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Most of the NBA awards aren't extremely difficult to predict before the regular season. For instance, many people correctly picked the eventual winners of the MVP and ROY awards last season as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic respectively.
Furthermore, Mike Budenholzer always does great in the regular season and came to coach a Milwaukee Bucks team that had loads of potential; hence it wasn't impossible by any means to envision Coach Bud as the winner of the Coach of the Year Award. Gobert was easy to predict as the Defensive Player of the Year as he comfortably won it the year before whilst Lou Williams is always a top candidate for the 6th Man of the Year Award.
This means that the only award that really requires someone to think about when predicting the winner is Most Improved Player since there are so many people poised to have breakout seasons. It's just that some improve more significantly than others depending on the role they have on the team as well as the hard work they're willing to put in to reach the heights that they're capable of.
Therefore, here are my predictions for the 2019-20 NBA regular season awards.
MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Due to the fact that so many NBA superstars teamed up to have a better chance of competing for the title, their chances of being the Most Valuable Player immediately took a hit as two or three All-Stars will be credited for team success rather than one unbelievable player.
Therefore, due to the all-round dominance of defending MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the absence of another superstar on the team (Middleton is borderline All-Star), I assume the 'Greek Freak' will win back-to-back MVP awards.
The challenge next season will be to lead his Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Finals for an outstanding chance to compete for the title. Despite Kawhi's departure making the defending champions in the Toronto Raptors weaker, teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics certainly won't make Giannis and the Bucks' jobs easy.
Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant
The No.2 overall selection in this year's draft is such an explosive and skilled point guard. Morant has drawn comparisons to John Wall with his superb athleticism, scoring, and passing attributes.
Furthermore, he's already a better shooter than Wall. On a Grizzlies team that includes Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, Morant will definitely have an opportunity to grab loads of assists and average close to 20 points per game as the main ball-handler and playmaker in Memphis.
I believe Zion Williamson is a better all-round player than Morant and will have a better NBA career, but at the moment, he's on a Pelicans team with so much talent around him that he won't be able to put up the numbers that the guard out of Murray State has the potential to.
Defensive Player of the Year: Mitchell Robinson
The Knicks' center might be the best shot-blocker in the NBA and is a fantastic rebounder on both ends of the floor. Even though Gobert will play the same role for Utah, the Jazz may be a bit worse defensively with the departures of Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder.
Hence, for these reasons, if Robinson gets to play 30+ minutes a game next season, it's almost certain that he'll win this award because the numbers say that there is no better rim protector than the extremely athletic 7'1 center out of Chalmette.
Most Improved Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The sophomore guard is tipped for a breakout season as he will have a bigger role in OKC especially when Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari and maybe even Steven Adams are possibly traded away. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is fantastic at being a playmaker, driving to the rim, and playing great perimeter defense.
He gets loads of rebounds and can shoot the ball from downtown occasionally too. If he can make strides in shooting and become more confident by dominating games with his all-round play next season, there is certainly a good chance for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win the 2019-20 Most Improved Player award.
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams
Once again, the Clippers will be looking to Lou Williams to lead the second unit with his professional scoring ability. 'Sweet Lou' has already won the award thrice in his career and despite his 32-year-old age, the combo guard isn't slowing down by any means.
Even though he may average fewer points per game next season with the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Williams can still average over 15 a game and hit many clutch shots.
Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens
Despite the decisions of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford to depart the Celtics in free agency, GM Danny Ainge managed to sign Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter, and Vincent Poirier whilst drafting Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters.
The team will also expect Hayward, Tatum, and Brown to have breakout seasons, therefore if the Cs manage to be the 2nd/3rd seed in the East, coach Brad Stevens will have a great chance at receiving the credit he deserves by winning the Coach of the Year award.
This is because teams who supposedly overachieve or have one of the best records in the league end up with their coach winning this award.
