LOS ANGELES – The vast majority of NBA players would be thrilled to be nominated for one category at the NBA Awards. New Orleans five-time All-Star Anthony Davis entered Monday’s annual ceremony with three nominations. Davis ultimately didn’t come away with any hardware, but he achieved a rarity by placing in the top five of three separate categories: MVP (third place, the winner was Houston’s James Harden), Defensive Player of the Year (third, winner Utah’s Rudy Gobert) and Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year (fourth, winner Minnesota’s Jamal Crawford).
Davis was far from the only Pelicans representative who received some type of recognition in year-end voting by media members, with four others being mentioned in results that were released by the NBA. Jrue Holiday finished four spots behind Davis in the Defensive Player of the Year category, picking up the seventh-most points. Holiday also placed third in the Sportsmanship Award, given to a player who exudes class and dignity on the court.
Meanwhile, despite closing the regular season and playoffs as a starter for New Orleans at power forward, Nikola Mirotic wound up seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Fellow starting forward E’Twaun Moore was given a nod for his uptick in performance this season, finishing at No. 13 in the Most Improved Player vote.
In a season highlighted by numerous excellent coaching jobs around the NBA, the Pelicans’ Alvin Gentry finished ninth in Coach of the Year balloting.