The Golden State Warriors celebrate with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-120 in Game 5 to win the 2017 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 12, 2017 in Oakland, California.
Now that the Warriors have buried the Cavaliers deeper than King Tut's tomb, NBA Award season is upon us. Only in this space, playoff performance is the basis for honors. Somewhere between the VMA Moonman and ESPYS, these honors are weightier because the stakes were higher and the lows invited more scrutiny. This is the future.
For now, the trophies are mere digital creations, but hopefully one day you'll find them being hawked on a virtual reality sports memorabilia pawn shop for five stacks.
Sit Down, Be Humble Award
For: Players Who Got Popped for Mouthing Off
Nominees: Jaylen Brown, CJ McCollum, Dennis Schröder
Winner: Jaylen Brown
Throughout the first round, John Wall took his anger out on Schröder, who pushed his buttons when the Wizards faced the Hawks. And McCollum's mouth provided motivation for Draymond Green to sweep the Blazers.
But rookies are to be seen, not heard. Celtics rook Jaylen Brown existed in a bubble for much of this season. His potential was palpable, but it wasn’t within reach yet. Before Game 2, Brown overstepped his bounds by calling the best player on the planet a JAG (just another guy). It took LeBron James and the Cavs one half to burst Boston's bubble and make Brown the unwitting victim of When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong. Brown had himself a 19-point career playoff high. Unfortunately, James unleashed a 30-point, 7-assist outing in 33 minutes of light work en route to a 130-86 smackdown.
Robin Ficker Award
For: Best Moment Whose Impact Can't Be Measured By a Box Score
Nominees: Rihanna, Todd Leebow, Zaza's Foot
Winner: Rihanna
Named for one of the most obnoxious courtside hecklers in league history, past nominees of the Robin Ficker Award include Spike Lee and part-time Raptors ambassador Drake.
Kevin Durant hasn't said much about Rihanna's sideline jaw jacking as a motivating factor for his MVP-level performance, but his actions spoke loudly. His second-half staredown of her in Game 1 as he strutted down the court after draining a corner 3 was comparable to fellow skeleton Reggie Miller making a choke gesture at Spike. When asked after the Finals whether the attention from Rihanna was a highlight, KD responded, " It was more than that."
Warren Beatty Award
For: Most Shook in a Stressful Situation
Nominees: James Harden, NBA Finals Game 4 Officiating Crew
Winner: James Harden
Nobody has looked as shook in a clutch moment during 2017 quite like Warren Beatty presenting the Best Picture Oscar to the wrong film. A close second is in Game 4 of the Finals, when the officiating crew retroactively switched Draymond Green's first technical foul to Steve Kerr, which saved Green from automatic rejection.
However, the Houston Rockets' James Harden had spent 82 regular season games and 10 playoff clashes rehabilitating his image from that of a lazy, malcontent playmaker into the pointy head of Mike D'Antoni's spear. Then he went scoreless in the final eight minutes of regulation and overtime of Game 5. It was a reminder that despite his gaudy regular season numbers, he accumulated a negative-27 plus/minus rating and shot 35 percent from the field in the final five minutes of games where the margin was within five points. He was shook.
Sleepy Floyd Award
For: Most Surprising Performance
Nominees: Nene in Game 4 vs. Oklahoma City, Kelly Olynyk in Game 7 vs. Wizards, Patrick McCaw in Game 5 vs. Cavs
Winner: Kelly Olynyk
Your basketball consciousness ain't woke if you didn't know Sleepy holds the playoff record for points scored in a quarter and a half. In Game 7 of Boston's Eastern Conference semifinal, Kelly Olynyk erupted for 26 points, five rebounds and four assists after averaging 8 points a game through the first six games of the series. That may be the last Celtics fans see of Olynyk as he hits restricted free agency this summer.
The 3-1 Award
For: Worst Playoff Collapse
Nominees: Clippers: Every Season; Pacers: First Round, Game 3; Spurs: Western Conference Finals, Game 3
Winners: The Clippers
In an age of quick strike offenses and efficient 3-point surgeons, losing leads of 25 or more is actually fairly commonplace. The Pacers and Spurs both lost games they led by significant margins. However, Doc Rivers' Clippers are the Lifetime Achievement winners of the playoff collapse category. The 3-2 lead they held over the Utah Jazz disappeared like Tiger Woods' image and marked the first time a team has gone five years in a row blowing a playoff series lead.
Finals Participation Award
For: Individual Who Was Just Along For the Ride in a Losing Effort
Nominees: Tyronn Lue, Kevin Love, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Winner: Coach Lue
Even the team in the Finals dustbin deserves perfunctory hardware. Cleveland showed up to their rubber match against Golden State with a poorly mapped-out gameplan. During their seven-game conflict with Golden State in 2016, the Cavs averaged only 95 possessions a game. In the first three games this year, they averaged a significantly quicker pace of 105 possessions. Matching Golden State's pace is a difficult feat, especially when your best player is a 6'8," 260-pound tank trying to chase sports cars around a hardwood track.
That's on Lue, who mentally checked out after declaring Golden State the best team he'd ever seen. He found something that worked defensively in Game 4, but it was akin to Lauryn Hill showing up to a performance three hours after start time—too little, too late.
The Adele Award
For: Elite Talent Being Overly Praised
Past Winner: Steph Curry
Current Winner: Kevin Durant
You know how every year we debate whether LeBron should be NBA MVP? Well, we got it backward. He should be Finals MVP every year because that's what he coasts during the regular season to attain. There are a slew of hot takes about Durant snatching the best player in the world belt from LeBron, but he's getting a bit too much credit for his team winning over LeBron's.
Durant is Adele at the Grammys; their virtuosity in the scoring and vocals departments is what makes them gems. Yet, they don't quite measure up to the legends they each beat out for ultimate glory on a national stage. Durant latched himself onto a system that took best advantage of his gifts. LeBron is the system.