MVP:
Kevin Durant wins this honor despite having a disappointing season. Despite seeing season-over-season declines in points, rebounds, assists, steals, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage, KD was able to put up No. 1 averages in 2010-11. That says quite a lot about his shot at retaining this crown for many seasons to come. You can pretty much scribble his name at the top of your 2011-12 draft-day cheat sheets now.
Biggest Letdown:
Troy Murphy takes the cake here. He was taken around No. 52 overall in Yahoo! drafts and around No. 50 overall in ESPN drafts last fall. The reasons for optimism were fairly justified – he was making a homecoming by putting on a Nets uniform and didn’t appear to have too much competition on that roster. Then injuries and coach Avery Johnson happened, and Murphy never recovered. His averages aren’t even worth discussing here. Once a lock to be a top-50 player, thanks to his ability to rebound and hit threes, Murphy appears to have lost all that fantasy value in the span of one season. He’ll be entering next season at the ripe age of 31, so it appears his days as a viable fantasy player are over. Kobe Bryant and, of course, Anthony Randolph were also strong candidates for this dishonor.
Waiver-Wire Gem of the Year:
Dorell Wright was taken very late in most drafts, if at all, but he managed to piece together top-20 averages this season. Heading into this season, Wright was regarded as a decent player who couldn’t stay healthy. This season he played and started in all 82 games and averaged 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, three assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 2.4 threes. Expect more of the same in 2011-12.
Fantasy Rookie of the Year:
Blake Griffin was taken in the fifth or sixth round of most drafts last fall, and that turned out to be about right. While his free-throw shooting weighed down his overall fantasy value, Griffin was able to stay healthy, play all 82 games of the season and average 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks. When free-throw percentage is taken out of the picture, the rookie was a top-20 stud. Expect him to improve on the weaknesses in his game and make big strides up the ladder next season.
Biggest Bang-for-Your-Buck of the Year:
Kevin Love was taken in the fourth round of most drafts but finished the season with top-four overall value. That’s quite the return on investment. Though coach Kurt Rambis frustrated Love’s owners by caging the beast with limited minutes early in the season, Love was finally set free and averaged 20.2 points, 15.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 threes. He also shot 47 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free-throw line. If he can lift his steals and blocks per game, Love will make a strong run at the top spot in fantasyland next season.
Most Unappreciated Stud:
Dirk Nowitzki should have this award named after him. Despite his age, Diggler put together yet another solid season to the tune of 23 points, seven rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.6 blocks and 0.9 threes per game, all while shooting 52 percent from the field and 89 percent from the foul line. While it’s hard to believe this streak will continue, you would have a very hard time arguing against slotting him in as a top-ten pick again next season.
Biggest WTF of the Year:
Kris Humphries gets the nod here. Unless you were playing with the most prophetic fantasy owners (or insane Nets fans), Humphries likely wasn’t drafted in your leagues last fall. Though he saw limited action in his first seven games of the season, he managed to finish the season averaging 10 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting 53 percent from the floor. Naturally, Humphries is a free agent this summer, but if he chooses to re-sign with the Nets and if Brook Lopez still can’t find his appetite for rebounds, Hump will have a shot at maintaining those types of numbers in 2011-12. This section will have to end now before a joke about Kim Kardashian slips out.
Most Pleasant Surprise of the Year:
Kevin Garnett had himself a dandy season. With a healthier knee, KG was able to improve his scoring, rebounding, thieving and shooting percentages in 2010-11 from his marks in 2009-10. He outperformed even the loftiest expectations by putting up top-15 numbers and even managed to play in 71 games. Tracy McGrady deserves acknowledgement for his run at this honor.
Gear-Shifter of the Year:
LaMarcus Aldridge gets my vote, though many will cry foul and demand Derrick Rose to be selected here. My reasons for choosing LA for this honor are simple: he had lower expectations than Rose heading into the season (drafted around No. 53 overall versus No. 31 overall for Rose) and ended up averaging better overall numbers than Rose. Most of us expected Rose to kick things up a notch, but not many of us foresaw what Aldridge did this season. Rose unleashed a beast we thought he might have in him – Aldridge unleashed a beast we didn’t know about.
2010-11 All-Fantasy Team:
PG – Chris Paul
SG – Dwyane Wade
SF – Kevin Durant
PF – Kevin Love
C – Pau Gasol
Bench: Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire, Stephen Curry, Rudy Gay, Al Horford
2010-11 All-Overachieving Team:
PG – Beno Udrih
SG – Tony Allen
SF – Landry Fields
PF – Serge Ibaka
C – Al Jefferson
2010-11 All-Tease Team:
PG – D.J. Augustin
SG – Carlos Delfino
SF – Michael Beasley
PF – Rashard Lewis
C – Darko Milicic
What was your season like?
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