[OC] The main awards have been debated to death, so let's award some additional players (and groups) for their performances in the 2023 Alt NBA Awards!

This is my fourth year running the Alternative Awards, got great responses in 2020, 2021 & 2022 as well as a historical retrospective! Now presenting your candidates for the only awards that matter, the 2023 Alternative NBA Awards!

*For the awards with an asterisk, there were no stat-trackers that I found, so I had to scrape them myself. Here's the GitHub link for that (it's a mix of Python & R)!

The Real Sixth Man of the Year (presented by Brent Barry)*

(for players who are between sixth and ninth on their team in minutes played per game, must have played 50% of team's games and started less than 50% of games, credit to KokiriEmerald for the reasoning behind re-implementing the starting criteria)

By PPG:

1. Malcolm Brogdon (14.9)
2. Malik Monk (13.5)
3. Alec Burks (12.8)
4. Bruce Brown, Max Strus & Naz Reid (11.5)

By VORP:

1. Malcolm Brogdon (2.1)
2. Tyus Jones & Delon Wright (1.7)
3. Larry Nance Jr. (1.4)
4. Onyeka Okongwu & Brandon Clarke (1.3)

The Spark Plug Award (sponsored by Lt. Surge, presented by American Express CEO Stephen J Squeri)

Most charges drawn per 36 minutes (minimum 70% of games played), credit to morron88 for the idea to separate charges & loose balls

1. Kevin Love (0.962)
2. Isaiah Joe (0.509)
3. Patrick Beverley (0.423)
4. Jalen Brunson (0.411)
5. Davion Mitchell (0.378)

Shoutout to Jaylin Williams, who played in only 60% of games, but drew 1.69 charges per 36 minutes!

The Most Loose Balls Recovered Award (sponsored by Hungry Hungry Hippos, presented by Dennis Rodman & Nene’s doctor)

Per 36 minutes, minimum 70% of games played

1. T.J. McConnell (1.418)
2. Tari Eason (1.407)
3. Paul Reed (1.379)
4. Jordan Goodwin (1.145)
5. Jarred Vanderbilt (1.086)

The Plexiglass Award

most deflections per 36 minutes, minimum 70% of games played

1. Alex Caruso (5.217)
2. Matisse Thybulle (4.559)
3. Herbert Jones (4.09)
4. T.J. McConnell (3.953)
5. De'Anthony Melton (3.923)

The Wes Unseld Memorial Brick Wall Award

most points generated by screen assists per 36 minutes, minimum 70% of games played

1. Kevon Looney (14.28)
2. Domantas Sabonis (13.92)
3. Onyeka Okongwu (13.79)
4. Drew Eubanks (13.73)
5. Rudy Gobert (13.37)

Shoutout to Steven Adams, who played in only 51% of games, but generated 16.83 points by screen assists per 36 minutes!

The Deadshot Award (presented by Ray Allen & Reggie Miller)

best qualifying 3 point percentage (Basketball-Reference)

1. Luke Kennard (49.4%)
2. Al Horford (44.6%)
3. Damion Lee (44.5%)
4. Malcolm Brogdon (44.4%)
5. Tyrese Maxey (43.4%)

The Stormtrooper Award

worst qualifying 2 point percentage (Basketball-Reference)

1. Killian Hayes (42.9%)
2. Tim Hardaway Jr. (43.1%)
3. Luguentz Dort (44%)
4. Dillon Brooks (45.1%)
5. Fred VanVleet (45.5%)

The "If He Dies, He Dies" Award (presented by Tom Thibodeau, sponsored by Ivan Drago)

most minutes played per game (Basketball-Reference) (credit to FurryCrew for the idea)

1. Pascal Siakam & Kyrie Irving (37.4)
2. Jayson Tatum (36.9)
3. James Harden (36.8)
4. Fred VanVleet (36.7)

alternatively: most total minutes played (Basketball-Reference) (credit to FrankEMartindale for the idea)

1. Mikal Bridges (2963)
2. Anthony Edwards (2844)
3. Zach LaVine (2764)
4. Nikola Vucevic (2747)
5. Julius Randle (2734)

The Black Hole Award*

most FGAs per assist, minimum 50% of games played (credit to Moose4KU for the idea)

1. Chris Boucher (18.2)
2. Kelly Oubre Jr. (15.2)
3. Mark Williams (13.9)
4. Jaren Jackson Jr. (13.7)
5. Michael Porter Jr. (12.6)

The Hot Potato Award*

least FGAs per assist, minimum 50% of games played (credit to Moose4KU for the idea & ajayod for the name)

1. Ben Simmons (0.918)
2. Draymond Green (0.948)
3. Jordan McLaughlin (0.98)
4. Chris Paul (1.27)
5. Ish Smith (1.31)

The Most Expendable Player Award (sponsored by the National Basketball Referees Association)

highest personal fouls per 36 minutes, minimum 50% games played & 12 minutes/game (credit to PsychoM & BrightGreenLED for the idea)

1. Christian Koloko (5.75)
2. Isaiah Jackson (5.32)
3. Zeke Nnaji (5.19)
4. Dwight Powell (5.16)
5. Naz Reid (5.06)

The "Weakest Link" Award (sponsored by Jack Link's Beef Jerky, presented by the 2015 Atlanta Hawks Starting 5)*

best 5th starter by VORP (must have started 50% of a team's games) (credit to memeticengineering for the idea)

