Re-printed with permission from the Chronicle Herald
ORLANDO, Fla. — James Harden's swift path to redemption met its terminus on Friday as the Sunnyvale Slayers star put the finishing touches on his COMO Finals MVP performance. It was a year ago when—following an ugly playoff exit—general manager Matthew Quammen dangled Harden in several trade offers and coach Lavar Ball trashed the perennial All-COMO player in the media. Harden and the team were unable to find a buyer, and they eventually put those events behind them. Following a 4-2 Finals win over Chaska, Harden (44.5 bones) now has two rings, his first Finals MVP, and a Hall of Fame legacy carved in stone. Still, as the champagne flowed in the bubble, the front office was not quite ready to admit any fault for nearly sabotaging their championship team. "We did put Harden on the block (last year) as he'd failed us in the playoffs," Ball said in the locker room. "James understood that. What I think surprised him was that the rest of the league showed limited interest. That disrespect pushed James to another level this year, as if he dumped a Kardashian again." Salt aside, this is a team that performed at its peak at the perfect time. The bubble restart hamstrung certain teams (cough, Manhattan, cough) and gave Sunnyvale a major opportunity. It capitalized. Harden got help from fellow All-COMO star Kawhi Leonard, acquired in a midseason trade from Cleveland. Leonard posted a 35.00 average over two starts, and was the only other Slayer to join The Beard on the All-COMO Playoffs team. "Kawhi is a champion and he was huge," Ball said. "I'm told no other ownership group would give up a first (-round pick in a trade), which is crazy to me. You play to win the damn thing." He added: "Star power conquers all. Matt Quammen and Trent Johnson taught us that a long time ago." The championship party extended into the wee hours of the morning. The folks of Sunnyvale and the greater Dartmouth also held a notable celebration. Ball said he heard that local celebrities Julian, Ricky, and Mr. Lahey were on the prowl, saying, "COVID isn't the virus we're worried about tonight!" Ball also made sure to let the world know that the Slayers would be back for more in the winter. "I appreciate the haters," he said. "We could've won three or four by now, but we were getting BBB off the ground, taking over Australia, building the JBL. So this championship feels good but it mainly feels like the start of a dynasty." 2020 All-COMO Playoffs team
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Giannis Antetokounmpo wins third straight COMO MVP; Morant, Halleron collect league honors8/13/2020 Re-printed with permission from the Sun Sailor.
SHOREWOOD, Minn. — Before Thursday, it had been 34 years since major pro basketball produced a back-to-back-to-back MVP. It's fitting then, that a man whose range of skills is unmatched in the history of the game, would be the first since Larry Bird in 1986 to collect his third straight Most Valuable Player trophy. Giannis Antetokounmpo already has his gold jacket tailored. He's been part of three Shorewood Show championship teams—including last year's COMO Finals MVP performance—and now has completed a trilogy of the highest individual honor in the league. His former Show teammate, Stephen Curry, has won two in his career. So has Anthony Davis. But for the third straight year, the Greek Freak outlasted perennial runner-up James Harden (fourth in voting in 2018, second in 2019 and 2020) to capture the prize. (It's worth noting that Harden will get the last laugh this year; his Sunnyvale Slayers hold a commanding COMO Finals lead, and he just poured in 61 bones against the Chaska Moose.) The award was voted on in March, before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the COMO playoffs. Antetokounmpo posted a 36.8-bone average over 48 regular season starts. Here are the voting results (each team's ballot listed players 1-5, with the first choice receiving 5 points, second choice receiving 4 points, etc.)
