Looking back at the 2019 NBA voting results, I still remember the buzz around who would take home the major awards that season. As someone who's followed basketball for over a decade, I've always found award seasons particularly fascinating—not just for the predictable outcomes, but for those surprising moments that make you rethink what you know about player impact and league narratives. The MVP race especially stood out to me, with Giannis Antetokounmpo ultimately securing the honor with 941 points and 78 first-place votes. That was hardly surprising given his dominant regular season, but what really caught my attention was how close James Harden came with 776 points—that margin tells you everything about how split opinions were that year.
What many casual fans might not remember is how international players absolutely dominated the awards that season. Giannis from Greece, Luka Dončić from Slovenia winning Rookie of the Year—it felt like a turning point for the global game. This international theme actually reminds me of something I witnessed in Asian basketball around that same period. I recall watching the Filipina ballers bounce back from their 85-59 loss to host Chinese Taipei last Wednesday to improve their record to 1-1. That kind of resilience—losing by 26 points one game then coming back stronger—is exactly what separates good teams from great ones. It's the same quality we saw in that year's NBA Most Improved Player, Pascal Siakam, who transformed from a role player into an All-Star and helped the Raptors win their first championship.
The All-NBA team selections that year contained what I consider one of the biggest snubs in recent memory. Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the third consecutive season—23 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists per game—yet didn't make any of the three All-NBA teams. Meanwhile, Kemba Walker secured the Third Team guard spot with what I'd argue were less impressive numbers. This is where advanced stats sometimes fail to capture the full picture—Westbrook's efficiency numbers weren't great, but his sheer impact on games was undeniable. I've always believed that award voting tends to overcorrect from previous years, and Westbrook probably suffered from voter fatigue after his MVP season two years prior.
Defensive Player of the Year always sparks debate, and 2019 was no exception. Rudy Gobert won with 65 first-place votes, but I personally thought Giannis deserved stronger consideration given his versatility. The Stifle Tower anchored Utah's defense, no question, but Giannis could legitimately guard all five positions. This reminds me of how team context influences voting—Utah built their entire defensive system around Gobert, making his impact more visually obvious to voters. Meanwhile, Paul George finished second in both DPOY and MVP voting, which frankly surprised me given how his performance tapered off in the final month of the season.
When I analyze voting patterns over the years, I've noticed that narrative often outweighs pure statistics. Take Lou Williams winning his third Sixth Man award—he averaged 20 points off the bench, which is impressive, but I'm convinced voters were swayed by his iconic 40-point game against Boston where he hit the game-winner. Those highlight moments stick in voters' minds disproportionately. Similarly, Luka Dončić's Rookie of the Year victory wasn't just about his 21-8-6 statline—it was about those viral moments where he looked like a ten-year veteran.
Reflecting on that entire awards season, what stands out most isn't who won, but how the results reflected the NBA's evolving identity. The international takeover was undeniable, with Giannis, Luka, and Gobert claiming three major awards. The advanced stats versus eye-test debate reached new heights with cases like Westbrook's snub. And perhaps most importantly, we saw how team success heavily influences individual awards—every single winner came from a playoff team. As the Filipina ballers demonstrated with their quick turnaround after that 26-point loss, resilience and team context ultimately shape how we perceive individual excellence. The 2019 voting results weren't just about handing out hardware—they captured a league in transition, balancing traditional metrics with new ways of evaluating impact.