OKC Thunder wing Lu Dort #5 defends LeBron James #23 of the Lakers. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
With the NBA postseason progressing it’s also the time of year when awards are handed out. COVID-19 and a season featuring more injuries than usual did narrow the competition in some cases and certainly affected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the OKC Thunder.
It may also have cost players wins. For example, the early buzz had LeBron James as the leading candidate to win the Most Valuable Player award. Joel Embiid also was in the mix early but injuries led to him missing 21 games and James missing 27 matches.