2011 End of Season Awards: Part 3, The Hardware.

This may seem a little premature, but the media has just about made up their mind on who is going to win what. Even if they didn't it doesn't matter because I did. These are the players I feel deserve the awards, not necessarily the players that will win. If the players I have selected don't win, that just means the media was wrong.

Part 1, All-NBA Team

Part 2, All-Defensive Team

Executive of the Year: Pat Riley, Miami Heat

Riley managed to sign the most coveted free agent of all time and brought together three NBA superstars in their primes. A trend set by former Executive of the Year, Danny Ainge that other large market front-offices will attempt to follow.

Runners up:

2. Donnie Walsh, New York Knicks- Sort of did what Riley did, but the Knicks are still trying to get their chemistry right. Walsh is sure to win when they sign Chris Paul or Derron Williams

3. Otis Smith, Orlando Magic- Completely blew up and rebuilt Orlando's roster in one day and still, they are competitive.

Coach of the Year:

Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls- The mastermind behind Boston's legendary defense is doing the same thing in Chicago. The Bulls have the league's top defensive rating and have went from mediocrity to the league's elite in just one season. Thibodeau should win COY for similar reasons that Rose should win MVP. It's not easy to to elevate your team to the top of the ranks when your new star player suffers a bag-tripping injury and your starting center misses a chunk of games, but the Bulls are sitting in first.

Runners up

2. Doug Collins, Philadelphia 76ers- Collins is steering a well-balanced Philly team toward their first winning season since 2005.

3. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs- He can't bring Duncan back to his prime, but he turned San Antonio into a legitimate contender again.

Most Improved Player:

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves- I think this is a stupid award, but Love deserves it. Going from 14-11 to breaking the legandary Moses Malone's consecutive double-double record pretty much sealed the deal. I can't wait till he signs with a good team when he is a free agent.

Runners up:

2. Dorrell Wright, Golden State Warriors - Riding Ramos' coattails on this one.

3. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers- Aldridge has stepped in for for the oft-injured Roy as the Blazers franchise player.

Sixth Man of the Year:

Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers- 
If it wasn't for Andrew Bynum's injuries, Odom could have won this award the last two seasons. He is and has been the best sixth man in basketball and he is having one of the best seasons of his career. Khole must be proud.

Runners up:

2. Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks- Terry, the top sixth man of 2009 is leading all bench players in scoring this season.

3. Glen Davis, Boston Celtics- Davis is having a career year averaging 11 and 5 as a reserve for the defending EC Champions.

Rookie of the Year:

Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers-. Griffin is going to go down as one of the greatest rookies of all time. His most incredible achievement is that for the first time ever, the Clippers are fun to watch.

Runners up:
2. John Wall, Washington Wizards- To justify my preseason pick being Wall , the last two ROY were Calipari one-and-done point guards. Wall's outstanding rookie season is overshadowed by Griffin's dominance.
3. DeMarcus Cousins, Sacromento Kings- Wall's former teammate had an impressive rookie season putting up 14-8. Cousins could be key to the revival of the center position.

Defensive Player of the Year:

Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic- Top 5 in rebounds and blocks, leads his team in every defensive statistical category and despite having the rest of his roster blown up and rebuilt, Orlando is 4th in defensive efficiency. Any objections?

Runners up:
2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics- The best defensive player on the best defensive team. That's about it.
3. Tyson Chandler, Dallas Mavericks- Has drastically improved Dallas' defense, so maybe they'll lose their first round series in 7 games instead of 6 this season.

Most Valuable Player:
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls- Rose will become the youngest MVP of all time. It's not the case that the media has made up their mind too early as some journalists and Stan Van Gundy would argue. Rose deserves it more than any other player. He is top 10 in assists and steals, he has played without his two best supporting players most of this season and yet the Bulls have beaten all the elite teams, and are standing atop the Eastern Conference. Case closed.

Runners up
2. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic- Howard has put Orlando on his back and could be just the third player to win DPOY and MVP in the same season. The other two players? Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan. That would be some pretty impressive company for Howard to be in.
3. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers- Bryant has elevated to the top MVP discussions recently. The Lakers have been in championship form after the all-star break, giving Bryant legitimate candidacy for MVP. He's probably not going to win, or even come as close as I am ranking him. It's a shame a player so great will likely finish his career with just one MVP.