– The Latest on the NBA Awards Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , where the league’s individual honors are being presented (all times local):
6:15 p.m.
Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers has won Rookie of the Year honors at the NBA Awards.
The guard averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, joining Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to post those numbers in a season.
Simmons helped Philadelphia to a 52-30 record, including ending the season with a 16-game winning streak.
He beat out finalists Donovan Mitchell of Utah and Jayson Tatum of Boston.
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6 p.m.
The NBA Awards aren’t just about the hardware. Everyone gets fed, too.
Players and their guests are sitting down to dinner at the second annual show. On the menu is salad with avocados, grapefruit and green goddess dressing, and a main course of wild seabass with rice and steak.
Dessert is a vanilla cream puff, chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and pavlova with lemon curd and blueberry.
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5:55 p.m.
Jeanie Buss says she has complete faith in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ front office no matter how Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka want to build the team, whether it’s through trades http://www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-josh-allen-jersey , free agency or the draft.
Buss says she asked them a year ago to identify a style of play for the team and make decisions that reflect that style. She describes the Lakers’ style as fast and says it’s about passing and sharing the ball while committing to each other as a team.
Buss is the team’s controlling owner and president. Johnson is the team’s president of basketball operations.
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5:45 p.m.
Baron Davis has arrived at the NBA Awards on a foldable electric scooter.
Davis lives near Santa Monica Airport, so he rode the small scooter onto the red carpet outside Barker Hangar.
The urban mobility device has a maximum range of 16 miles and a top speed of 14 mph, which is about how fast traffic sometimes moves in Los Angeles. It costs about $900.
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4:07 p.m.
James Harden is hoping to win his first NBA MVP award in what could be another big night for the Houston Rockets.
Harden, Cleveland’s LeBron James and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis are the three MVP finalists. That and the league’s other individual awards will be presented Monday night at the NBA Awards show.
Harden was the league’s top scorer on a Rockets team that had the NBA’s best record, giving him a strong chance to finally capture the MVP award after finishing as the runner-up twice.
The Rockets walked away with Coach of the Year for Mike D’Antoni and Sixth Man of the Year for Eric Gordon last year at the inaugural NBA Awards. Gordon has a chance to repeat, while center Clint Capela is one of three finalists for Most Improved Player.
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Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks knew John Wall would be back to his explosive, elite self for the playoffs when the All-Star point guard was able to play 38 minutes in a regular-season loss at Cleveland.
It took Wall one additional outing to be absolutely certain he’ d be OK after coming back from surgery on his left knee, pointing to his 29-point, 12-assist effort against Boston five days later.
”I had a big game Authentic Ryan Kesler Jersey ,” he said Monday, looking back at that victory from a couple of weeks ago. ”Kind of just started to see shots fall that I was falling short on the couple of games I had before that.”
As Wall prepares to lead the No. 8 seed Wizards into Game 5 against the No. 1 seed Raptors on Wednesday night in Toronto, it is as if he never was away for more than two months. As if he never needed that operation in the first place. As if he got a chance to ramp up for the postseason for more than merely four games.
And all of that outside chatter about whether Washington might just be better off without him, based on the team going 8-2 at the start of his absence in January and February, sure seems silly right about now. Especially after Wall carried Washington to a 106-98 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night by scoring eight of the host’s last 14 points and adding an assist – plus tight defense on DeMar DeRozan – after Bradley Beal fouled out with about five minutes left.
Did it while playing all 24 minutes in the second half, too. Plus, Wall revealed Monday that he twisted his right ankle down the stretch, although he declared himself fine.
”It’s always pulling teeth to try to get him off the court,” Brooks said. ”I like that. As a coach Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey Steelers , you want that.”
Now Washington will need to grab a victory on the road at least once to claim a series in which the home team has won every game so far.
”You put John Wall on this team for 82 games,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said, ”and I guarantee they wouldn’t be eighth.”
Instead, Wall appeared in only 41 games this season, missing all four that Washington played against Toronto. But he sure is looking good when the games count the most.
He is averaging 26.8 points, 13 assists and 4.8 rebounds in the series.
And here’ s an obscure, yet telling, stat offered up by the Wizards: Wall joined Magic Johnson as the only players with at least 27 points, 14 assists and six rebounds in two consecutive playoff games.
”It was just a matter of time before he got back to himself Authentic Customized Raiders Jerseys ,” Wizards forward Markieff Morris said. ”He just needed to get some games under his belt. Basically, just get his feet under him, get his wind back, and he would get back to how he was playing. Because he’s a competitor.”
That aspect of Wall’ s persona came out when he was trading barbs with Canadian rapper Drake during the series’ first two games in Toronto, when the Raptors were taking a 2-0 lead.
”I told him to be here for Game 3. He told me he was going to be here. Didn’t show up. He told me we were getting swept and he had the broom for us,” Wall said. ”I wanted him to know they weren’t going to sweep us.”
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Associated Press writer Ian Harrison in Toronto contributed to this report.