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