[OC] The 2024-25 NBA Oscars have arrived

The Academy Award nominations were announced last week, leaving some NBA players feeling left out. To help give them some love, we're awarding the trophies for the best performances of the 2024-25 season so far.

BEST PERFORMANCE in a SUPPORTING ROLE

The actual Oscars for "Best Supporting Actor" and "Actress" may go to Kieran Culkin (for A Real Pain) and Zoe Saldana (for Emilia Perez) -- two roles that were arguably the leads of their movies.

Instead, we should try to find true SUPPORTING roles, wherein a player sacrifices their stats and ego for the good of the team and the good of their lead star. Boston Sixth Man Payton Pritchard is a contender, as is the Houston bench mob led by Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. But in terms of putting his ego aside and helping a team win, no one's done a more admirable job than one-time superstar Russell Westbrook.

Many wrote Westbrook off for dead. He'd gone from MVP ballots to reddit "LVP" ballots. Rather than sulk, Westbrook has kept plugging away in whatever role the Nuggets need from him. He's played about half his games on the bench -- half in the starting lineup -- and played efficiently in both roles (averaging 13.1 PPG and 6.5 APG per game). He's been an enthusiastic teammate. Heck, he's even shot the ball well. I'm skeptical that he'll keep up that last element through the playoffs, but as far as midseason awards go, he deserves his kudos and his trophy.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

NBA teams love their "city" designs / cash grabs. The most noteworthy and popular among them this season was the Toronto Raptors ode to Vince Carter.

The concept is great -- but I'm not in love with the execution. To me, it looks like the raptor is juggling his balls more like Pedro Cerano than Vince Carter. So in an upset, I'm giving this to Houston and their H-Town jerseys. Sometimes those city monikers -- like "The Land" or "The Valley" -- feel forced to me, but H-Town seems like a nickname that people outside of that specific city have endorsed.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

We want to give this award to a SHORT player, with little guys like Chris Paul (at 6'0"), Jalen Brunson (6'1"), and Fred VanVleet (6'0") as top contenders. The Cleveland guards Darius Garland (6'1") and Donovan Mitchell (6'3") are also great candidates. Prior to this season, there was a concern that having two small guards like Garland and Mitchell would be a fatal flaw with the team. Turns out: the Cavs have survived it just fine.

But if we're awarding an inch-for-inch output, the Knicks' Josh Hart is the one playing "bigger" than his size. He's only 6'4", but you'd never know it based on his statlines. He's crashing the glass for 9.8 rebounds per game. He's also slicing and dicing and converting 66.2% from two-point range. He's been the ultimate glue guy -- true "super glue".

BEST MAKEUP/HAIRSTYLING

We don't see a lot of whacky, Dennis Rodman-type hairdos anymore, so this will default to multi-time winner Kelly Oubre who has always styled and profiled his way into the hearts of fans and GMs alike. He certainly looks like a star, even if he doesn't always play like it. In fact, Oubre has played 10 seasons now -- for 5 different franchises -- but has never registered as a positive player based on box plus/minus in any single year. And yet again, he's starting for Philadelphia and logging heavy minutes at 33.6 per game.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Documentary filmmakers are salivating at the prospects of re-living Philadelphia's infamous "Process." It's a long-gestating build with more stops and starts and uncomfortable turns than the Brutalist. It certainly looks like it may have a bleak ending as well given the fact that Joel Embiid can't seem to stay healthy and is still on the books for... oh gosh... $69M in salary?? In 2028-29??? We may have to reclassify this as a horror film instead.

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Naming the "best international player" isn't that different from naming the "best player" these days. The cream of the crop in the NBA are all foreign born -- highlighted by Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. In fact, the only difference is that they've been officially joined by another international superstar with the Canadian sensation Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

But are we really counting Canada as international? Eh. Sure, technically. But everything about Nikola Jokic -- from his background to his personality -- feels less American, and thus MORE international. He wins the tie-breaker here based on that.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The biggest blowout this season was the L.A. Clippers smacking down Brooklyn by a ridiculous score of 126-67. The most points scored this season was Memphis, putting 155 against Toronto. But let's be honest -- neither the Nets nor Raptors are putting up much resistance these days.

