Let’s see who you all chose for the Warriors awards.
Earlier in the week I wrote an article picking the season awards for the Golden State Warriors. I left a poll for each question, because I wanted to know how you all viewed things.
It turns out, a fair bit differently than I did! Which is great.
So with the results tallied, let’s see who you think deserves some Warriors hardware.
At the start of the season, what odds would you have put on Eric Paschall — the number 41 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft — to be the MVP of a team with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and D’Angelo Russell?
But here we are. I chose Green as the team’s MVP, because, disappointing performance aside, I thought he most contributed to the Warriors winning what few games they did. But in a 15-win season, I’m not actually sure how valuable that is. Paschall provided hope, a reason to watch the Warriors, and optimism for the future. And that’s value.
Here’s how the voting shook out:
59 percent — Eric Paschall
15 percent — Draymond Green
9 percent — D’Angelo Russell
9 percent — Steph Curry
5 percent — Damion Lee
4 percent — Other
Green may have been disappointing, and may have failed to live up to his defensive potential, but he was still the best defensive player on the team, and the only player on the squad with strong defensive metrics.
He was my clear choice, and you all agreed. Interestingly, people were also very high on Marquese Chriss’ defense, which I found a little perplexing.
Here was the voting:
47 percent — Draymond Green
29 percent — Marquese Chriss
12 percent — Glenn Robinson III
3 percent — Eric Paschall
3 percent — Willie Cauley-Stein
2 percent — Andrew Wiggins
1 percent — Alec Burks
2 percent — Other
If any of you want to make the case for anyone else, I would love to hear it.
Here was the one-sided voting:
97 percent — Eric Paschall
1 percent — Jordan Poole
1 percent — Juan Toscano-Anderson
1 percent — Ky Bowman
1 percent — Mychal Mulder
I felt Marquese Chriss was an obvious choice, and you all agreed. After shooting 37.2% from the field a year ago, while failing to crack the rotation with both the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, many expected Chriss to go unsigned in 2019-20, and have to head to the G League to prove his worth.
Instead, he became the Warriors starting center, shot 54.5% from the field (despite not getting to play alongside Steph Curry), and cemented his role on next year’s team.
Here’s how the voting went:
88 percent — Marquese Chriss
6 percent — Glenn Robinson III
3 percent — Alec Burks
2 percent — Andrew Wiggins
2 percent — Other
I’ll be honest, this one surprised me. I thought people were a little too harsh on Willie Cauley-Stein’s Warriors tenure, and that people also had too high of expectations to begin with.
In my eyes, Draymond Green was the clear winner of this “award,” with D’Angelo Russell a strong runner-up.
Here’s how the fans voted:
39 percent — Willie Cauley-Stein
27 percent — Draymond Green
19 percent — Jordan Poole
11 percent — D’Angelo Russell
1 percent — Andrew Wiggins
3 percent — Other
Eric Paschall made out pretty well in these awards! He was my selection for this one as well. When you are drafted with pick 41, and end up leading the team in games, minutes, points, and field goals made, while finishing second in rebounds, you’re likely to be awarded Most Surprising.
Here was the voting:
49 percent — Eric Paschall
26 percent — Marquese Chriss
12 percent — Damion Lee
8 percent — Ky Bowman
4 percent — Andrew Wiggins
1 percent — Jordan Poole
1 percent — Other
Thanks for voting, everyone. I think it’s safe to say that Eric Paschall is the hardware king of the Warriors 2019-20 season.
