2006 Awards

Time to hand out the hardware for our initial foray into fantasy basketball. There were a lot of ups-and-downs, there were some disputes on what kind of scoring system to use, there was a lengthy (but very exciting) email draft. There were a ton of injuries, there were some teams that suffered so bad I wanted to rent them Lebron James. In the end however, it was a very exciting season and I hope our next season will be even better. Heading into our championship weeks, let's take a look at who deserves MVP and GM of the year honors.

Most Valuable Player
What makes a MVP? Is it someone who has the best stats? Yes. Is it someone who makes everyone around him better? Um, no, this isn't real basketballl, this is still fantasy. What we looked for were players who were the best on their teams, and also stayed healthy long enough to contribute to a winning season - which eliminated about two-thirds of our candidates.

Tim Duncan and Lebron James tanked FT% for their teams. Out. Chris Bosh was a contender, but he missed about a dozen games. Kobe Bryant was right up there, but he only took the Poobic Heirs to an 11-9-1 record.

With those worthy candidates accounted for, our MVP for 2006 was an easy choice: Da Kid, Kevin Garnett!

Drafted seventh (behind LBJ, Dirk, Dwayne, Marion, Kobe, Arenas), Kevin Garnett used to be a lock as the first pick in any fantasy draft. Brian took advantage of Garnett's freefall and swooped up his 22.8 PTS, 12.9 REB, 4.2 AST, 1.2 STL, and 1.7 BLK on 47.9 FG% and 83.9 FT%. Plus KG hasn't missed a game this season and he continues to be an eight-category stud. Pacing Brian's East leading Squirtle Squad to a 14-7 record, KG was solid all year and will take home our inaugural MVP trophy.

Runners Up:
Dirk Nowitzki had an excellent year, averaging 24.9 PTS, 9.2 REB, 3.4 AST, and shooting a stellar 50.1 FG% and 90.3 FT% (plus super low TOs). Sounds comparable to Garnett, if not better, except that Dirk's STL-BLK-3PT numbers fell off this year. It used to be Dirk could be counted on for one STL/BLK/3PT a game, but this year, he only managed to swipe 0.7 STL and block 0.8 BLK per game. His 3PT fell to just under one per game also. Close for the big German, but the fact that the Amoebas only squeaked intot the playoffs discounted Nowitzki from serious consideration.

Our other runner-up started the season on fire, or should I say, on hibachi. He cooled off a bit right before the All-Star break but he still put up stellar averages of 28.8 PTS, 4.6 REB, 6.1 AST, 1.9 STL and an astonishing 2.8 3PT per game. Gilbert Arenas led the in-flux Chunky Monkeys to a 12-5-4 record, good enough to be tied for second best record in the league. He didn't miss a game all season and he shoots 84.7% from the stripe. But, and the big but here, is that Arenas can win you games, but when he's cold, he can also shoot you out of games with his less than stellar 41.8 FG%. That's the only thing preventing him from being higher in our MVP consideration.

GM of the Year
It's no surprise who our GM of the Year is; Fat Jubas' Eric-L has assembled a powerhouse of a team (best record this year at 16-4-1) by drafting wisely, being quick to grab free agents, and even making a trade to firm up his depleted backcourt when the playoffs hit. They finished the season on a five game winning streak, despite losing top pick Dwayne Wade for around that length of time.

How'd he do it? First, the excellent draft yielded versatile superstars Dwayne Wade and Tracy McGrady in the first two rounds. Then oft-injured Jermaine O'Neal fell to them in Rd3, and he turned in a (relatively) healthy season with 9.8 REB and 2.7 BLK.

Then came Eric-L's steals: Andre Igoudala in Rd4, Tony Parker in Rd5, and Josh Howard in Rd7. Then came Eric-L's super steals. Leandro Barbosa in Rd9 and Al Jefferson in Rd12.

Playing the free agent wire 29 times, the Jubas came away with Lamarcus Aldridge, right as he looks ready to be a fantasy star. A trade with the Pogiboys turned young talents Tyrus Thomas and Darko Milicic into Jason Williams, who is now helping the Jubas offset the loss of Wade in the fantasy playoffs.

Deep, talented, and rolling, Eric-L put together a stellar team powered by a strong draft and a keen eye for talent. Executive of the Year: Eric-L!

A special shout out goes to the Human Amoebas' Eric-A, who managed to go through the season not making one waiver wire addition or drop. The Phanatics' Ping and PoohBears' J were the co-runners up here, with only 2 and 4 transactions apiece. Eric-A, in response to why he made no moves, replied, "There just wasn't anything out there better than what I had already. I'm a big believer in team unity. The Amoebas, we assimilate, not defecate."