Boston Celtics: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
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Boston Celtics
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Boston Celtics will bring a loaded roster into the 2018-19 season, and with it sky-high expectations from a team perspective. But which of those stars will put themselves in contention for the biggest individual awards the NBA has to offer?

The Boston Celtics are a storied franchise, with their 17 world championships placing them at the top of the tree in terms in NBA success. Individually, however, it’s been a barren run for the men in green, with Kevin Garnett‘s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008 being their only individual honor since the mid-80s.

Larry Bird was the Celtics last MVP winner in 1986, he was also their last Rookie of the Year recipient in 1980. Boston has never had a player take Most Improved Player of the year, and their last Coach of the Year was Bill Fitch in 1980.

With Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford forming the All-Star nucleus of the modern-day C’s, while being ably assisted by rising stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, they appear likely to have multiple talents trending toward the summit of voting for these top individual honors.

It’s now time to look into the Hoops Habit crystal ball and predict which Celtics could find themselves up on stage come 2019 NBA awards night.