The 2017 NBA Awards ballots have been released and one ballot in stands out as particularly bad. Only one voter put Isaiah Thomas on his All-NBA Defense list and that's not the only head-scratching decision Marcelo Nogueira of Ole (an Argentinian site) made. We've complied his ballot below and it's brutal.
Everyone makes mistakes, media members included. But this ballot from Nogueira might just be the worst ever. Frankly, he probably shouldn't get a vote going forward. Opinions are opinions, but Nogueira is objectively wrong on several of his decisions.
MVP:
1. James Harden, Houston Rockets
2. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
4. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
5. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Westbrook ended up winning, but there's nothing that wrong with having Harden at the top. LeBron James is a snub.
Rookie of the Year:
1. Dario Saric, Philadelphia 76ers
2. Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee Bucks
3. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Brogdon won, but Nogueira did have the three finalists on his ballot. This is might be the most sane of any of his votes.
Most Improved Player:
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2. Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers
3. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Nogueira had Antetokounmpo winning and Gobert is a quality third option. But Nurkic, who was traded mid-year? This was the only vote given to Nurkic and I'm going with the theory he actually meant Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
NOW READ: What the Celtics are offering the Pacers for Paul George
Sixth Man of the Year:
1. Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
2. Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
3. Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs
Gordon ended up winning, but Iggy did finish second. Mills only had 12 other votes.
Defensive Player of the Year:
1. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
2. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
3. LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
Leonard and Gobert at the top is arguable. But Aldridge over Draymond Green, who won the award, makes zero sense. This is the ONLY vote for Aldridge and Nogueira is one of only two people to leave Green off their ballot.
Coach of the Year:
1. Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
2. Mike D'Antoni, Houston Rockets
3. Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks
I actually like Stevens getting the first place vote, but Kidd had only four other votes.
UP NEXT: The Latest NBA Rumors
All-NBA First Team:
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Gasol is the biggest surprise, but that's at least arguable. Everything else seems fine.
All-NBA Second Team:
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Green, apparently, is good enough to get a second-team All-NBA, but a Defensive Player of the Year vote. Nothing else is too terrible.
All-NBA Third Team:
LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Al Horford, Boston Celtics
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Wait, Horford and Aldridge over Anthony Davis? That makes no sense, especially after we get to Nogueira's Defensive votes below. These are the only votes for Aldridge and Horford.
Connect With Chat Sports:
Chat Sports on LinkedIn
Chat Sports “Minds Behind the Game” on LinkedIn
Chat Sports on GitHub
All-Defensive First Team:
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Huh. Still no Draymond Green. The rest of Nogueira's group isn't that outlandish.
All-Defensive Second Team:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
This takes the cake as the worst of Nogueira's voting and there's an "ole" joke here somewhere. There's no Draymond Green, with Aldridge (who was second-team All-defense for Nogueira despite placing third on his defensive player of the year ballot) ahead of him. And Davis was apparently good enough for all-defense, but not All-NBA. Nogueira placed one of just three votes for Curry, who simply is not. This is only vote for Isaiah Thomas, who is a bad defender and belongs nowhere near this list. Meanwhile, Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley are stunningly left off the ballot.
All-Rookie First Team:
Dario Saric, Philadelphia 76ers
Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee Bucks
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings
Willy Hernangomez, New York Knicks
Nothing terrible here.
All-Rookie Second Team:
Dragan Bender, Phoenix Suns
Alex Abrines, Oklahoma City Thunder
Domantas Sabonis, Oklahoma City Thunder
Isaiah Whitehead, Brooklyn Nets
Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers
And we're back to the confusing picks. This is the only vote for Bender and my theory is Nogueira mixed him up with Marquese Chriss, the other and far more deserving Sun. It's one of five votes for Whitehead and one of just four for Abrines.
Check out our NBA page for all the latest NBA Rumors or download the Chat Sports App!
Back to the NBA Newsfeed