Our NBA bubble awards: Crowning the small sample size winners

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 06: Gary Trent Jr. #2 of the Portland Trail Blazers celebrates a three point basket against the Denver Nuggets with teammates Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers and Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the second quarter at Visa Athletic Center at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 06, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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NBA bubble (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Most Valuable Player – Damian Lillard

Honorable Mentions: Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic

It had to be Damian Lillard. There was a brief blip when he missed two free throws down the stretch against a depleted LA Clippers team. In that game (his worst in the bubble) he still went off for 22 points. In the bubble, he is averaging 37.6 points, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He is hyper-efficient, boasting shooting splits of .497/.436/.888.

Taking the numbers out of it, the narrative is there too. While narrative voting is often problematic, giving Russell Westbrook an MVP that James Harden earned, it is not without merit. Both of the front running candidates for this award have the narrative story of pushing for the final playoff spot, causing them to go harder in every game than some of the more traditional MVP candidates did.

Damian Lillard has just been slightly better. Having two games over 50 points in the NBA bubble will do that. He came up the biggest when his team needed it most. Both did. Picking either candidate cannot be quibbled with. They both deserve it.

Their numbers are more consistently impressive than any of the other stars, save for the presumptive regular season MVP. Giannis Antetokounmpo simply did not play enough meaningful minutes in the seeding game compared to Lillard and Booker. His numbers have been insane even in lesser minutes. He was the MVP of the regular season, just not this portion of the regular season.

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