As we enter November, it’s time to take a look at the early frontrunners for MVP, Rookie of the Year and every other NBA award from the first two weeks of the season.
Normally at the end of October, we only have one or two games to work with in terms of sample size. But with the NBA moving up the start of its regular season to Oct. 17 this year, we have two full weeks of action to go off of.
Though we’ve already gone through early NBA Power Rankings for every week and identified early season trends to predict which are flukes and which are sustainable, there’s another area that needs attention for our premature analysis: NBA Awards Watch!
Yes, what happens in October rarely matters in terms of the playoff picture or the rest of the regular season for that matter. But getting off to a good start helps set the tone for the league’s end-of-season awards, and since we’re just so excited about the return of NBA basketball, what’s the harm in taking an early look at the current frontrunners for each category?
On this October edition of our monthly NBA Awards Watch segment, we’ll break down the leading candidates for Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and of course, MVP. Let’s get started.