Antetokounmpo was also the only player to receive unanimous first-team All-COMO honors earlier this week. Morant takes home Rookie of the Year Round 1 of Zion vs. Ja went to the latter, as St. Louis point guard Ja Morant earned COMO Rookie of the Year honors over Chaska's Zion Williamson. Morant averaged 19.1 bones over 45 starts for the hapless Hornets (16-66), who finished last place in the North Star conference. The two 2019 draft picks were the subject of controversy last year when St. Louis general manager Aaron Connolly Nutting accused the commissioner of doctoring the lottery process. Chaska won the No. 1 pick—eventually Williamson—while Nutting claimed, "Zion was taken from me!" The oft-rested Williamson and his Moose advanced all the way to the COMO Finals this season. For now, though, Morant's trophy case is a little larger. Paisley Park's Halleron gets special nod For the first time, the league's general managers voted on Executive of the Year. It was a tight race, but the award went to longtime Paisley Park GM Brendan Halleron. The embattled exec has made some risky moves in recent years—including handing Anthony Davis a gigantic multi-year contract (good), wheeling and dealing for Ben Simmons (great) and tossing a ton of money at DeMarcus Cousins (very bad)—and it paid off in 2019-2020. The Rainmakers finished 58-24, tied for first place in the North Star. An early playoff exit soured the season a bit, but it was still the most successful squad in team history. Here were the full results for EOY (teams listed just one nomination each):
Re-printed with special permission from the Kansas City Star.
ORLANDO, Fla. — After several months of chaos, COMO has finally been able to narrow down its contenders to two. The Chaska Moose and Sunnyvale Slayers are in the midst of an entertaining—though clearly unorthodox—COMO Finals. They survived a group semifinal that eliminated four teams, and, provided COVID-19 steers clear of the bubble, one of them will be crowned champion. The league did its best to make this as normal of a process as possible. And it deserves kudos for doing so. But it can't completely cover up the talent vacuum in Orlando. Saturday's announcement of the All-COMO teams (voted on in February) made sure of that. Look no further than the Kansas City for proof. The Monarchs won the regular season championship with a 63-19 record. Damian Lillard, LeBron James and Luka Doncic all earned All-COMO first team honors. Yet, the Monarchs were somehow bounced from the playoffs in their first round of action, and were not invited to the restart. (Previously, the Monarchs had only landed four selections on an All-COMO team in six seasons; Lillard and Marc Gasol on the second team in 2014-2015, Lillard on the third team in 2018-2019, and LeBron James on the second team in 2018-2019.) Based on player performance in the NBA bubble, the Monarchs would've likely blown through the COMO field, had they still been eligible. Players such as Michael Porter, Jr., have taken star turns on the NBA side, while Nowland and a crushed Monarchs fan base are watching, helpless. Mad-hattan Kansas City lost, fair and square, in March, so it's hard to feel too much despair for them. If you're going to give your sympathy to a franchise, make it Manhattan. The Monarchs landed two players on the All-COMO second team—Trae Young and Domantas Sabonis—but neither one was available to play in the restart. Also missing from action: future first-ballot COMO Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. "Selfishly, it just is tough that I realistically have a much worse shot at winning now," GM Alex Krause said in late July. "Even though my team was the next best team up after KC got beat." Sure enough, the Spiders folded like a cheap Samsonite as Chaska and Sunnyvale—both healthy and at the peak of their power—distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Other All-COMO players who missed the bubble, either due to elimination or injury, included the following: Paisley Park's Anthony Davis and Ben Simmons, Duval United's Andre Drummond, Newport Beach's Russell Westbrook, and Tampa's Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. Right timing for Moose, Slayers If you're scanning the All-COMO teams for a member of the Chaska Moose, you'll be looking forever. There isn't a single one. It's the first time in league history that a Finals team doesn't have a regular season All-COMO selection (and the league didn't even name three teams until last year). But, thanks to the timing of the bubble, Chaska is poised to win its first title. The Moose feature a strong, veteran group of guards (Chris Paul, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry) as well as fully healthy Zion Williamson and a peaking Kristaps Porzingis. Throw in other vets with Finals experience—Paul Millsap and Al Horford—and you've got a winning formula. Meanwhile, the top-heavy Sunnyvale Slayers are looking just as worthy for the crown. Top-loaded with James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard, they're hitting their stride at the perfect time. COMO fans are surely pleased with such an intriguing matchup, but it's also fair to wonder what might've been in April. Here's a look at the three All-COMO teams. All-COMO 1st Team
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