HoopsCorner.com Articles: 2001 HoopsCorner.com awards

H o o p s C o r n e r . c o m

HoopsCorner

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May 07, 2001

Here there won't be just a recap of the official award winners in the Association, in fact there won't be a recap at all. The awards given here are my picks on selected categories. You can always have your say about anything. All you have to do is email to webauthor@hoopscorner.com

Not every list is by position. That said, here we go...

All NBA teams:

First-

PF Chris Webber
SF Tracy McGrady
C Shaquille O'Neal
G Allen Iverson
G Kobe Bryant

Second-

PF Tim Duncan
SF Kevin Garnett
C David Robinson
PG Jason Kidd
SG Vince Carter (Kobe is better, and VC was SG not SF this year)

Third-

PF Rasheed Wallace
SF Shareef Abdur-Rahim
C Dikembe Mutombo
PG Gary Payton
SG Jerry Stackhouse

Defensive Player

For Defensive Player of the year Theo Ratliff should get it by he didn't finish the season. When he got the wrist injury they predicted a date for his comeback. He only decided not to come back after he got traded. So I proclaim Mutombo the winner.

MVP

Fred Hickman is a prophet. Well at least it was great foreshadowing last year. Indeed without Allen Iverson Philly will barely make the playoffs or be in the lottery. Is there any way to be more valuable than that to a team?

All "Public Relations" team

The following players or executives have been very successful in getting other players to join them for the common good or in some cases the common drag. The person they did lure is in parenthesis.

Grant Hill (Tracy McGrady)
David Robinson (Tim Duncan)
Tim Duncan (Derek Anderson)
Phil Jackson (He fooled Isiah Rider into thinking he would be part of showtime)
Michael Jordan (Well he did convince Leonard Hamilton to join this mess)

Rookie of the year

Like the editor of InsideHoops.com had said... "The award should be given to a lucky fan chosen at random. Or to an attractive NBA team dancer. Or to me. I built this entire site from scratch, page by page..." That's right no one really was a wonder this year. Well the award should be given to me, since I too built this site entirely from zero. And it's my first season. Since I don't play in the NBA I would let Mike Miller have it.

All "I can still kick butt" team

Sometimes these coaches just might feel like jumping into things and doing it their way; because they still can.

Doc Rivers
Alvin Gentry (Stackhouse claims he can still dunk)
Nate McMillan (Still plays one-on-one with Payton)
Scott Skiles (Would be Kidd's back up if current rules didn't prohibit being player-coach)
Isiah Thomas

All "I will retaliate" team

These players got in a fight with another player or wanted to (in the case of Bonzi). Rasheed doesn't make the cut because he only goes after refs.

Charles Oakley (Jeff McInnis, Tyronne Hill)
Tracy McGrady (Bobby Jackson, Eric Snow)
Bonzi Wells (almost fought a Hornets player)
Bobby Jackson (Tracy McGrady)
Kobe Bryant (Chris Childs)

Sixth man of the year

Who else could it be this year? Aaron McKie would be starting if Iverson wasn't there. Usually it's him and Iverson leading a scoring charge in a game.

Most improved player

Butch Carter putting him in a safe box last year might have kept him from doing more. But this year he's doing it all.

Even though he could have done some of this last year, yet couldn't do as much if he was back in Maple Leafs Kingdom, giving this award to anybody else would be robbing Tracy McGrady of his rightful title. How many have gone from sixth man to option #1, 2, and 3?

All "injured reserve list" team

Grant Hill
Speedy Claxton (We never got to see the 200mph backcourt with Iverson)
Kerry Kittles
kendall Gill
Anfernee Hardaway

All "Me, me, me" team

These players want their share of the rock and preffered treatment, no matter how big the other star(s) is.

Kobe Bryant
Sam Cassell
Theo Ratliff (the wrist wasn't the main reason he was traded)
Mike Bibby
Larry Hughes

All "short leash" team

If the coach's eye wasn't so watchful on these players, they think they would be booming.

Jason Williams (doesn't play in the 4th and isn't as flashy like before)
Eddie House (Even Pat Riley's daughter wants to see him play)
Isiah Rider
Tony Kukoc (Larry Brown never tried using him)
Raef Lafrenz
Keon Clark (he would be the sixth man. In Denver he never played)

All "jailhouse breakout" team

Everyone on this team got out of their last coach's doghouse and is now loving it.

Tracy McGrady (over protection can be trapping)
Richard Hamilton
Jamal Mashburn (Take a look at the Hornets-Heat series)
Jermaine O'Neal (He barely played, now he's an all-star candidate)
Keon Clark (check out the Nuggets-Raptors game after the trade)

All "freedom" team

By freedom I mean these guys could probably take a half-court shot with the shot clock at :20 and not hear about it. Some have more freedom than they can handle.

Jerry Stackhouse
Larry Hughes (wonder why Danny Fortston was such a rebound machine?)
Jason Terry (They even cleared out Jim Jackson for him)
Stephon Marbury
Gary Payton

All "fan favorite" team.

They're not necesarily the best players, but do give the fans what they truly want - a hearfelt and spirited performance.

Lattrell Spreewell (John Starks knows how it feels)
Darrell Armstrong
Jerome Williams
Allen Iverson (gotta love a hero your size)
Mateen Cleaves (More talked about than Stack in Motown)

All "forgotten" team

Yes you probably forgot about these guys. They generated a lot of hype and headlines - some good some bad - in the begining of the season, but then it all went poof in the end.

Joe Smith
Danny Fortson
Marc Jackson (the Warriors rookie)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Antonio McDyess

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