The NBA is back!

We've been waiting for this since the Toronto Raptors clinched their first NBA Championship in June.

While the Stats Insider model has run its futures projections, we also polled a selection of Stats Insider staff to put together their 2019-20 NBA award expectations. 

RELATED: 5 Outsiders Who Could Win the NBA MVP

Here we go:

Greg Butyn

Stats Insider NBA Data Analyst

Championship

Philadelphia 76ers. I’m running on the theory that the East is a 2-horse race with Bucks and Sixers well clear of the rest, meaning it’s practically a coin toss that Philly make the finals. ‘The Process’ is over, the team is one year older and a lot more well-rounded.

READ MORE: Are the Philadelphia 76ers Genuine NBA Championship Contenders?

MVP

Stephen Curry. Over the past 3 seasons we’ve had to begrudgingly accept Steph sitting 4th quarters while he’s well on his way to some massive games. Golden State won’t have that luxury this season.

Rookie of the Year

Ja Morant. If we put a line through a Zion, the second most obvious choice is Morant. He finds himself in a good spot at Memphis with not a lot of competition for minutes. He’ll get every chance to shine in his rookie year.

Defensive Player of the Year

Draymond Green. He's not happy with the external predictions of the Warriors forthcoming season and nobody plays better than Draymond when he has an axe to grind. We got a good peek at what a 'sans-Durant' Warriors looks like in last years playoffs and despite failing at the final hurdle, Dray was a beast. If he can bring that for large chunks of the regular season, I'm prepared to pick him as a smokey for DPOY.

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6th Man of the Year

Lou Williams. He’s won this award in worse spots than he finds himself in this season. Lock it in.

Most Improved Player

Bam Adebayo. He already wrestled with Whiteside for the starting 5 spot last season but with Hassan being shipped off, the Heat have made it official. Heat will need a big season from Bam to compete for playoffs.

Coach of the Year

Quin Snyder. The Jazz have assembled a workmanlike team in comparison to what is a very star-studded Western Conference. That’s not to say they don’t have good players, but if they’re pushing for a top 4 spot in the West as is predicted, it’ll be through Synder’s ability to harness his players' strengths.

James Rosewarne

Stats Insider staff writer

Championship

LA Clippers for me, however, they might start a little slowly owing to Paul George being out for the first month or two, and Kawhi not prioritising the regular season. Once the two get going, however, they’ll be hard to stop and their squad is exceptionally deep with the likes of Lou Williams and Trez Harrel coming off the bench.

RELATED: Ranking The 2019-20 NBA Championship Contenders

MVP

Anthony Davis. He’s too good to have not won it yet, and with LeBron as his running mate, we might be about to see the most destructive version of AD so far.

Rookie of the Year

The Zion Williamson injury means it’s now a pretty wide-open affair but I’ll go with Ja Morant. If not for Zion, and if not playing for such a small school like Murray State, we would have heard so, so much more about him in the lead up to the draft. He’ll have the keys to the Memphis offence right out of the gate which isn’t something that can be said for the rest of his rookie class.

Defensive Player of the Year

A guard hasn’t won this award for 25 years which seems a little ridiculous to me. Anyway, I’m going with San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray. He missed all of last year, but comes back hungry and ready to become the leader the Spurs believe he can. He made the All-Defensive second team the last time he was healthy which he thankfully is now. He played and excelled in all of the Spurs’ pre-season games and even averaged 7.4 rebounds which for a guard is very solid.

6th Man of the Year

Lou Williams is the completely understandable favourite to make it three in a row, however, I’ll go a just a little bit outside of the box and pick NY’s Mitchell Robinson. So long as Randle and Portis can maintain their roles as starters, Robinson can come off the bench and cause mayhem. He averaged a per 36 minute double-double in that role last season, while he led the entire league in blocks per 36 minutes.

Most Improved Player

Bam Adebayo. I think Bam is going to absolutely take off this season now that he doesn’t have to worry about Whiteside. He’ll start from day one, while this figures to be a much-improved Heat team for him to work with.

Coach of the Year

So this is award is usually reserved for the coach who significantly exceeds expectations, so I’m going to go with Brad Stevens who I actually think can drive the Celtics bus all the way to the NBA Finals.

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Jason Oliver

Stats Insider staff writer

Championship

It's a Battle of L.A. but with LeBron James coming in off his longest off-season since 2006 and Anthony Davis now beside him, the lean goes slightly towards the Lakers.

MVP

The Rockets are going to be lethal throughout the regular season. James Harden's numbers will be MVP-like and he's finished second in voting in three of the last five seasons. He should be the favourite to win his second MVP.

Rookie of the Year

If Zion Williamson misses the full eight weeks with his knee injury, he's missing 25+ games. That's too many to be handed the ROY. Starting on a poor team and expected to tick the numbers, narrative and highlights boxes, Ja Morant is the leading candidate should Williamson miss too much time.

Defensive Player of the Year

The advanced defensive stats have always been there for Rudy Gobert and have been recognized for the last two seasons. Let's make it a third.

6th Man of the Year

Lou Williams won't have to carry so much of the load with the Clippers this season but he's still going to see plenty of time on the court. An elite scorer on a contending team, Sweet Lou can win his record-breaking fourth Sixth Man of the Year award.

