Chuck's NBA End of Season Awards 2K24

The NBA Playoffs are always bittersweet for me. On the one hand, it’s the most exciting time of the year—everyone is hooping their absolute tush off and the stakes are at an all-time high. On the other hand, it’s a harsh reminder that the season is almost over. Before we continue the playoffs and eventually crown our NBA Champion, I wanted to recognize some of the greatest players, moments, gear, and teams of another wonderful season of ball.

Dawg of the Year: Anthony Edwards

What makes a dawg? To me, it’s someone that, as a player, I would absolutely hate to go up against. Someone with a relentless spirit and attitude, while the clock is ticking, and after a dead ball.

After Game 3 of an eventual sweep of the Phoenix Suns, Anthony Edwards said he “just wants to kill anything in front of him.” This sent a chill down my spine. It was the perfect description of his game, and fits the criteria to be the ultimate dawg. It was also funny to see Ant cook KD and Kawhi this year and call them both old.

America’s Squad: The New York Knicks

New York City, the center of the universe and greatest place on earth, finally has the basketball team it deserves. After reuniting the ‘Nova squad (Jalen Burnson, Josh Hart and Donte “Big Ragu” DiVincenzo) it was clear that the Knicks would be a problem in the East this season. But when they traded for Anunoby, it became clear that the sky is truly the limit for this team. At the time of writing, the Knicks hold a 3-2 lead against the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. WIthout Randle, I still believe this squad can still make a run to the Finals. 

Honorable Mention: I love a team of young go-hards, and this OKC team is just so lovable to me. I know the “what a pro wants” commercial that is playing over and over this playoff season is probably driving people nuts.

The “Watch This Space” Player of the Year

There was so much fresh talent on display in the NBA this year. It is clear the Victor Wembanyama era is coming, probably sooner than we all think. This montage of guys avoiding driving on him is probably the best evidence of that. Despite the Pistons awful year, Cade Cunningham balled tf out. After cooking everyone in the Team USA runs last summer, it was clear that he is bound to hit another gear in the next year or two. Jalen “J-Dub” Williams has also shown a ton of promise and I was bummed he didn’t make the All-Star team this year.

But my “Watch This Space” Player of the Year is Alperen Şengün. Houston is loaded with talent and “Baby Joker” was dishing out sick dimes all year long. Speaking of Wemby, Şengün's most memorable performance of the year was dropping 45/16/3 right on his noggin. With Houston on the rise and Şengün showing a significant leap on the defensive end this year, I think Baby Joker could end up an MVP finalist within the next few years.

The Five Fits of the Year

-Victor Wembanyama stepping out in the C.P. Company balaclava was definitely one to remember. It’s giving the Riddler (if he was a French basketball prophet who could dunk without jumping). When you look good, you play good, so it’s no surprise that Wemby dropped a triple double with 27 pts, 14 boards and 10 blocks after strolling into the arena fitted up.

-You must be smoking that Zach Randolph pack if you think Louis LeBron wasn’t going to make this list. LeBron was at the forefront of whatever zillion dollar marketing campaign LV was putting out to promote Pharrell’s debut season, so a plethora of fits could’ve been named here. My favorite was this allover print Canadian Tuxedo with big stompy boots. *Kids sitting in a circle talking about streetwear voice* Is Raw Denim back?!

-Devin Booker had a terrible year—on the court, that is. The bright side of getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs is that he has more time to get fits off before heading to Paris with Team USA this summer. While I am not a huge fan of his signature sneaker, I do think Book has some of the best taste in clothing in the league. This monochrome fit with the big boy Prada bomber was easily my favorite that he stepped out in this season. 

-The Oklahoma City Thunder led the league in swag this season. Finishing first in the West, they were further evidence that when YOU. LOOK. GOOD. YOU. PLAY. GOOD. There’s a ton of SGA fits to pick from, but the fur coat look from All-Star weekend took the cake for your boy. Who said the fellas can’t play in the Mob Wife space?? J-Dub’s actually came in the playoffs when he paired this bedazzled shiesty with a leather vest from friend of the pod Murder Bravado’s Who Decides War. He even stomped into the second round with some not-too-shabby Bottega boots to round out this fit.

