The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers: 2020 NBA award ballots

By Christopher Kline

Joel Embiid | Sixers (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Joel Embiid | Sixers (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Adam Gilbert

  • MVP — LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Defensive Player of the Year — Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Sixth Man of the Year — Dennis Schroder, Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Most Improved Player — Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
  • Rookie of the Year — Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
  • Coach of the Year — Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors

1st team All-NBA

  • LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
  • James Harden, Houston Rockets
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

2nd team All-NBA

  • Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
  • Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers
  • Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
  • Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

3rd team All-NBA

  • Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
  • Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
  • Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
  • Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

1st team All-Defense

  • Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks

2nd team All-Defense

  • Kris Dunn, Chicago Bulls
  • Patrick Beverley, LA Clippers
  • Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers
  • Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
  • Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

1st team All-Rookie

  • Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
  • Kendrick Nunn, Miami Heat
  • Eric Paschall, Golden State Warriors
  • Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
  • Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies

2nd team All-Rookie

  • Coby White, Chicago Bulls
  • Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
  • Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia 76ers
  • R.J. Barrett, New York Knicks
  • Rui Hachimura, Washington Wizards

I can get away with my first team all-NBA selections by labeling LeBron as the position he played for most of the regular season: point guard. From there the rest of the lists fall into place.

I do have Jokic listed above Joel Embiid for availability reasons. Joel Embiid is the best center in the NBA, but Jokic is undoubtably the second best and is available nearly every night. In addition to that, the team success the Denver Nuggets have enjoyed over the last two seasons with Jokic as the on-the-court leader can not be denied. That is why Jokic is first team and Jo is second.

Simmons takes home third team honors for his ability to be a force on both ends of the court. I’m still not a Jayson Tatum fan, but the numbers speak for themselves and garner third team recognition.

Listing Ben Simmons as a guard for first team all-defense allows me to get Giannis, Davis, and Lopez on the frontcourt list. Each of those players are so deserving of a first team listing as Giannis has been a superstar all year, while Davis and Lopez have patrolled the paint like few others can.

I love what Kris Dunn brings to the table as a second team all-defense selection. He’s a bit of a lesser known player who averaged two steals a game and was tremendous defending the point guard position. Joel Embiid was left off the list for availability reasons. Gobert and Adebayo were available all season and put up similar numbers.

Matisse Thybulle sneaks onto my all rookie second team. I may have made that selection with my 76ers goggles on too tight, but I love what he has brought to the table on both ends of the floor. He has been a major contributor off the bench all year.

Zion sneaks onto the first team because of how successful he has been in such a short time. Villanova product Eric Paschall has been everything and more for a Warriors team that survived an injury recovery season and will certainly contribute off the bench next year. Brandon Clarke was the sleeper pick of the draft for a Grizzles team that can’t seem to miss when drafting players.

RJ Barrett put up numbers, but they were largely empty numbers because the Knicks had no one else to give to ball to. Therefore, he drops to second team. Herro and Nunn were a feel-good story on a Miami team that knows how to develop young talent. Lastly, I love what Coby White brought to the Bulls and Rui Hachimura brought to the Wizards. Coby proved he can manage a game from the point and stroke the long ball with ease. Rui proved he can contribute to a team with a dominate backcourt duo in John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Giannis is undoubtably a superstar. The guy is leading the best team in the east to what feels like a sure-fire NBA Finals appearance. He stuffs the stat sheet every night and is surrounded by the perfect personnel to effectively compliment his style of play. However, despite all of that I have Lebron James as my league MVP.

Let’s take a minute and think about everything LeBron is doing at 35 years old. He’s played in nearly every game at an average of 35 minutes per game. That’s a ton of time for someone who has logged 17 seasons in the NBA. In those minutes LeBron is primarily playing the point guard position (a position he hasn’t played in his career) scoring 25.5 points per game and dishing out 10+ assists. He’s got the Lakers at the top of the tougher western conference the year after the team underwent a massive overhaul and is looking to win a title for his third franchise. LeBron is out of this world. LeBron is the MVP.

Every time I pencil Ben Simmons in for Defensive Player of the Year, I delete it, try to think of a player more deserving, and eventually end up writing down his name again. I know this seems like a homer pick and maybe it is because I’m such a 76ers nerd, but I do truly, objectively believe Ben Simmons deserves this award.

Simmons averaged over two steals a game throughout the season and his versatility as a defender allows him to guard positions 1-5. Need him to bang in the post with Bam Adebayo? He’s big enough to do it. Want him to stay with James Harden on the perimeter? Yeah, he’s proven he can do that as well. After watching Ben single-handedly win a game against the Pacers with his defense (no not the most recent Pacers game) I’ve had him as my DPOY.

The Sixth Man of the Year award was tough to give away. I will concede that the Clippers bench is like something we have never seen before. It seems like Lou Will turns in productive season after productive season. This year he dipped in performance slightly, but still averaged 18 points a game. As if Lou wasn’t enough of a punch off the bench, Montrezl Harrell averaged 18 points a game off the pine as well. That duo appears unmatched.

However, I believe this accolade belongs to Dennis Schroder. The Oklahoma City Thunder should not be anywhere near the playoff picture, but here they are in the Orlando bubble gearing up for a deep playoff run. Schroder has averaged 18.9 points per game shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep. On a team full of role players, SGA, Chris Paul, and Schroder have risen to the top of the pack as stars. He’s a huge reason OKC has been surprisingly successfully, and therefore, Dennis Schroder is my 6MOY.

There were so many players that saw stark improvements in their game this year. Davis Bertans went from back of the bench in San Antonio to untradable sniper in Washington. Brandon Ingram increased his scoring average in New Orleans and is having his best season shooting the 3 since he has been in the league. Doncic has found a way to get even better averaging a 28 point near triple double. However, unfortunately none of these candidates have improved more than Bam Adebayo.

Bam doubled his scoring average, went from averaging seven boards per game to be a walking double-double, and is the second option on a Heat team with a real chance to come out of the East. Bam has been phenomenal all year as Miami once again displays their unmatched ability to draft effectively and grow talent from within.

No, the Rookie of the Year is not Zion. The rising superstar has only played a few games north of 20 all season long. Beyond that he hasn’t shown himself to be much more than a high-flyer. Now when I make that claim it must be understood that I think as a rookie, Zion is already one of the best athletes in the game. He has the body of a linebacker, yet he floats in the air like MJ. Zion is going to be very good once he is given a chance to develop. However, this year my rookie of the year is Ja Morant.

The Grizzles have made it very clear they are rebuilding. With the departure of Mike Conley everyone from the grit and grind era of the team is gone. What remains is a young nucleus with a ton of promise led by Ja Morant. Similar to OKC Memphis is another team that drastically overachieved. When the first year of a rebuild ends in a playoff appearance or near playoff appearance you know you’ve gotten off on the right foot. Morant has led the charge for the Grizzles all season averaging 18 points per game and dishing out seven assists. What he has done with a team looking to start over cannot be overlooked and that is why he deserves to be ROY.

They really don’t miss a beat in Toronto, do they? Even after Finals MVP, perineal NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard left for the bright lights of Los Angeles the Raptors find themselves in the exact same spot they were last year — second in the eastern conference. That is an unprecedented accomplishment that makes me believe Nick Nurse deserved more credit for that 2019 NBA Championship than he was originally given.

The Raptors rotation is smooth, and Nurse seems to run them through a wide variety of defense sets with ease. Everyone can shoot. Everyone can defend. Everyone understands their role. The Raptors are going to be a real problem in the playoffs again even without Kawhi Leonard and Nurse deserves all the credit in the world.