Midseason Awards & Top 30 – Attack the Glass

With the NBA all-star weekend wrapping up tonight, this little break seemed the right time to do my midseason awards and top 30 players this season. Originally, I was going to separate them but decided to make it all just one thing, so let’s start with my midseason award winners.

RHR Midseason Awards

Midseason MVP- Nikola Jokic

My heart wanted to give this award to OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been phenomenal. Still, Nikola Jokic continues to put up historic numbers, keeping this Nuggets team in contention in the West. I can’t think of a better definition of the most valuable player than the Joker for Denver currently.

Midseason Rookie Award- Stephon Castle

This award came down to Stephon Castle of the Spurs and Jaylen Wells of the Grizzlies, but Castle just beat Wells because of his impact on this emerging San Antonio core. While Wells has been essential to the Grizzlies being a top 3 seed, Castle exploded on the scene and is crucial not only to San Antonio’s plans this season but, in the future, putting him with DeAaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama to make up a potential successful foundation for the Spurs in the future.

Midseason 6^th Man- Amen Thompson

Houston has been one of the bigger surprises this season, and one of the reasons for this is Amen Thompson. Thompson has shown that he is one of the most athletic guys in the NBA, and there are glimpses of more to come. While Celtics Payton Pritchard has had a good case for this award, Thompson’s impact on games is undeniable, and he will be a considerable game-breaker for the Rockets to make a playoff run.

Midseason Defensive Player Award- Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama has been a defensive cheat code this season, and it is probably the beginning of his dominance on the defensive end. This was an easy one to pick here but the closest player to make a case for this award would have been Dyson Daniels from the Hawks, but Wemby runs away with this award easily.

Midseason Coach Award- Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers)

Another no-brainer award here: Kenny Atkinson is the best coach in the league based on what he has done with Cleveland this season. I will admit that seeing Atkinson have such good success this season proves how good he is at coaching and developing teams.

Biggest Team Surprise- Houston Rockets

Most Disappointing Team- Philadelphia 76ers

“Wait a minute” Player Award- Dyson Daniels & Karl-Anthony Towns

Dyson Daniels and Karl-Anthony Towns have been the shocking surprise players this season. Daniels is becoming a defensive nightmare for the Hawks, and then there is Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been unbelievable for the Knicks. This says a lot from me, who has been one of the harsher critics of him, but Towns made New York the big winner out of that blockbuster trade last summer.

“You still believe in this guy” Player Award- Zion Williamson & Joel Embiid

What more can I say about Zion Williamson and Joel Embiid being franchise disappointments in recent years? Williamson has been disappointing, which sucks for us, the fans who have the moments of great play from him, but hopefully, a trade this offseason to a new place and franchise with structure will turn him around.

Then there’s Joel Embiid, for whom I have had zero empathy because he has always been bailed out or not held accountable for the team and his lack of success. All the stories and drama surrounding his availability this season have been shameful and highlighted what I and so many others have been saying about Joel Embiid when it comes to being a winning franchise centerpiece.

Midseason Most Improved Player- Norman Powell

Regarding the midseason’s most improved player, a bunch of names would be acceptable, but Norman Powell and his breakout season for the Clippers so far have been surprising. Powell has stepped up replacing Paul George in the offense, keeping this Clipper team competitive thus far, almost making an all-star appearance (honestly, he should have made it over James Harden).

Midseason Clutch Player Award- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The last midseason award goes to one of the best players in the league right now, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been the most clutch player so far this season. SGA has been clutch in every big game the Thunder have played this season, with a ton of game-winners or game-daggers backing Gilgeous-Alexander’s case as the clutch player thus far in the season.