With the playoffs nearing close the official NBA season will come to an end with fifteen games closing out the regular season Wednesday night. With the playoffs set to begin April 20th, the playoff picture is pretty much set with the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs leading the respected conferences. As teams begin to prepare for the postseason the competition is still heating up for individual hardwood awards given out at the end of each season which include MVP, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive player of the Year, and Sixth Man of the Year.
Who will win the MVP this year?
This questions has been in debate all year, will it be Kevin Durant or LeBron James? Statistically speaking both players are putting up incredible numbers in the prime of their careers, but according to the panel of judges this race is a landslide in favor of Durant. Durant is looking at another career year, he is leading the league in scoring and single handedly put the Thunder in a top spot come playoff time (with the absence of Westbrook). When it came down to the votes Durant received 78 first place votes to LeBron’s eight so it’s safe to say the King’s reign of MVP has come to an end.
Who will win Rookie of the year?
The race for Rookie of the Year is a little tighter than MVP, but not by much. With the two front runners of Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo running away from the field, MCW is pretty much set to take home the award. MCW was the only bright spot on a pitiful 76er’s team after they traded away most of their players to help their odds of winning the NBA lottery. Carter-Williams led all rookies in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. Oladipo has had an impressive season as well averaging 13.9 ppg and a little over 4.1 assists and rebounds. When it came to the panel MCW received 70 first place votes to Oladipo’s 9, at least the 76er’s won something this season.
Who will win Coach of the year?
Along with the other awards this one is pretty obvious as well, but closer than expected. Eleven total coaches received first place votes for Coach of the Year, but only a couple stood out, Greg Popovich from the San Antonio Spurs, Jeff Hornacek from the Phoenix Suns, and Tom Thibodeau from the Chicago Bulls. 
Popovich was leading all coaches in votes with 44 from the panel, and who can blame them he led the Spurs to the best record in the NBA and the top spot in a loaded western conference. Hornacek took a young Suns team from the bottom of the conference and made them a playoff team when no one was expecting it. He received 26 first place votes putting him in second. Tom Thibodeau ranked in third place only receiving 10 first place votes from the panel, which is typical, you always expect Thibs to be at the top when it comes to coach of the year. I mean he is one hell of coach leading the Bulls into a top spot in the east even without their MVP Derrick Rose.
Who will win Defensive player of the year?
What a shocker another landslide when it comes to the panel’s votes, Joakim Noah is the clear cut favorite to win Defensive POY and has done so in amazing fashion. Noah is averaging a double double this year with 12.6 ppg and 11.2 rebounds per game along with 1.5 blocks per game. He is not only doing it on the defensive end, Noah is averaging 5.4 assists this season which is a career high and also leads all big men. At the start of the season Pacer’s center Roy Hibbert was the favorite as he was known as the rim protector for a team with such dominating defense, well that has soon diminished. Hibbert is only averaging 10.8 ppg and 6.6 rebounds per game and as of lately has been a ghost to a team that is struggling heading into the playoffs. Noah received three times as many votes as the Pacers big man, making him the clear cut winner for this award.
Who will win Sixth man of the year?
This is one award that is still up in the air when it comes to the votes, shocking I know. The race between Bulls big man Taj Gibson and Clippers guard Jamal Crawford has been tight all season. Gibson has played a pivotal role in the Bulls rotation especially after the mid-season trade of Luol Deng, he has been the leader of the “Bench Mob” in Chicago. Jamal Crawford continues to perform in his off the bench role as well, the defending Sixth man of the year is averaging just over eighteen points and three assists per game. Every coach in the league is looking for a player like this that can give you these types of numbers and energy off the bench. When it comes to the votes Taj leads all players with 31 first place votes to Crawford’s 23, this is one race that could come down to the last game.
There's Always Next Year 