The 2019-20 NBA season end-of-the-year awards will be based on the results and performance of players up to the point before the NBA suspended play on March 11 due the COVID-19 outbreak. The league’s decision on season awards was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The league told teams Friday that none of the seeding games in Orlando will be taken into consideration for any postseason award which includes:
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All-NBA honors
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Rookie of the Year
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Coach of the Year
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Defensive Player of the Year
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Executive of the Year
Voting for the end-of-the-season NBA awards will be completed before the July 30 restart.
The decision to exclude seeding games from awards voting ensures a fair process in which players and coaches from all 30 teams will have the same opportunity to be honored as top performers for the regular season. — The NBA said in a memo sent to teams Friday
With only 22 of the league’s 30 teams participating in the NBA restart in the Orlando Bubble, this decision by the league is not surprising.
The decision also means that top-rookie front-runner and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is now pretty much a lock for earning the rookie honors.
He won’t have to worry about New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, who has played in just 19 games this season due to injury, making a push for Rookie of the Year while in Orlando.
Now, all Morant will need to be concerned about is the Trail Blazers stealing the final Western Conference playoff spot from him and the rest of the Grizzlies.
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