Who is the League's Most Valuable Role Player?
Why a Celtics player is the easy choice plus other role player awards!
The NBA season has finally concluded! After a few play-in games, it’ll finally be the playoffs! And you know what that means… it’s officially Awards Season! Let’s have some fun with a few made-up awards to celebrate role players in this league, starting with… the MVRP!
(Please note: This article is longer than my norm. Take water breaks as needed.)
MVRP (Most Valuable Role Player)
The MVRP honors the players who play significant roles in their team’s success without being the focal point of a team. These players defend, connect, and complement their team’s star players in a way that raises their team’s ceiling. Many of these players are so good at their roles that they’ve been considered for all-star teams and even All-NBA teams.
Here’s the 2023-24 short list (in alphabetical order) for the MVRP:
Aaron Gordon, Chet Holmgren, Derrick White, Fred VanVleet, Jarrett Allen, Rudy Gobert
Aaron Gordon makes music with Nikola Jokic on offense. Like a couple that has spent their lives together, the two know what the other wants to do before he even does it. Gordon will stand in the corner or dunker spot, waiting for the perfect moment to cut and unleash thunderous reverse dunks that demoralize opponents. Jokic finds him without ever having to look in his direction.
Gordon waits until just the right second before getting position on Keon Ellis to receive the Jokic pass. Textbook.
Gordon’s combination of size, strength, and basketball intelligence complement Jokic’s ground-bound defensive style. Gordon allows Jokic to play higher up on screens instead of in a drop-style defense (where opposing guards could have a clear runway at him) because of his ability to protect the rim — players shoot about 4.4% worse at the rim when Gordon is there than would typically be expected per Second Spectrum data. At the same time, Gordon is an elite defender against bigger wings, commonly taking some of the best offensive stars out of games.
Chet Holmgren, Jarrett Allen, and Rudy Gobert all have similar cases as the anchors to top-10 defenses.
Allen has been the only consistent member of Cleveland’s “big four” with everyone else missing more than 20 games. His ability to protect the rim and play in the pick-and-roll brings the best out of Donovan Mitchell. Allen has learned to score in the area between the restricted area and the midrange — a skill that has deepened his threat level in the pick-and-roll and made it easier to play next to another non-shooting big. That said, the fit next to Evan Mobley is still clunky, docking Allen for his inability to effectively mesh with him.
Gobert is the league’s best defender — a constant rim deterrent who is never out of position and forces more floaters than almost any other center. Once again, he leads all defenders in shooting percentage differential — the expected shooting percentage based on the player shooting vs the actual percentage when Gobert is the closest defender — with an astounding -14.3% when shooters are within six feet of the rim. He is a deserved winner of the Defense Player of the Year.
Offensively, Gobert is putting up an excellent season — on par with his Utah glory years — while contributing in new ways. He is posting up more than ever and is doing it at an elite level. The Timberwolves score 1.18 points per possession when Gobert shoots out of a post-up — good for the 87th percentile of all players to shoot out of a post-up more than ten times. He always notices when he has a mismatch and smashes them directly beneath the rim for easy dunks or fouls.
Holmgren’s ability to stretch the floor and protect the rim has helped the Oklahoma City Thunder to play small almost every second of their season. At 37% from three on over four attempts per game, Holmgren opens space in the middle for the myriad drivers that occupy the Thunder’s backcourt. He has already proven to be one of the best rim protectors in the NBA with over two blocks per game. The only ding in Chet’s armor is his below-average rebounding can hurt the Thunder in games against bigger centers. (It will be fascinating to see how this impacts the Thunder in the playoffs when they play against bigger centers such as Gobert or Jokic or offensive rebounding guru, Daniel Gafford.)
Fred VanVleet orchestrates the Rockets offense, forming a beautiful harmony with Alperen Sengun. (One could probably argue that VanVleet was not a role player for the Rockets this year. I went back and forth on this but eventually decided to say that he played the floor general role with a usage rate below 20% — around the same as Jalen Suggs and Derrick White.)
VanVleet’s addition to the Rockets (alongside Sengun’s emergence) has helped propel them from a bottom-five team to a .500 team. His ability to shoot from three, pass the ball (he’s seventh in assists per game amongst players to play more than 60 games), hound opposing guards while on defense, and provide veteran leadership are a big part of this. VanVleet’s major weakness is his inability to finish shots inside the three-point line (second-worst of all guards to play more than 60 games per Basketball Reference).
Derrick White is the ultimate connector for the Boston Celtics. He fills every gap, sealing any holes that sprout in the boat. On a team where the ball often sticks, White’s ball movement and quick decision-making are a breath of fresh air. He has a legitimate chance to make First Team All-Defense as one of the elite perimeter defenders in the game with a block rate reminiscent of elite centers, not a guard. He had the best shooting season of his career, approaching 40% from three on almost seven attempts per game — an outstanding number. When the defense comes with a hard closeout, he is superb at knifing through gaps into the paint and keeping the Celtics machine humming with kick-out passes to other shooters.
White is the easy choice — the league’s best role player on the league’s best team. Gordon was a distant second to White. His synergy next to Jokic on the west favorites sets him apart from the rest of the short list as the perfect complement to the focal point of the Nuggets — a bruising forward who combines a high basketball IQ with elite athleticism and defense.
It was a tough decision between Gobert and VanVleet for the final spot on the ballot. Gobert’s defense is legendary — this year, he will join Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo as the only four-time winners of Defensive Player of the Year. VanVleet’s maturity and stewardship of the offense helped to right the ship for Houston. In the end, I went with the defensive stalwart who is having his best offensive season and takes the Timberwolves defense from elite to far and away the best in the league.
