The Larry O’Brien trophy will not go to the Houston Rockets this season. As it has in the past two years, it’ll likely end up in Cleveland or the Bay Area. But Red Nation can boast about something that no other fanbase can: more players from the Rockets will make appearances at the first annual NBA Awards show than any other team in the league.
Mike D’Antoni is a finalist for Coach of the Year, along with Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs and Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat. Pop will always be in the COY discussion, and Spoelstra did a fantastic job guiding his should-be-tanking squad to as close as you can get to the playoffs without qualifying.