of finalists Joel Embiid, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis ... the winner is Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz! Most Improved Player: The 2018 Most Improved Player is ... Victor Oladipo, beating out Clint Capela and Spencer Dinwiddie! "Shout out to the Pacers organization for believing in me. It's only the beginning for us." - @VicOladipo after winning 2017-2018 #KiaMIP #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/scpBs5M91D — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 26, 2018 Rookie of the Year: Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons were the three finalists and the winner is ... Ben Simmons! . @BenSimmons25 wins #KiaROY, thanks Philly for embracing him and his family during rookie season. pic.twitter.com/iN2v3J0s8R — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 26, 2018 Also: daaaang! We’re live-blogging the 2018 NBA Awards show! Keep refreshing for all the coverage you need, with viewing information living at the bottom of this article, as well as a list of finalists for the biggest awards. Oh, and Anthony Anderson is rockin the suit shorts. Because of course. The 2018 NBA awards will be revealed on Monday night at 9:00 p.m. ET in Santa Monica, California, a full 17 days after the Finals wrapped up. It’s finally time we learn who’s won the MVP, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year and more. While most of the pool feels decided, the big question surrounds who will win Rookie of the Year: Donovan Mitchell or Ben Simmons? That debate heated up in the final few weeks. This is the second year the event has been held. Last year Drake hosted, and this time around, Anthony Anderson will take the spotlight. Travis Scott is also scheduled to perform. Here’s each award, and the three finalists up for it: Most Valuable Player Anthony Davis , Pelicans , Pelicans LeBron James , Cavaliers , Cavaliers James Harden , Rockets Rookie of the Year Jayson Tatum , Celtics , Celtics Ben Simmons, Sixers Donovan Mitchell , Jazz Defensive Player of the Year Joel Embiid , Sixers , Sixers Rudy Gobert , Jazz , Jazz Anthony Davis , Pelicans Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams , Clippers , Clippers Fred VanVleet , Raptors , Raptors Eric Gordon , Rockets Most Improved Player of the Year Victor Oladipo , Pacers , Pacers Clint Capela , Rockets , Rockets Spencer Dinwiddie , Nets Coach of the Year Dwane Casey , Raptors , Raptors Brad Stevens , Celtics , Celtics Quin Snyder , Jazz Oscar Robertson is also set to receive a lifetime achievement award, and Dikembe Mutombo will receive the Sager Strong award. This year, the league also added fan-voted categories to accompany the main awards. You can vote for the Play of the Year here. Nominees include LeBron James’ fadeaway buzzer-beater over the Timberwolves, his no-look pass to Ante Zizic, Giannis Anteotokounmpo’s alley-oop over Tim Hardaway Jr.’s head, Anthony Davis’ block of Royce O’Neale’s dunk and Kyrie Irving’s unreal handles to get by Malcolm Brogdon. Those nominees beat out their competition in each category (Dunk of the Year, Assist of the Year, etc.) to advance to the Play of the Year nominee pool. In addition, Russell Westbrook won Best Style. Monday night should be a fun one to cap off the year, just a week before free agency begins and another season starts. NBA Awards Show 2018 Date: June 25 Time: 9:00 p.m. ET Where: Santa Monica, California TV: TNT Streaming: TNT app<doc-sep>Rudy Gobert claimed the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday night after anchoring the Jazz in an incredible season few saw coming. Utah floundered early into the season when Gobert missed time with a sprained PCL in his left knee. When he returned, the Jazz morphed into the best defensive team in the NBA, darted up the Western Conference standings into the No. 5 seed, and ultimately upset the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games of the first round of the playoffs. Gobert averaged 14 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, but his impact extended far beyond the stat sheet. The Jazz were a completely different team with their French defender on the floor. And after years falling behind Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green, Gobert finally has the Defensive Player of the Year award he’s deserved all along.<doc-sep>
Rudy Gobert is officially the Defensive Player of the year beating out Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid. Rudy Gobert averaged 13.5 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. In only 56 games, Rudy Gobert’s elite defense propelled Utah to a defensive rating of 101.6 for the season, but when he was healthy the Utah Jazz averaged a defensive rating of 96.0 post All-Star break. He wasn’t just a defensive threat either. The Utah Jazz averaged an offensive rating of 122 with Rudy Gobert. Can @rudygobert27 complete his quest for the DPOY? Find out in the final chapter of Rudy’s Quest for the DPOY! pic.twitter.com/4d6bZZUrRh — SLC Dunk (@slcdunk) June 25, 2018 Rudy Gobert’s impact was most felt when he returned back from injury the second time and help propel Utah to one of the NBA’s most historic midseason turnarounds. The Utah Jazz won games at a 60-win team clip while pulling from 10th in the Western Conference to 5th by the end of the season. His defensive prowess brought Utah a 1st round victory and made the Rockets uncomfortable in the second round. The official announcement! @rudygobert27 #NBAAwards Defensive Player of the Year. He joins 2-time award winner @markeaton7ft4 as the only #UtahJazz #DPOY winners! Oh...Jazz suit game is on. Rudy in pink, Donovan in red. (You'll see them together at :25 in this clip...) pic.twitter.com/uWyGDXo6Zs — Dave Fox (@Davefox2) June 26, 2018 Rudy Gobert finished second last year to Draymond Green, but in only 56 games, Rudy Gobert made himself the clear winner. The future is bright for Utah with a Rookie of the Year runner up and a Defensive Player of the Year winner. Rudy Gobert, when asked "A lot of your contemporaries are considering going to other teams to team up and build a better team for a championship. What is your thought about that, and would you consider going to a different team to complete your goals in the NBA? ": pic.twitter.com/Uu8rKGdRNf — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) June 26, 2018 Utah Jazz Reaction LOOK HOW PROUD QUIN IS pic.twitter.com/tvS2aner1O — Taylor Griffin (@griffdunk) June 26, 2018