The NBA’s annual performance awards will be based upon the regular season games played through March 11, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Based on what executives, coaches and players did before the NBA suspended play on March 11 due to COVID-19, ClutchPoints has picked its winners.

Executive of the Year: Lawrence Frank

The Los Angeles Clippers won the 2019 offseason by a wide margin. Lawrence Frank was able to sign two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency and acquire All-Star Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a blockbuster trade.

With Leonard and George in the mix, the Clippers are legitimate title contenders for the first time in franchise history. The club is in second place in the Western Conference standings with the NBA seeding games set to start soon.

Frank also made some solid in-season moves. He traded for Marcus Morris and signed Reggie Jackson and Joakim Noah.

Coach of the Year: Nick Nurse

No Leonard, no Danny Green, no problem for Nick Nurse.

Before the season was suspended, the Toronto Raptors had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference standings. Much of that has to do with Nurse’s brilliant offensive sets and ability to put players in positions they are comfortable with.

After Leonard and Green left the Raptors, most NBA pundits thought Toronto would be a middle of the pack team in the East. The fact that the Raptors have a legitimate chance to repeat as champions shows how elite of a basketball coach Nurse really is.

Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams

Lou Williams has won the Sixth Man of the Year Award three times in his career and the last two years. He was averaging 18.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the Clippers before games were suspended in March. Sweet Lou was also shooting 41.6 percent from the floor, 36.3 percent from beyond the arc and 86.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Williams is one of the main reasons the Clippers have the best bench unit in the NBA. LAC’s bench mob was averaging 51.5 points per game before Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test forced NBA commissioner Adam Silver to suspend the season.

Most Improved Player of the Year: Bam Adebayo

Bam Adebayo made his first All-Star team in 2019-20. With Hassan Whiteside gone, Adebayo’s minutes and usage rate spiked and he took advantage of it.

In 2018-19, Adebayo put up 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. This season, the 23-year-old high-flyer averaged 16.2 points, 10.5 boards and 5.1 assists while shooting 56.7 percent from the field and 69.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Adebayo joined the likes of Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of eight players in NBA history to average at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and one block in a single season, according to DAZN’s Micah Adams.

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis

For the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis averaged 2.4 blocks and 1.5 steals per game before the season was suspended in March. The All-NBA superstar also recorded 9.4 rebounds per contest and helped the Lakers secure the best record in the West and the third-best scoring defense.

Los Angeles’ opponents were averaging only 106.9 points a night with Davis leading the charge on defense. AD’s ability to guard positions one through five makes him one of the most versatile players in the game.

He may not always block the shot, but Davis’ presence at the rim and long arms are always forcing opposing players to put more arc on their shots and think twice about going hard in the paint.

Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Ariana Madix surrounded by piles of cash.

Spencer See ·

Already one of the most explosive point guards in the NBA, Ja Morant averaged 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists for the Memphis Grizzlies before Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test.

More importantly, Morant has the Grizzlies in the eighth spot in the Western Conference with zero All-Stars on the team. That’s really impressive considering most NBA observers had Memphis finishing with one of the worst records in the league since Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are gone.

Morant leads all rookies in assists per game. He’s second in points per game and first in total assists. Ja is also first in total points.

MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo

For the second straight season, the Milwaukee Bucks have the best record in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo was averaging 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists on the season prior to the hiatus. The Greek Freak also had 52 double-doubles and four triple-doubles.

Even though Lakers star LeBron James had a tremendous campaign, Davis actually leads Los Angeles in a lot of categories. Giannis’ second-best player, meanwhile, is Khris Middleton, who’s not even close to the level that AD is at.

With that said, Giannis should win his second straight MVP Award since the Bucks are once again atop the standings and he’s more valuable to his team than LeBron is to the Lakers.

If you take Antetokounmpo off the Bucks, Milwaukee isn’t a playoff team. If you take James off the Lakers, Davis is still leading the Purple and Gold to the playoffs.