Awards Show

With the NBA regular season coming to an end, it's time to hand out all of the hardware.

MVP: LeBron James-The obvious choice here, LeBron's numbers are nothing short of legendary. We're talking about 30ppg, 7.3rpg, and 8.6apg. Not to mention he led his Cavalier squad to the best record in the NBA and that's a huge deal because the Cavs will now enjoy home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
2. Kobe Bryant - without Kobe's late game heroics, the Lakers would not be sitting atop the Western Conference.
3. Kevin Durant - Durant's scoring this year has been fantastic, he has carried the OKC Thunder to their first playoff birth in franchise history in the extremely competitive West.
4. Dwight Howard - his defense and rebounding have been huge as always, but this year we have seen a bit more offensive creativity from Dwight. He has worked on his post game and added a few more moves to his repertoire. His hard work has led the Magic to the second best record in the NBA and second in the East behind the Cavs.
5. Steve Nash - Nash is like wine, he just gets better with age. He is averaging 16.6ppg and 11apg and more importantly, he has taken a team of mismatched parts and put them together to form a well oiled machine clicking on all cylinders after the All-Star break.

Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans - Evans first season has been stellar, so stellar, in fact, it puts him in some very select company. Evans joins Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and LeBron James as the only rookies to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Honorable mention: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks.

Coach of the Year: Scott Brooks, OKC Thunder - The Thunder, with such a young nucleus of talent, weren't expected to compete in the west for a couple more years, but Scott Brooks was the perfect choice to lead this talented group of youngsters. Brooks fast paced, screen roll offense allowed Point Guard Russell Westbrook to spread his wings, and gave Durant the perfect opening to truly show how great of a scorer he is. OKC has a chance tom win 50 games for the first time in franchise history, they have also secured their first playoff birth in franchise history, and Scott Brooks deserves a ton of credit.
Honorable mention: Nate McMillan, Portland Trailblazers, Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Most Improved: Aaron Brooks, Houston Rockets - Brooks broke out last year during Houston's surprising playoff success. He shredded the Lakers guards with lightning quickness and devastating three point shooting. Brooks carried that momentum into this season, and the Rockets are glad he did, when Yao Ming went out with year ending injury and Ron Artest went to the Lakers for a virtual swap with Trevor Ariza, Houston put a lot of the offensive load on young Brooks' shoulders. In his new role as the face of the Rockets, Brooks averaged 19.7ppg, 5.3apg and shot 40% from behind the arc, all of those being career highs.
Honorable mention: Carl Landry, Sacramento Kings; Kevin Durant, OKC Thunder.

Sixth man: Jamal Crawford, Atlanta Hawks - Crawford's production and impact of the bench has been huge for the Hawks. He requires an opposing team to have a completely separate game plan for when he enters the game, no other sixth man in the league can demand that other than maybe Manu Ginobili. Crawford's 18ppg this year is tops off the bench, and no other bench player provides the spark that he can ignite for the Hawks.
Honorable mention: Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks; J.R. Smith, Denver Nuggets

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic - Just like LeBron with the MVP, Dwight is a virtual lock to win this award for many years to come. No other player is as intimidating in the paint as Howard, his combination of size, agility and leaping ability is uncanny, and has not been seen since he early days of Shaq. He anchors the Magic defense and deters a lot of players from even challenging him in the paint. Howard leads the league in blocks at almost three per game, and rebounds at13 per game, 10 of those coming on the defensive glass.
Honorable mention: Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats