NBA To Announce Season Awards In A New Show

Oct 29, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs line up for the national anthem before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs line up for the national anthem before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA is going to roll out the red carpet for a postseason awards show to announce the MVP and other notable awards.

In an effort to announce all the major NBA season awards at once, the NBA has announced (via nba.com) they’ll have a postseason awards show. The show is to be on TNT and feature tons of special guests, including current and former players.

The show is to announce the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and the Most Improved Player. As you know, these awards were announced sporadically throughout the postseason along with the All-NBA Team Awards.

This is a great idea. For one, it gives fans one last look at the crew from TNT before the dog days of summer kick in. Any fan of the league has to enjoy Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. Their antics on the show are always funny and entertaining.

This isn’t a diss to the ESPN Crew, but TNT is just better. I still love Jalen Rose and appreciate his knowledge of hip-hop, being a huge hip-hop fan myself.

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The league continues to be a model of success for American sports. The last two NBA Finals have been the most watched NBA Finals series on ABC. In fact, Game 7 of last season’s NBA Finals was the highest-rated and most watched NBA game on ABC with 31.02 million viewers.

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Jun 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) after beating the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The league has come a long way since the days following the Ron Artest attack on a fan in Detroit. In November 2004, Ron Artest raced into the stands after a fan threw a cup of water at him. This left many feeling the league wasn’t safe for families and kids.

However, since 2004 the league has changed the culture and overall appearance for the fans. Now, the league is a family sport, and many kids look at their favorite players as heroes, the same way we older fans viewed Michael Jordan or Shaq in the ’90s.

The league has continued to display concern for social issues, the communities and giving the fans great games and players.

The league has continued to display concern for social issues, the communities and giving the fans great games and players. The NBA cares campaign has since been a staple for every team and being active in their community.

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Adam Silver is also a brilliant commissioner since his acceptance of the role in 2014. He has dealt with the former Clippers owner Donald Sterling scandal, the situation involving the Sacramento Kings and their new arena, and the national anthem protest that is happening in the NFL.

Now, I’m not here to discuss whether players should or should not stand. However, as a commissioner, he has handled this situation with the players amazingly.

The players have united and discussed change, for social injustice in recent PSAs for the NBA.

Furthermore, the league is a model for progressive behavior. The NBA recently pulled an upcoming All-Star game from the city of Charlotte due to the city’s stance on the LGBT community. We spend so much time breaking down teams, players, coaches and the league as a whole.

We also should applaud the league for their upstanding image and how it truly is the best league in American sports.

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This postseason show is just another reason to love the league. This idea of rolling out the red carpet for players and giving them awards on one stage is fantastic. The show will air June 27 on TNT.