Valley of the Suns Season Awards
By Lucas McLean
The Valley of the Suns team has come together to give their predictions on the 2016-17 NBA season awards.
The awards were calculated the same way as in the NBA; 1st place votes are given 10 points, 2nd place votes are given 7 points, and 3rd place votes are given 5 points. Though unlike normal voters whom give their top 5 choices we only did top 3 for simplicity sake.
Coach of the Year
Honorable mentions: Brad Stevens (27), Gregg Popovich (15), Quin Snyder (14), and Mike Malone (5)
3rd Place
Scott Brooks (32)
Washington Wizards: 49-33
Scott Brooks has elevated the Wizards out of mediocrity and into serious playoff contention. The hiring of Brooks was a vast improvement over former head coach Randy Whittman. Brooks has experience molding and developing young growing stars as seen with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. In his first year as head coach of the Wizards Brooks has developed John Wall and Bradley Beal into one of the absolute best back-court tandems in the league. Almost every player on the Wizards is having a career seasons one way or another and Scott Brooks is directly responsible for it.
| 2016 | Pts | Rbs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% |
| John Wall | 19.9 | 4.9 | 10.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 42.4% | 35.1% |
| Bradley Beal | 17.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1 | 0.2 | 44.9% | 38.7% |
| Otto Porter | 11.6 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 47.3% | 36.7% |
| 2017 | Pts | Rbs | Asts | Stls | Blks | FG% | 3P% |
| John Wall | 23 | 4.2 | 10.8 | 2 | 0.7 | 44.8% | 31.3% |
| Bradley Beal | 23.1 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 48.1% | 40.5% |
| Otto Porter | 13.8 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 51.9% | 44.2% |
Not just has the production of the Wizards “Big 3” improved but role players are feeling the effects of a coach with a vision and leadership qualities. Marcin Gortat is averaging career-highs in both rebounds and field goal percentage; Markieff Morris is finally starting to look like the reliable power forward the Wizards traded for; and the bench unit of Brandon Jennings, Bajon Bogdanovic, and Kelly Oubre packs more than a respectable offensive and defensive punch.
The Wizards now rank among the elite in a multitude of categories:
- 2nd in the league in field goal percentage
- 2nd in the league in steals
- 3rd in the East in offensive rating
- 3rd in the East in assists
Once a hiring thought just be a ploy to lure Kevin Durant home to Washington has emerged into a franchise changing move all on its own.