THE NBA - PAST TWO YEARS2011-2012The 2011-12 season went down in similar fashion to history, with Miami Heat confidently sweeping Thunder in the finals. Lebron James earned his crown.
NBA Champions: Miami Heat
Post Season MVP: Lebron James (MIA)
Season MVP: Lebron James (MIA)
Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving (CLE)
Sixth Man of the Year: Mo Williams (LAC)
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (ORL)
Most Improved Player: Shannon Brown (PHX)
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra (MIA)
2012-2013The Miami Heat entered this season as the favourites, and ended it with the best record, 65-17, and another season MVP award for Lebron James. They met the Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals once more, but instead of a 4-0 sweep like the previous year it was a grueling 7 games series ending in a bitter loss to Oklahoma City. The story of the year is Russel Westbrook, who somehow managed to drastically improve his shooting percentages while retaining his heavy-output performances. A large amount of controversy surrounds awarding him the post season MVP over the league’s lead scorer Kevin Durant.
NBA Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder
Post Season MVP: Russell Westbrook (OKC)
Season MVP: Lebron James (MIA)
Rookie of the Year: Thomas Robinson (SAC)
Sixth Man of the Year: Jeff Teague (ATL)
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard (LAL)
Most Improved Player: Goran Dragic (PHX)
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers (BOS)
2012-13 NBA STANDINGS
Not quite this world:Compared to their current performances in the real-world NBA, some teams and players have done unexpectedly well.
The Phoenix Suns, containing the most improved players of both the 11-12 and 12-13 seasons, entered the playoffs as the sixth seed, and reached the conference finals--all without Steve Nash.
The Ray Allenless Bostin Celtics ended the season with a 62-20 record, the second best in the league, and earned Doc Rivers a Coach of the Year award.
Hall of Famers:Steve Nash had an All-Star final season, but it was tarnished by a series of unfortunate events. He was traded to the 76ers in a desperate move by the sinking LA Lakers, then suffered a season ending injury and announced his plans to retire at the end of the season.
In another sad note, Jason Kidd saw minimal minutes on the struggling New York Knicks (41-41), and was not very effective during those minutes. Both were inducted to the Hall of Fame.
THE KINGS, THE SUPERSONICS: WHERE THINGS STANDSold:The Kings were sold and relocated to Seattle, where they will play at the KeyArena until the new stadium is built. The SuperSonics are back, but emotions are mixed: nobody wants to lose a team, and Seattle basketball fans know this better than anyone. The pressure is on the SuperSonic’s management to build a team worth the move. Make no mistake, the Kings roster is on route for a complete revamp. There are too many problems to count, both on and off the court.
In the previous season the Kings went 34-48, and ended third to last in the western conference.
Cousins:Despite the organisation previously stating he was off-limits, trouble-maker DeMarcus Cousins was traded before the trade deadline. The Washington Wizards received Cousins alongside John Salmons in exchange for Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza and their 2014 1st round draft pick.
The bright side: an expiring contract in Trevor Ariza creating more space to make moves in the offseason, a promising rookie in Beal, and for a team looking to rebuild every draft pick is worth something.
The... very big down side: DeMarcus Cousins could very well be the next dominate big, and the SuperSonics could have used that to build around. The tandem of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, previous Kentucky teammates, could be dangerous. It could also end his chemistry problems. If they saw success in 2014 the draft pick could be worthless.
Rookie of the Year:There are several young bright spots still on the SuperSonics roster, including 2013 Rookie of the year Thomas Robinson.
However, make no mistake, it was a steal. Robinson, the 5th pick in the 2012 draft, is incredibly raw. He wasn’t in the running for ROTY until Damian Lillard suffered an injury that took him out for the majority of the season. But as the Kings went into full rebuild-mode Robinson began to take starting minutes and put up a solid 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds on 30.8 minutes per game. Number 1 pick Anthony Davis ranked second in blocked shots in the NBA, but failed to find himself in New Orlean’s offence last season.
There is another player on the roster who won the ROTY just four years ago: Tyreke Evans. Evans never truly lived up to his expectations since then, and unless Robinson begins to contribute in a more efficient manner the ROTY award could look more like a curse than a boon for this team.