Given that, I'm giving the most impressive performance to Memphis' other blowout, a 144-93 win over Golden State on December 19th. Their conference rival Warriors came to play -- with Steph Curry and Draymond Green in the lineup -- but couldn't slow down the Grizzlies offense and lost by 50+. They're not the first team to struggle with the lightning-fast Grizzkrieg attack; Memphis ranks 1st in pace and 1st in total points.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

He's in his second year already, but it's still hard for the brain to process how friggin' tall Victor Wembanyama is. He's arguably even taller than Zach Edey, who is one of the biggest people on the planet. And if that's the case -- and Wemby is still growing -- then we're all in trouble. Team USA is going to need to have a gameplan to stop him in the Olympics for 2028, and the Pentagon may need a gameplan to stop him before he reaches 18-feet tall and starts eating buildings.

BEST EDITING

Last year's New York Knicks were a plucky, feel good underdog story. But at the end of the day, losing 4-3 in the second round to Indiana was a sign that they probably weren't ready for the big time.

Rather than be satisfied with their results, exec Leon Rose and company decided to make some bold tweaks and edits to the roster. They broke up their depth and traded for two stars in Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. It was costly, to be sure, but it's rare to find available stars under 30. And while the results don't indicate a massive change in the team's fate -- with a 30-16 record -- it's the type of star power that may raise their ceiling in the playoffs. The Knicks still won't be a favorite in the East, but they're got a legit puncher's chance of knocking some teams out and maybe even winning a title. I don't think that was true with last year's team.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Whenever a team stalls out in the play-in or R1 range, fans immediately cry for them to "blow it up!" Tank! Get some superstars in the draft! The truth is: rebuilding from scratch is extremely difficult. It's a process that may take 5+ years -- and still not even work out in the end.

However, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti has taken that tried-and-true formula and mastered it, yet again. The team looked like it was written off for dead post Durant and Westbrook (and may even be a relocation risk), but they've risen from the ash and soared into the sky like phoenix.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Meanwhile, the L.A. Clippers and their leadership (which includes long-time exec Lawrence Frank) had a script that didn't make much sense on paper. They seemingly reached the end of the road with their old core. They didn't want to give Paul George an extra year -- so they let him walk. Time to blow it up, right? Nah. They kept the old veterans like James Harden and Kawhi Leonard around instead. So what would be left...? What kind of Frankenstein mess would they have...?

It turns out, a not too shabby one after all. Thanks to a top-ranked defense, the Clippers are 26-19 and right in the thick of the playoff race again. It's a formula that almost no one else would attempt, but it's one that's worked out for them so far this year.

BEST DIRECTOR

Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson is the betting favorite in Las Vegas to win "Coach of the Year" thanks to his great work with the Cavs. At the same time, he did inherit a talented team that suffered some injuries last year. No one expected Cleveland to be # 1 -- but savvy bettors knew they were undervalued coming into this season.

To me, the success of Ime Udoka in Houston is more of a surprise. The Rockets had a young, funky roster that didn't feature much shooting. In fact, even now, they rank 27th (4th worst) in the league in three-point percentage. And yet somehow, some way, they're 30-14 and in second place in the Western Conference. That takes a lot of effort and buy-in from a young team to achieve that mark. Some in the sports media may still be punishing Udoka for his prior issues in Boston, but since these awards are a spin on Hollywood, those type of shenanigans are simply par for the course.

BEST PERFORMANCE in a LEADING ROLE

The actual MVP race is a two-man competition between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After we tabbed Jokic for the "Best International" award, you may have guessed we were splitting the difference and giving SGA the bigger trophy here.

But you were wrong. Sorry to say, but Nikola Jokic is still the best basketball player alive. He's a true 280-pound big man who may have gotten bitten by a radioactive Steve Nash. He's averaging 10.0 assists and shooting 47.9% (not a typo) from three. Gilgeous-Alexander is making a valid MVP argument, but Jokic is making history.

BEST PICTURE

We're using this award to name the best overall team in the NBA. There's a case to be made for Cleveland based on their W-L record. There's a case to be made for the Boston Celtics based on their dominant run through 2023-24.

But right now, at this moment, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the NBA. They have the best record in the league, but it goes deeper than that. They also have the best point differential -- and the best SRS (schedule-adjusted power ranking) -- by a fairly significant margin. More amazingly still, they're doing this despite an injury to the Marfan Manhunter Chet Holmgren.

Time will tell whether Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein can hold the fort down low against Jokic and others in the playoffs (after giving up over 70 offensive rebounds to Dallas last postseason), but logic suggests they're still the best bet to win the 2025 title.