Early Season NBA Awards 2018-19

The NBA season is finally in full swing, with many outstanding individual performances, coupled with some very interesting storylines such as the Green-Durant bust-up, the Sacramento Kings being relevant again, the upcoming NBA free agent class.

We can definitely say that this is going to be a very fascinating season. Let's take a look at the outstanding performances through the first month of the NBA season by awarding some very early NBA regular season awards.

There were some tough decisions here, as there have been outstanding candidates for almost every award even though it's very early into the season. Therefore, let's hand out our first award.

MVP: Kyle Lowry

There is some credit to be given to Kyle Lowry here for reinventing himself in his 12th NBA season and he has done that with some aplomb. Through the first 17 NBA games, the Raptors have the best record and Lowry is averaging around 16 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal a game. Lowry is the catalyst for this team and even though Kawhi Leonard is the best player on the team, but Lowry is the most important.

He is averaging a career high in assists and has a ridiculous 41.6 percent assist rate with almost the same number of touches as his last few years in Toronto, which clearly signifies that Lowry is making the most out of his opportunities.

The statistics clearly show how Lowry has made his way into the conversation for being an elite player in the league as he is in the top five in win shares per 48 minutes, offensive box score plus-minus, and value over replacement player.

Although, its very unlikely that Lowry wins this award, but with his play early this season I had to give him some early season MVP love.

Runner Up: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Most Improved Player: Zach Lavine

Everyone gave the Bulls the stink eye after they decided to match the Sacramento King's offer sheet for Zach Lavine, but boy, has he proved everyone wrong in a big way. He is amongst the top scorers in the League on a lousy Bulls team.

He is currently averaging around 25.2 points per game with decent shooting averages for a player who is the focal point for a defense any given night and especially when he is not surrounded by high caliber NBA players, so the whole focus lies on the shoulders of a young Lavine.

There is room for improvement even further as the Bulls core of Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkanen have not played a single minute together and when they can all get healthy, it would open up the floor even more for Lavine to attack the rim.

Last season before his ACL injury, Lavine was averaging 9 lesser points on worse shooting percentages. Therefore, this leap even on small sample size is commendable and worthy of a most improved consideration.

Runner Up: Montrezi Harrel

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis

The most important word when it comes to this award, in accordance to me is 'impact'. Which player has the highest impact on the defense for his team and could impact games through his defense.

I think there is no doubt that Anthony Davis is a bonafide superstar in this league and according to some pundits, he is the best player in the league and there is some legitimacy to that argument. But because of all of the aforementioned considerations, his actual impact on the defense of this team flies under the radar.

The stats speak for themselves when it comes to the Brow, he is currently fifth in the league when it comes to the defensive real plus-minus, which analyses the impact of a player per 100 possession when he is on the court and when he is off the court. Davis is also averaging 2.8 blocks and 1.3 steals this season, which is no mean feat.

Runner-Up: Marc Gasol

Rookie of the Year: Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic was my pick for the ROY before the commencement of the season and he has only gone from strength to strength as the season has progressed. He is currently averaging around 19 points, 4 assists and 7 rebounds a game, which are mind-blowing numbers for a rookie.

But this was to be expected as Doncic is one of the most accomplished rookies we've ever had in this league. You can see the maturity in his game when you watch him play, his trademark step back jumper is already giving defenses nightmares, but the poise with which he operates is what sets him apart from the other rookies.

His turnover rate has been an issue but the season is young and he has the whole year to figure it out. He is still sharing the ball-handling responsibilities with Dennis Smith Jr. Therefore, making him the primary ball handler would truly unlock his potential.

Runner-Up: Trae Young

Coach of the Year: Mike Budenholzer

This was probably the easiest hardware to the handout, as the Coach of the Year race is led by Mike Budenholzer by a mile. His acquisition could might as well wind up being similar to the acquisition Steve Kerr by the Golden State Warriors, as that acquisition helped unlock the full potential of a very talented roster.

Budenholzer has helped transition Giannis from being a fringe superstar to a full-fledged MVP Candidate. The Milwaukee Bucks offense mostly consists of layups and threes and they have completely removed the long twos from their repertoire.

They play a five out offense which means that no Milwaukee player is positioned in the paint when they're starting their offence and they are all around the three-point line. This motion offense creates a lot of driving lanes for The Greek Freak, who has been thriving in his role.

The Bucks have also been more engaged defensively as their switching style defence needs everyone to buy into the scheme in order for it to work and Budenholzer has helped do just that.

Runner Up: Nick Nurse