NBA D-League Award Predictions for the 2015-16 Season

The NBA D-League regular season has come to an end. Like most professional (and minor) leagues, the D-League has end of season awards given to player who meet certain criteria. The coaches vote on these awards in the NBADL, but here at Upside & Motor we wanted to give you our winners and some other candidates for each award as well.

There are six awards in total: Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Impact Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year. The only caveat is that candidates had to have played at least 25 games in the D-League to be eligible.

Impact Player of the Year
David Stockton — PG — Reno Bighorns

Roster turnover in the D-League is wild. To paint a picture, the Memphis Grizzlies set an NBA record playing 28 guys this season and that’s a pretty standard year for a D-League team. So this award is for a player who joins their team “mid-season” and makes the greatest impact.

David Stockton played 45 games with Reno this year, so he joined shortly after the start to the season, but without him the Bighorns likely do not have the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. Stockton finished the year averaging 17.9 points and 7.2 assists while shooting nearly 47 percent from the floor. Reno was 33-12 with him in the lineup and only 1-4 without him. Clearly having a rock solid point guard is vital to a successful season, no matter what league it is.

Stockton also boasted a plus/minus of 7.1, which is the largest on the Bighorns and good enough for fourth in the entire D-League.

Other candidates: John Holland (Canton Charge) and Erick Green (Reno Bighorns)

Most Improved Player
Coty Clarke — PF — Maine Red Claws

This award is different from the NBA’s MIP award in that it goes to the player who improves the most during the season. The idea is that most players in this league are attempting to move on to greener pastures so returners are few and far between.

Clarke played 44 games for the Red Claws with averages of 16.3 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 51 percent overall and 40 percent from 3-point land as a power forward. The 6-7 forward had a slow start to his inaugural D-League season, but once he turned it on he helped catapult Maine into contention yet again.

• November: 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists on 36 percent FGs
• December: 12.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists on 54 percent FGs
• January: 15.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists on 45 percent FGs
• February: 22.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists on 58 percent FGs
• March: 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists on 58 percent FGs

Clarke played so well that the Boston Celtics took notice and signed him to consecutive 10-day contracts before letting him go to return to the Red Claws. From a fringe starter in the D-League to an NBA roster is quite the improvement over one season, and that’s why Clarke takes this award home.

Other candidates: Treveon Graham (Idaho Stampede) and Briante Weber (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

Rookie of the Year
Vince Hunter — PF — Reno Bighorns

The Bighorns strike again as Hunter should easily earn the most votes for this award. Hunter was one of two affiliate players after Sacramento Kings training camp and he really came out of nowhere to explode on the scene for Reno. He played 32 games amassing 21 double-doubles and finishing with averages of 21.8 points and 11.3 rebounds on 59 percent shooting.

Hunter is the only player in the entire league to average 20-10 this season and he was a rookie! He finished with a gaudy plus/minus of 7.0, which placed him fifth in the D-League just behind his teammate David Stockton. The wiry power forward used his athleticism to dominate the pick-and-roll for Reno finishing with an array of moves in the paint. If he’s eventually able to develop more complex post moves and increase his range, he could make some noise this summer for an NBA club.

Unfortunately for Reno, Hunter played so well that Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos took notice and bought him out of his D-League contract. He left the league and teamed up with enigmatic guard Elliot Williams for the remainder of the season.

Other candidates: Will Cummings (RGV Vipers) and Quinn Cook (Canton Charge)

Defensive Player of the Year
DeAndre Liggins — SF — Sioux Falls Skyforce

The 2011 second round draft pick returned to the D-League this season after playing in Russia and Germany for the 2014-15 campaign. Liggins is still synonymous with hard-nosed defense and this season he’s shown a propensity to score as well. He averaged 13 points, 6.3 rebounds and seven assists for the Skyforce as they set a league record for wins at 40-10.

While his increased offensive output is an added benefit, Liggins still lives and dies with his defense. At 6-6 he can guard positions 1-3 in the D-League and that versatility helped make the Skyforce the top defensive team in the entire league. Liggins led the D-League in defensive rating at 96.0 and his net rating of 11.4 was good enough for fifth best as well.

Liggins missed 16 games this year due to a foot injury but when he played his impact on the defensive end was obvious. When he was on the court the Skyforce boasted a defensive rating of 96.0 and when he was on the bench that rating dropped to 101.5 — a marked difference.

Other candidates: Greg Whittington (Sioux Falls Skyforce) and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Westchester Knicks)

Coach of the Year
Dan Craig — Sioux Falls Skyforce

Craig was the architect and mastermind behind the record setting Skyforce in 2015-16. His team finished with a ridiculous 40-10 record becoming the first team in league history to reach the 40 win plateau. This is Craig’s first head coaching experience, but he has been with the Miami Heat organization since 2003 when he was taken on as a video intern.

Craig worked his way through the ranks and ultimately took this position after last year’s coach Phil Weber was hired as an assistant coach by the New Orleans Pelicans. The first year coach certainly made his mark on the league as he was able to mold this group of individual talents into the greatest regular season team this league has ever seen.

Other candidates: Jordi Fernandez (Canton Charge) and Scott Morrison (Maine Red Claws)

Most Valuable Player
Jarnell Stokes — PF — Sioux Falls Skyforce

Stokes has endured quite the year in his professional life. He started the season on the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Miami Heat, then traded again to the New Orleans Pelicans, only to be waived. After all of that movement he ended up back with Sioux Falls and boy are they happy about that.

With Stokes in the lineup the Skyforce were a preposterous 24-4 and he put up massive numbers with 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds on an ultra-efficient 66 percent shooting! Stokes is a different kind of dominant, because he doesn’t bowl over his defenders, out-jump them or even outsmart them — he simply uses his exquisite footwork to gain the advantage he needs and once he has that it’s lights out.

Other candidates: Erick Green (Reno Bighorns) and Vander Blue (Los Angeles D-Fenders)