Washington Wizards 2015-2016 End of Season Awards

Ben Mehic

Apr 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) handles the ball against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Washington Wizards won 106- 99. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Wizards 2015-16 End of Season Awards

After the conclusion of every season, we like to wrap things up by reflecting on what happened. There’s no better way to reflect than to hand out the prestigious, annual Wiz of Awes awards.

The Washington Wizards didn’t exactly have the greatest season. They finished with an even record, missed the NBA Playoffs and never really found their identity. Expectations were high this year, but the team failed to meet them. Now, they’re left with a vacancy at the head coaching spot and a questionable general manager.

This was probably the most forgettable season since Andray Blatche became a self-proclaimed captain of the team. We had numerous players walk through the Verizon Center tunnel, and not many stood out.

So, we’re going to hand out the following awards: Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Most Disappointing Player, Most Forgettable Player and Best Towel Waver. We usually have more traditional awards, like the Best Defensive Player award, but the Washington Wizards didn’t have anyone step up on that end of the floor this season.

There is no criteria for any of these awards, by the way. I mean, there is – but it’s super secretive.

We’ll start with the most obvious award…

Next: Most Valuable Player

Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Most Valuable Player

David Statman (@DJStatman77):

John Wall was far from perfect this year, but when it comes right down to it, this is a 41-win team that would have been lucky to win 21 without John Wall.

Wall has continued to prove that he’s this team’s franchise player, even as we debate whether he could be the top guy on an elite team. I have trouble getting myself invested in that debate when I’m watching Wall jump to lightspeed and effortlessly trash opposing defenses. Best point guard in franchise history, baby.

Winner: John Wall

Nithin Kuchibhotla (@NKuchibhhotla):

There’s really no other answer but John Wall here.

While he had his worst season from an efficiency perspective since Year 2 in the league, his impressive counting stats (on the verge of a 20-10-5-2 season) combined with the sheer lack of talent surrounding him gives him a large lead over anyone else who suited up in a Washington Wizards jersey.

Wall also played through a variety of injuries this season until being shutting down with five games to go with the Wizards effectively eliminated from the playoffs. Considering the number of players on the team whose recoveries seem to last three times longer than they should, that type of consistency should be appreciated for what it is.

Winner: John Wall

Osman Baig (@Obtoojiveforyou):

The only answer to this is John Wall.

When a player is fractions away from accomplishing the rare 20 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds season stat-line, he’s likely to end up the team’s MVP.

Most Improved Player

David Statman (@DJStatman77):

Otto didn’t look like the murderous length god who we fell in love with during the 2015 playoffs all the time – so, if you look at it that way, his season was a disappointment. I look at it a different way.

Given his first consistent playing time as an NBA player, Otto proved himself to be a reliable secondary scoring option whose shooting really came on towards the end of the season. His spot in the starting rotation was never under threat, and Porter took some real strides from the last two years.

All in all, a successful season for Otto Porter

Winner: Otto Porter

Nithin Kuchibhotla (@NKuchibhhotla):

I’m one of the biggest Otto Porter fans you’ll find and he’s my pick for this spot.

Throughout the first half of the year, his game seemed to really come together except for a creaky jump shot. Post All-Star break, he really turned it up from behind the arc and finished as a 37% 3-point shooter.

People forget that aside from a 10 game sample size in last year’s playoffs, Year 3 of his career was the first to give him consistent minutes, every night. He largely stayed on the floor, was great in transition and from mid-range and showed promise for what’s to come.

Weight will always be a question for him when it comes to defending larger players (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony), but he must learn to use his length to disrupt players on the perimeter.

Winner: Otto Porter

Osman Baig (@Obtoojiveforyou):

Otto Porter is the easy answer here, mainly because this latest iteration of the Washington Wizards was a vet-oriented team that frankly lacked significant playing time for other young players who had “upside.”

That’s not to take anything away from Otto Porter, who after being invisible his rookie year and in and out of the lineup in his second season, finished his first full season as a starter.

Best Towel Waver

David Statman (@DJStatman77):

DeJuan Blair has taken his rightful place on the Wizards Pantheon of Uselessness, up there with the likes of Calvin Booth, Eric Maynor and Mike Ruffin. But DeJuan was actually a damn fine fella, well-loved by all his fellow teammates, and he kept an admirably bright demeanor despite his dismal playing time and even more dismal play.

The Washington Wizards lost a good locker room guy by trading him, but at least he’s not an obstacle anymore in my attempts to join 5 Deep.

Winner: DeJuan Blair

Nithin Kuchibhotla (@NKuchibhhotla):

You have to love Jarell Eddie in this spot.

Despite getting a rare few opportunities to unleash his killer shot from deep (that one game vs. Brooklyn was basically an out-of-body experience for him and the fans alike), Eddie came through as an excellent bench teammate.

His frequent towel waving, as well as the technique of the wrist movement cannot go unnoticed. And unlike Marcin Gortat, he did not knowingly destroy any towels either, saving Ted Leonsis some much needed cash (and we know how much he likes the idea of that).

Winner: Jarell Eddie

Osman Baig (@Obtoojiveforyou):

This is Jarell Eddie all day. If he wasn’t towel waving in his warmups, he was towel waiving in a suit and if he could bring a towel on floor with him I’m sure he’d wave a towel during the game as well.

Ryan Hollins may have been able to make a push had he stuck around, but this is the Jarrell Eddie award moving forward. On a slightly serious note, it was refreshing to see some emotion on the Washington Wizards sideline.

