With the 2020 NBA season most likely concluded due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is time to accept it and celebrate the basketball greatness we have witnessed this past year. With the league-wide 2020 NBA Awards already announced, it is time to give out awards at the team level. To keep it interesting and to spread the love, no player was allowed to win more than one award. Here are the 2020 NBA awards for the Boston Celtics.
2020 NBA Awards: Boston Celtics Edition
Most Valuable Player – Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum broke out as a superstar through the 2019-20 NBA campaign. Tatum started in all 59 games he played this season, playing for a career-high 34.6 minutes per game. Becoming a first time All-Star this season, the 21-year-old averaged 23.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He also shot the ball at 44.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from deep – an effective 52.3 percent.
Tatum also became the leader of the Boston Celtics, having a team-high usage rate of 27.9 percent. This shows that head coach Brad Stevens trusts him. All of these stats were a huge jump compared to his previous two seasons in the league. He could also have been a contender for the Most Improved Player award.
Defensive Player of the Year – Marcus Smart
Fan-favorite Marcus Smart was a no-brainer when it came to giving out this award. Tied for the sixth-most steals per game in the league at 1.6, Smart is known across the league as a bully on defense. Along with his steals, he is also averaging 0.5 blocks per game, which is an impressive feat for a player of his size and position. He is also aggressive in the paint to try and get defensive boards, which he collects for an average of 3.1 per game.
Smart has no problem taking on anyone, regardless of size. He has, on multiple occasions, matched up with MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo head-on, shutting him down with ease. His quick reactions and his unmatched hustle and passion make him a terror to play against, which is another reason why he is being considered for the league’s DPOY award.
Rookie of the Year – Grant Williams
Picking Grant Williams as the Celtics’ Rookie of the Year was also a relatively easy decision. Since the Celtics are a contending team with a decent roster, minutes for this past year’s rookie class weren’t given out easily. Despite size being a deficiency for Boston, the 6’6″ Williams was the only rookie that got consistent minutes, making up for his relative size disadvantage at the forward position with tough, hard-nosed play. Williams played in 62 of the season’s 63 games, averaging 15.6 minutes per game. In those minutes, he averaged 3.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. While those numbers seem low, it must be taken into consideration that he was never really a key part of Boston’s game and he performed better than any other Boston rookie.
Most Improved Player – Jaylen Brown
Perhaps overshadowed by the younger Tatum in his breakout year, Jaylen Brown had an extremely underrated season. In the 2018-19 season, Brown was only able to average 13.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game on 46.5 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep. He also only cracked the starting lineup in 25 games, playing in an average of 25.9 minutes per game.
This year, Brown managed to be a part of the Celtics’ starting lineup in all 50 of his games played. Now playing in 34.0 minutes per game, Brown averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 49.0 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from deep – increasing in every stat category from the previous season. In his fourth season, still only 23, Brown has shown he is not afraid to take initiative and take the potential game-winning shot.
Sixth Man of the Year – Enes Kanter
The Sixth Man award was tough to decide as Brad Stevens tends to mix up the starting lineup. Frontrunner Marcus Smart was selected for another award already, making him ineligible for this award. Given the remaining players on the roster, Enes Kanter was selected as Boston’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Playing the second-most minutes per game (17.5) out of the players that don’t consistently start, Kanter had a relatively large role. On the year, Kanter averaged 8.2 points, a team-high 7.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game. While Celtics fans tend to have mixed feelings about Kanter, there is no arguing that he succeeds at his role off the bench.
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