Most Improved Player

A rough tip that goes out the window if he hasn't improved his shot over the summer, Miles Bridges will at least see more of the ball with Kemba Walker gone. Even without a jumper, he can dunk his way to Most Improved.

Coach of the Year

Despite being one of the best coaches in the league for the last 19 years, Doc Rivers hasn't won the award since 1999-00. With the talent at his disposal and the potential to clinch the number one seed in the West, he's in a good position to win his second this season.

Nick Splitter

Stats Insider Digital Marketing Manager

Championship

Philadelphia 76ers. This is the year 'the process' comes to fruition. This is the best roster assembled in Philadelphia since the '83 Championship team with Dr J, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks and  Bobby Jones. Yes, that includes the AI-led 2001 NBA Finals roster. This unit is a defensive beast and the addition of Al Horford and Josh Richardson compliments Tobi Harris and the two the stars already in Philly, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons

MVP

This is a tough one. Steph Curry is going to get used even more this season, having lost KD to Brooklyn (and injury) and Klay Thompson to injury for most of the year, so his production should go through the roof and I expect him to achieve near career highs across the ball in 2019-20. But my big call is Anthony Davis. This will be the best roster he's been on, and finally has complementary pieces built around him and LeBron James. I would be very surprised if this season isn't a career year for AD, and teams that win games, have MVPs.

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Rookie of the Year

The common answer is always Zion Williamson, but with him missing up to 8-weeks of basketball following knee surgery, it's going to be tough to catch up to a bucketload of talented rookies. Ja Morant is my pick with this in mind. He will be a key player in Memphis, taking over the starting PG role from the departed Mile Conley. He led the entire NBA in assists per game through the pre-season and I think this form continues through the season. 

Defensive Player of the Year

This is Joel Embiid's award to lose - if he can stay on the court. Rudy Gobert is the safe choice, having taken home the last two iterations of this award, but Embiid has all the tools to be a generational defensive force if his body allows. It's a concern that the Sixers are already talking load management for their star big man, but this is one award that Embiid is desperate to win.

6th Man of the Year

Spencer Dinwiddie. The young Brooklyn Nets guard showed what he can do last season, and I think this season he takes on the responsibility of leading the second unit a'la Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams, with a healthy selection of minutes played with members of the starting unit. This kid can flat out ball and he will be exciting to watch up against less talented players in 2019-20.

Most Improved Player

Jonathon Isaac. This kid can move and I expect him to move all the way up the player rankings to be the NBA's MIP in 2019-20. Will start at SF for the Orlando Magic this season, and he showed flashes of his potential last season with limited minutes. I expect him to play 25-30 minutes each game and be one of the primary scorers on what looks to be a fun and exciting Magic roster.

RELATED: 5 NBA Players Who Could Break Out in 2019-20

Coach of the Year

Brett Brown. I'm not sure how 'Aussie Brett' hasn't been Coach of the Year before, having pulled a tankerific franchise from historically bad to the verge of NBA Championship favouritism. This year's squad appears to be far more stable and balanced with the additions of Richardson and Horford, while Harris returns a rung-higher on the priority list following the departure of Jimmy Butler. If the Sixers win the East it will be down to another improvement in Brown's play calling, with the ability to trust his roster implicitly.

Nikhil Deshpande

Stats Insider Content Coordinator

Championship

Philadelphia 76ers.

This has nothing to do with me being a massive Ben Simmons fan. Okay, maybe it does. But in all seriousness, the Sixers have, arguably, the best defence in the competition. The starting 5 is elite and should take some load off Embiid and Simmons. Embiid's fitness is always a concern but given the ample talent in that side, they should be competing in June.

MVP

Steph Curry. 

GSW without Durant and Thompson means more of Steph Curry. A lot more of Steph Curry! More minutes, more points, more appreciation for his greatness. It won't be a surprise to anyone if we witness career-high numbers this season.

Rookie of the Year

Zion Williamson. 

Yes, he's out for 8 weeks but that's only going to make his NBA debut much more anticipated. A fresh Zion, 8 weeks into the season is a scary prospect and unless he gets injured again later in the season, he should have it in the bag.

READ MORE: Five Reasons To Be Excited About The NBA Season

Defensive Player of the Year

Joel Embiid.

Embiid has stated that he wants to win the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year Award this season and if the 76ers play to their potential, he could see his contributions being highlighted a lot more than previous seasons. I'm backing the Sixers for the Championship and with that script, I see Embiid having a huge season.

6th Man of the Year

Lou Williams.

He's going for a three-peat and I think he'll get it easy. One of the best scorers in the league and with Kawhi and Chris Paul at the franchise, Williams' contribution might be highlighted even more this season.

Most Improved Player

Lonzo Ball. 

Leaving the Lakers will unleash Lonzo Ball. Lesser pressure and a new franchise filled with experienced teammates should help him have a breakout season.

Coach of the Year

Erik Spoelstra.

Heat won just 39 games last year and this year, thanks to the Jimmy Buttler move, they could win 8-10 more. Such increase in numbers should boost Erik Spoelstra's chances for the award.

Who are you looking at as the main award winners in 2019-20? Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on the Stats Insider Twitter or Facebook page.