NBA Awards Predictions: Predicting 2018-19 NBA Awards

Defensive Player of the Year

Prediction: Rudy Gobert - Centre, Utah Jazz

The 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year winner

2017-18 stats: 13.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.3 BPG

Why he will win

The 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year is my pick to repeat the honour for this coming season. Gobert's impact on defence is one of the main reasons behind the Jazz's success. He is a hard-working individual who takes pride in his craft and constantly searches for ways to improve defensively. Since falling to the late first round of the 2013 NBA draft, Gobert has established himself as one of the biggest draft steals in recent memory. He will look to repeat his incredible impact on the defensive end of the court for an entire season next year.

Why he won't win

With these awards it is difficult to win more than once, it isn't impossible, but it is hard. The NBA tries to find fresh faces to keep the league different from year to year and so Gobert could be at a disadvantage since he has just won the award. With a younger player like Embiid coming up and Kawhi coming back from "injury", Gobert may face tougher competition to win the award.

Other candidates

Joel Embiid - Centre, Philadelphia 76ers

Is he the new best

centre

in the league?

Why he will win

With the future of DeMarcus Cousins uncertain after the torn Achilles injury, you could argue Embiid is the best centre in the league right now. Embiid is dominant and worthy of this title because of his strong two-way game. His presence on and off the court is always noticed, but his ability to defend the big guards, switch to guards, and intensity are worthy of the award. He averaged nearly 2 blocks per game, and is still young and looking to improve his game and has said he plans to work towards winning an MVP this year.

Why he won't win

Health has become the big concern with Embiid. He still is yet to play a full NBA season and still can find himself on minute restrictions during back to back games. Health is the only thing that is holding Embiid back from being one of the elite players in the game. He was nominated for the Defensive Player of the Year award last year and he should be a candidate again this year. However, health and some of his competitors could hold him back from winning.

Kawhi Leonard - Forward, Toronto Raptors

Hopefully, he can return to his MVP

calibre

self

Why he will win

Remember the days when Kawhi was considered a top 3 NBA player? He was a 2-time Defensive Player of the Year prior to all the drama. He is the best perimeter defender in the game and arguably the best two way player in the league when healthy. His dominance on defence is why the Spurs elected him to guard the star players on other teams. Even if they scored many points, it was difficult matching up with Kawhi and they required extra effort to attack the basket. Kawhi's brilliance on defence and him returning to playing in the NBA should establish him as a candidate of an award he has won twice in the last 3 years.

Why he won't win

Similar to Markelle Fultz, we don't know what to expect from Kawhi. In Kawhi's case, he used to be one of the best in the game, but with all this drama and not playing competitively in over a year may make him rusty and not the player we all remember. We will need to see how he adjusts to a new team and a new culture and if he can continue his level of play.