This team has lacked that variable (the 30 and over crowd that makes up our bench might have pulled a muscle jumping up) and seeing some enthusiasm out of a player on this team was a welcomed sight.

Winner: Jarell Eddie

John Cannady (@John_Cannady):

This also came down between two guys for me – Alan Anderson and Jarell Eddie. Since Anderson’s M.O. was more of a dap/elaborate handshake kind of thing, I went with Eddie.

Full disclosure, with his jump shot, Eddie probably should have played more, but we all know how much Coach Wittman hated giving young players (hello Wave Papi!) meaningful minutes. You could catch him even standing and waving the towel solo on the sidelines.

Winner: Jarell Eddie

Next: Most Disappointing Player

Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Most Disappointing Player

David Statman (@DJStatman77):

After another brilliant playoff performance, Bradley Beal was supposed to stay healthy and take the next step towards stardom. Instead, his career completely flatlined.

His on-court performance plateaued and he played a career-low 55 games due to various injuries – despite this, he thought it would be a good idea to call out other guys on the team who had been missing games or not playing up to their best. Look in the mirror, Brad. The worst part? They’re going to give him a max deal anyway.

Winner: Bradley Beal

Nithin Kuchibhotla (@NKuchibhhotla):

In what was supposed to become Bradley Beal’s coming out party after another successful playoff campaign, the season turned into a disaster that left the team still in the dark about what he will become long-term.

He started off playing at an All-star pace, but yet another stress reaction along with the usual list of maladies caused him to miss 27 games and be in the unique position of expecting a max contract this summer without the associated production.

The main hope is that a new coach who is aware of the term player development helps him reach his potential (a la Klay Thompson) and he can stay on the court long enough to justify the big money. His numbers and advanced metrics improved across the board but health is really the only key at this point.

Winner: Bradley Beal

Osman Baig (@Obtoojiveforyou):

Strange that a player who is about to get a max contract in free agency is the most disappointing player, but this is a no-brainer. He started the season strong, scoring no fewer than 24 points in the first five games of the season. From there it was all downhill. Anything that could go wrong with Brad did.

His three-point shooting numbers were down, as were his rebounding numbers, and free throw percentage. By the way, how can “the next” Ray Allen, a career 39.7% shooter from three-point territory only shoot a pedestrian 76.7% from the free throw line?

More concerning to me is the spike in his defensive rating to 108 (point allowed per 100 possessions), and how his offensive rating has generally plateaued since entering the league at 102, 103, 102, and 103 this past season.

The Washington Wizards will pay him this summer and we still know very little about what type of player Bradley Beal could be.

Winner: Bradley Beal

John Cannady (@John_Cannady):

So I’m pretty sure that most of the crew will pick Bradley Beal here, and while that’s probably the correct answer, I’m going to go in another direction and pick the big Brazilian, Nene.

During the 2015 NBA playoffs, the Washington Wizards had the top seed in the East, the Atlanta Hawks, on the ropes.

Most Forgettable Player

David Statman (@DJStatman77):

Remember when Ryan Hollins was on the Wizards? No? I rest my case.

Winner: Ryan Hollins

Nithin Kuchibhotla (@NKuchibhhotla):

I thought about Marcus Thornton or Alan Anderson in this spot but I’m actually going to remember them very well for different reasons.

Thornton literally removed the joy from watching basketball and Anderson shocked me for his good standing with the team while playing in about 10% of available games.

The guy I’m going with in this spot is Drew Gooden, who was inexplicably re-signed this summer in Ernie Grunfeld’s attempt to put together the worst pace-and-space roster of all time.

To make matters worse, he did play significant minutes early on, but thankfully Jared Dudley‘s improved health and the acquisition of Markieff Morris put Gooden firmly out of sight and out of mind.

Winner: Drew Gooden

Osman Baig (@Obtoojiveforyou):

I’d say Ryan Hollins, but he had some entertaining moments celebrating on the bench this year which is more than I can say I remember from Drew Gooden this year.

The Washington Wizards foolishly paid Drew Gooden last summer, fortifying their thin frontcourt with a 34-year-old that was out of the NBA two years ago. Even after the Detroit had eliminated the Wizards, Drew Gooden couldn’t get much run. When he did get in the game it didn’t take long for him to get a low percentage shot off (and miss

Thanks for the memories, Drew!

Winner: Drew Gooden

John Cannady (@John_Cannady):

During the playoffs last year, the Washington Wizards surprised everyone and went small and absolutely crushed the favored Toronto Raptors and were up 2-1 on the Atlanta Hawks playing the pace and space type basketball. Going into the off season, many people asked Kris Humphries, who has a pretty serviceable midrange jumpshot, about eventually becoming a stretch four.

He heard the whispers and knew that he had to add that dimension to his game if he wanted playing time. Problem is, Humphries has stuck around the NBA all of these years because of his board work.

He is one of the better offensive rebounders and energy guys in the league, but that aspect of his game is taken away once he begins to launch threes and not be on the offense glass.

Next: Wizards Free Agency: Which Should Stay or Go?

Humphries and DeJuan Blair (another forgettable candidate) was eventually shipped to Phoenix for Markieff Morris after the All-Star break. Most people don’t remember that Humphries started off the year as a starter for the Wizards.

Winner: Kris Humphries

Ben Mehic

I write about millionaires who put a ball through a hole. Believer in positive pixels. Nonbeliever in naps and flip flops. My last name is pronounced Meh-itch - like it's only kind of good, and you have to scratch it.