Derrick White, G, Boston Celtics
Aaron Gordon, F, Denver Nuggets
Rudy Gobert, C, Minnesota Timberwolves
Other Honorable Mentions: Alex Caruso, Donte DiVincenzo, Malik Monk, Mike Conley
Kyle Korver Sharpshooter Award
The Kyle Korver Sharpshooter Award celebrates the legendary Kyle Korver — a favorite of mine who helped shape how I thought of and played basketball as a kid. This award is for the role players whose entire function on offense is to run around the perimeter and shoot three-pointers. (No, Steph Curry is not eligible because 1) he’s not a role player and 2) he takes more than half of his threes off the dribble. He is one of a kind.)
Remember when the Bucks traded Donte DiVincenzo for a graybeard version of Serge Ibaka — who could barely move up the floor — because he “couldn’t shoot” after returning from an ankle injury? Whoops.
One year in Golden State has completely changed DiVincenzo’s career as he’s suddenly become one of the elite long-range bombers in the league. (Is there a secret ritual in Golden State that transforms their guards into the best shooters in the world? Any inside reporters have any intel on this?)
He is shooting a league-high 7.2(!) threes off-the-catch this season — by far a career-high. He is bombing away at 40% from three, providing space for Jalen Brunson to pivot, hesitate, and shoulder-bump his defender into the paint — a critical component of the Knicks eighth-ranked offense. Klay Thompson is the only other player close to him in catch-and-shoot three-point volume and DiVincenzo is shooting about 3% better than Klay in these scenarios.
Thompson still strikes fear into his opponent’s heart every time he comes around a screen. His very existence warps the geometry of the floor, opening space for a cutter or driver to get to the rim. His synergy with Steph Curry on the Warriors infamous split-cut action is still world-class and one of the toughest plays to guard in the league.
Klay just misses receiving the award due to his dip in accuracy — down to 37.8% on catch-and-shoot threes this season.
Grayson Allen rounds out the top three after finishing third in the league for all players to shoot more than three catch-and-shoot threes per game this season at a scorching 45%.
Always a sharpshooter, Allen has benefited from the spacing provided by teams trying to stick with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. He is a good screener, frequently getting his teammates open when his defender can’t help off him.
This is textbook relocation — show this to your 13-year-old at home for how to get open when his teammate drives. When Allen’s teammate, Drew Eubanks, rolls into the middle of the paint, Allen’s defender, Michael Porter Jr., is forced to help in the paint. Allen creates more distance for Porter Jr. to cover by floating up to the wing gifting himself an open three-pointer when Booker swings him the ball.
Over 50% of Allen’s threes are categorized as wide-open per NBA.com — a lion's share that DiVincenzo and Thompson don’t benefit from (only 36% and 16% of their threes are categorized as wide-open open respectively). For that reason, he falls behind the other two and takes home the bronze sharpshooter medal.
Donte DiVincenzo, G, New York Knicks
Klay Thompson, G, Golden State Warriors
Grayson Allen, G, Phoenix Suns
Honorable Mentions: Malik Beasley, Sam Hauser, Michael Porter Jr., Sam Merrill
Per-Minute Player of the Year
This award goes to the player who plays limited minutes — but dominates in those minutes. The winner of this award laughs at the idea that rhythm is required to play well.
Few players warp the floor’s geometry when they come into the game. Steph Curry does it on offense — as Zach Lowe says, a “five-alarm fire” every time he runs off a pin-down screen. Victor Wembanyama does it on defense — his arms obscuring the rim for anyone who dares approach him. Jonathan Isaac is one of those players.
Isaac is one of the best stories in the league this year, terrorizing opponents as he swarms them all over the floor. He is the perfect blend of size, strength, and quickness, somehow in two places at once. He can guard everyone on the floor, from the point guard to the center, with seemingly perfect timing to constantly deflect the ball.
(In Orlando’s last two games, head coach Jamahl Mosley went to Isaac at center in pivotal moments, effectively defending Joel Embiid and Brook Lopez and wreaking havoc all over the floor. Look for this adjustment early in Round 1.)
Isaac is second in +/- for all players to play less than 1,000 minutes this season — sitting at +173. The Magic win by 0.19 points every minute he is on the floor, tied with players such as Jalen Brunson and Jrue Holiday.
TJ McConnell has transformed into one of the best pick-and-roll ball handlers in the league. The Pacers score 52% of the time that he runs the pick-and-roll as the ball handler — fifth for all players with more than 100 possessions. Defenders can’t stay in front of him.
McConnell provides the Pacers with a steady hand at backup point guard whenever Tyrese Haliburton rests. Even with the uptick in offense, he has maintained his defensive intensity, hounding opposing point guards and continuing to force turnovers.
Isaiah Joe finished with the third-best +/- of all bench players at +322 for the season. He is the perfect complement to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his shooting opening space in the lane for SGA to go to work. His ghost screens have flummoxed teams all season as they try to figure out how to defend him and SGA.
Despite only appearing for pockets of games, Joe always makes an impact as one of the league’s best shooters off the bench. Mark Daigneault, the Thunder head coach, knows his value off the bench and has used him to start halves when Josh Giddey doesn’t have it going. (Look for this to be an early adjustment if things aren’t going well for the Thunder against a team in the playoffs.)
Isaac gets the crown as one of the most dominant per-minute players in the NBA. If he can play a full season next year, he’ll have something to say about Wemby’s presumptive case for Defensive Player of the Year. McConnell and Joe slide in neatly behind him for the silver and bronze trophies. (Look for all three of these players to get an increased run in the playoffs when things get tight.)
Jonathan Isaac, F, Orlando Magic
TJ McConnell, G, Indiana Pacers
Isaiah Joe, G, Oklahoma City Thunder
Honorable Mentions: Jose Alvarado, Moritz Wagner, Andre Drummond, Sam Merrill, Dante Exum