Chicago Bulls: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

MVP: Lauri Markkanen

During his lone season with the Arizona Wildcats, Lauri Markkanen compiled averages of 15.6 points and 7.2 boards per contest. Thanks to the fact that he shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range, he was considered to be one of the best shooting big men in the 2017 draft class.

At the time the Bulls acquired his draft rights from the Timberwolves, LaVine was actually considered the focal point of the trade. Initially, Markkanen was supposed to be brought along at a deliberate pace, but that plan was scrapped when Portis and Mirotic were out of the lineup for a total of 31 games to start the year.

Markkanen made the most of his opportunity as he averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest while knocking 36.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. For those who thought that Markkanen was just a shooter, I think New York Knicks’ big man Enes Kanter would agree that there’s more to Markkanen’s skill-set than meets the eye.

Having exceeded expectations across the board, Markkanen was the Bulls’ most valuable player in 2017-18.

Being that LeBron James continues to get better with time, along with Kevin Durant and two-time MVP winner Stephen Curry being able to put up otherworldly performances on any given night, it will be at least a few years before he receives league-wide recognition in this category.