NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The executives have voted, and three players are unanimous All-COMO 1st Team selections this year: Shorewood's Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kansas City's Luka Doncic.
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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):
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- The talent supply is never-ending on the Sunset Strip.
With Hornets general manager Curt Clauss facing a tough offseason in which star point guard Chris Paul is likely to be released, the GM can take solace in the fact that Andrew Wiggins will be returning at a cheap price. Selected No. 2 overall in this summer's inaugural COMO Rookie Draft, Wiggins contributed 15 starts and a 14.93 average to the Hornets. Monday, the league office named him COMO Rookie of the Year. Clauss could not be reached for comment. |
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