The JaVale McGee Flub of the Year: Andre Drummond/Torrey Craig on the fast break

This award has been named after NBA legend and three-time NBA Champion Javale McGee in honor of his many moments blessing us with some of the most hilarious moments in NBA history. 

This year’s FOTY came at the end of the season on a Chicago Bulls fast break. It seems like the whole Bulls franchise is plagued with indecision. They made no moves at the NBA trade deadline, leaving the future of the franchise in doubt. That uncertainty and confusion extended to the court itself, when Andre Drummond thought that Torey Craig was throwing him an alley oop off the backboard, despite the Bulls trailing by 9 points to the Knicks.

The result is one of the funniest in-game photos I’ve ever seen, where Torey Craig is shocked to feel a 6’11” frame going in for the absolute yam behind him. To add injury to insult (haha!) Drummond tweaked his ankle trying to make up for it by grabbing a vicious board on the opposite end.

The Rihanna “Feet On Wood” Persona of the Year: Action Bronson

This award has been named after Rihanna in honor of her many iconic moments sitting courtside at NBA games. 

This year, Action Bronson had the most prominent presence at The Mecca. After dropping the Sneaker of the Year in 2023 with New Balance, I would constantly scan courtside photos this year to catch a glimpse of the follow up 1906 that are set to release this summer. There’s something so charming about seeing him wearing shorts in the dead of winter with Oakleys pinned to the back of his head next to fake fans in tight denim that somehow gave me even more hope for the Knicks’ success this year. This iconic photo of him with a clenched fist holding what appears to be a refreshing tropical beverage cheering on Jalen Brunson was one of the most New Yorkiest moments of the season.

Press Conference Moment of the Year: Emo Jimmy

Some of my favorite press moments this year happened during NBA Media week. Jaden Hardy revealed his Top 2 (and maybe not 2?) laugh in the entire NBA, rivaling only Kawhi Leonard’s.

But the gift that kept on giving this year was Emo Jimmy. Not only did we get to see Jimmy’s emo hair the week he debuted it, but every time he was on the screen during nationally televised NBA games. It was such a bummer that Jimmy got hurt and we didn’t get to see what the Heat could really do in the playoffs. At least we have the 2024/2025 NBA media day to look forward to!

Top 5 Sneakers on the Court This Season

Lebron 21 “UNKNWN”

I loved the LeBron 20, probably more than the 21. But when LeBron stepped out in this unreleased UNKNWN collab, I fell in love. Brown and Pink is such a strong combo (see: Stussy x Nike SB Dunk “Cherry”) and the suede on these babies looks so buttery. A close runner up would probably be the USC PE’s that Bron rocked of the same model, but it felt special to see him pass 39k points in these beautiful babies.

Harden 8 “Prada You”

I’ve never been huge on the Harden, but I loved all the colorways of the Harden 8. It was sick seeing my personal favorite player of the 2024 NCAA Tournament DJ Burns Jr. rock the Bottega Green colorway of this model. But the obvious Prada reference that Harden wore on court was my favorite look of the model yet.

Ja 1 “WNBA”

I have yet to hoop in the Ja’s, which is a shame because I have heard they can accommodate even the widest footed hoopers such as myself. Unfortunately with his suspension and injury we didn’t get to see a lot of Ja on the court this year, but his most memorable sneaker moment for me was seeing the Ja 1 in this “WNBA” colorway. While this is most likely a PE that I could only ever dream to get my hands on, I would love to support the “W” in these bright orange bangers.

AE1 “All-Star”

I am a Swoosh guy for life. Rocking the stripes has just never felt right to me. But when the 2024 Dawg of the Year Ant Edwards dropped his debut signature sneaker with adidas, I nearly cracked. The “All-Star” colorway with its outer-worldly-colored upper was by far the best colorway and the neon laces really set them off too. This was also by far the most worn sneaker I’ve seen this year playing pick-up hoops in NYC.

Sabrina 1 “Ionic”

By far my favorite signature sneaker this year was the Sabrina 1, which was worn across the NBA. I know most folks consider Nike Zoom to be superior, but I loved the React tech on this particular model. The debut “Ionic” colorway was probably my favorite, although players used Nike By You to create looks that coincided with their uniforms. It was sick to see how much love not only this shoe got, but also Sabrina’s game, which kinda crescendoed at the three point shootout with Steph on All-Star weekend. Can’t wait to see what Sabrina and Nike cook up next.