Sixers’ Carter-Williams IS Rookie of the Year

Thank goodness this season is finally over.

With their 113-108 victory against the Boston Celtics, this completely forgettable, horrible season is behind us, forever. We can now look on to the future with Nerlens Noel and the soon to be crowned NBA Rookie of the Year in guard Michael Carter-Williams.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give anyone an award from a team that lost 26 games in a row and is as bad as Philly’s been this season.” — NBA.com columnist David Aldridge.

Hang on a minute. You’re telling me this kind of thinking could be what prevents us Sixers fans from having the only piece of silver lining on this black cloud of a season? You’re telling me that thoughts like those from NBA.com’s David Aldridge — who I really respect as an NBA writer and analyst — could sway those that would make the decision to crown Michael Carter-Williams as the rookie of the year?

There should be zero doubt as to who the rookie of the year is. It’s MCW.  Even if these Sixers are the most terrible in recent memory, Carter-Williams still outperformed all of the other rookies.  You can’t blame MCW for what the front office gave him to work with — which is essentially four dudes off the street.  This is something that Aldridge actually alluded to in the second sentence in that fifth paragraph where the first quote came from.

“It’s not Michael Carter-Williams’ fault, of course.”

So, if it’s not his fault, then why should he be denied the rookie of the year trophy? If you’re telling Sixers fans that GM Sam Hinkie shouldn’t be the executive of the year as a result of the poor season that culminated in a 26-game losing streak, that’s fine. We’ll accept that because Hinkie could probably win Executive of the Year in due time should the Sixers hoist a Larry O’Brien trophy.  Under the same token, Brett Brown shouldn’t get nominated for coach of the year. You can’t deny MCW a trophy he clearly deserves, however, because of the long term planning of the front office — that unfortunately included this season.

The rookie of the year trophy is an individual trophy, not a team trophy. That being said, Carter-Williams has been the best INDIVIDUAL rookie of this past draft class — one that was billed as the thinnest in recent memory. MCW leads all rookies in points per game (16.7), rebounds per game (6.1), and assists per game (6.3).

Let’s be clear. Oladipo’s Orlando Magic team hasn’t been lighting things up, either. Oladipo may average a solid 14/4/4 for the Magic, but his team only has 23 wins — five more than Carter-Williams’ Sixers. Utah’s rookie Trey Burke — who is also getting some rookie of the year buzz — averages 12/3/6, but the Jazz were only able to put together 24. Do five or six more wins really mean more in a rookie of the year vote? Perhaps Oladipo or Burke played for teams that weren’t openly tanking (which is kind of debatable when you think about it), but Carter-Williams still outperformed both of them this season.

There’s a precedent set already for this kind of situation. For all of the marvel that is Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, his rookie season wasn’t that great from a team perspective. The SuperSonics — whom he played for his first season — only won 20 games. Individually (the basis of which this award is given), Durant averaged 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Granted, there was no real competition for the award since fellow rookie Greg Oden didn’t assert himself, but was that Durant’s fault? No. He wasn’t denied because there was no competition, so why should Carter-Williams be denied because he put up the best individual numbers on a team that wasn’t good at all.

How about another case? The 2003 draft was one of the most memorable classes because it contained Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and this guy named LeBron James. At the end of the season, LeBron James quarterbacked a team that finished six games under .500. Carmelo Anthony led his Denver Nuggets team to the playoffs. Who won the rookie of the year award? LeBron. He won not because of his team’s performance but because his individual numbers (20.9 ppg, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists) were better than his rookie counterparts.

It’s only fair that Michael Carter-Williams should win the rookie of the year (an award based on individual performance) because he was the best individual performer of this season. Yes, the Sixers team had a deplorable season that almost broke a record the team and its fan base wouldn’t exactly be proud of (or would be depending on your position). You can’t blame Carter-Williams for that, nor should NBA voters.

I applaud Aldridge for saying at the end that a snub wouldn’t hurt Carter-Williams’ career, but at the same time, MCW earned this award. He earned it because of his play on the court, and that shouldn’t be faulted by the strategies of the front office.