Los Angeles Lakers 2016-17 Regular Season Team Awards
Most Valuable Player: Luke Walton
The rules are being tweaked a bit for this selection. It is tough to select an MVP for a team that won only 26 games in the regular season. Had Lou Williams remained on the team, he would have probably been the choice. But with him now on the Houston Rockets, we will give the MVP award to head coach Luke Walton.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
Walton did an excellent job handling this team. The first month of the season went very well, as the Lakers went into December with a 10-10 record. The wheels would fall off after that, as the Lakers went on an eight-game losing streak. They would win only two games in December, putting them on the tanking track.
Walton kept a positive attitude throughout the season, and things looked to pay off at the end. He led the Lakers on a five-game winning streak in April, which is impressive at any point in the season. When you see who was playing, it is even more impressive.
Knowing that losing games would benefit the team, in the long run, the Lakers benched all of their veteran players. Mozgov, Deng and Young were all shut down. The Lakers had one player, Corey Brewer, on the active roster that has more than two years of NBA experience.
Next: 50 Greatest NBA Players Of All-Time
That didn’t stop Walton from winning games. The Lakers played hard under Walton and the future is bright with him running the show.