1. Tyrese Maxey (1.3)
2. Gary Trent Jr. (1.1)
3. Grayson Allen (1)
4. Herbert Jones & Jonas Valanciunas (0.8)

The No Fly Zone Award (presented by Dikembe Mutumbo)*

most blocked dunks as the blocking player

1. Brook Lopez (23)
2. Drew Eubanks (20)
3. Jaren Jackson Jr. & Myles Turner (17)
4. Walker Kessler (15)

The Rejected for Boarding Award (sponsored by United Airlines)*

most blocked dunks as the dunking player (credit to Legdrop_soup for the idea and asw7412 for the sponsor)

1. Aaron Gordon (13)
2. Ivica Zubac (11)
3. Tari Eason (10)
4. Jarrett Allen (9)
5. Joel Embiid, Kenyon Martin Jr, Kristaps Porzingis, Patrick Williams & Walker Kessler (8)

The No Time to Taunt Award (presented by Tim Duncan)*

highest percent of blocks that stayed inbounds & recovered by blocker's team, minimum 40 blocked shots (credit to gibberisle for the idea)

1. Mo Bamba (72.1%)
2. Jabari Smith Jr. (70.3%)
3. Draymond Green (70%)
4. Patrick Williams (68.6%)
5. Tari Eason (68.1%)

The “Oops, I Dunked It Again” Award (sponsored by Britney Spears, presented by Gary Payton & Shawn Kemp)*

Most prolific alley-oop duo (credit to lactardenthusiast for the idea)

1. Clint Capela & Trae Young (91)
2. Onyeka Okongwu & Trae Young (35)
3. John Collins & Trae Young (33)
4. Dwight Powell & Luka Doncic (30)
5. Brandon Clarke & Ja Morant (25)

Topical: Kyle Anderson & Rudy Gobert are tied for 8th with 20 alley-oops completed (+ 1 punch)

The “He Trick Y’All, Running Around, Doing Nothing” Award (sponsored by Russell Westbrook, presented by Tony Snell)*

Lowest sum of per-36 percentile ranks in the following: charges, contested shots, deflections, defensive boxouts, defensive loose balls recovered (minimum 50% of games played)

Player	Charges Percentile	Contested 2-Pt Shot Percentile	Contested 3-Pt Shot Percentile	Deflections Percentile	Defensive Boxouts percentile	Defensive Loose Balls Recovered Percentile	Sum of Percentiles
Eric Gordon	17.25%	0.87%	0.87%	38.84%	6.67%	6.09%	70.58%
Collin Sexton	46.38%	19.13%	8.70%	18.84%	1.74%	4.35%	99.13%
Jalen Green	17.25%	6.67%	45.22%	12.46%	0.58%	24.35%	106.52%
Klay Thompson	17.25%	33.62%	8.41%	28.99%	5.80%	30.14%	124.20%
Malaki Branham	17.25%	21.74%	29.57%	9.28%	1.16%	52.75%	131.74%

a look at two other relevant players

Player	Charges Percentile	Contested 2-Pt Shot Percentile	Contested 3-Pt Shot Percentile	Deflections Percentile	Defensive Boxouts percentile	Defensive Loose Balls Recovered Percentile	Sum of Percentiles
Patrick Beverley	97.97%	20.29%	32.17%	75.07%	14.78%	40.29%	280.58%
Russell Westbrook	71.30%	18.26%	33.62%	64.35%	23.48%	70.14%	281.16%

The "Got that Dawg in Him" Award (presented by Air Bud)

Highest sum of per-36 percentile ranks in the following: charges, contested shots, deflections, defensive boxouts, defensive loose balls recovered (minimum 50% of games played) (credit to memeticengineering for the idea)

Player	Charges Percentile	Contested 2-Pt Shot Percentile	Contested 3-Pt Shot Percentile	Deflections Percentile	Defensive Boxouts percentile	Defensive Loose Balls Recovered Percentile	Sum of Percentiles
Paul Reed	50.43%	94.78%	87.83%	96.81%	89.86%	97.97%	517.68%
Thaddeus Young	94.20%	71.01%	81.74%	99.42%	68.12%	88.26%	502.75%
Alex Caruso	95.94%	58.26%	99.13%	99.71%	49.28%	93.77%	496.09%
Herbert Jones	96.52%	62.03%	90.43%	98.55%	55.65%	88.26%	491.45%
Andre Drummond	69.86%	84.64%	68.99%	91.59%	87.83%	87.25%	490.14%

The Bowling Ball Award (sponsored by Pete Weber, presented by Glen "Big Baby" Davis)*

most charges committed (credit to Kdog122025 for the idea)

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (23)
2. Kyle Kuzma (19)
3. Bennedict Mathurin (16)
4. Deni Avdija & Julius Randle (15)

"The Good Ol' Hockey Game, is the Best Game You Can Name" Award (presented by Dominik Hasek)*

most goaltends committed (credit to Kdog122025 for the idea)

1. Daniel Gafford & Nic Claxton (19)
2. Nick Richards (16)
3. Jalen Duren & Mark Williams (13)

"The Thing about Arsenal Is They Always Try to Walk It In" Award (presented by MLS Commissioner Don Garber)*

most kicked ball violations

1. Nikola Jokic (47)
2. Nic Claxton & Nikola Vucevic (19)
3. Jakob Poeltl (18)
4. Jaden McDaniels (16)

The "David vs Goliath" Award (presented by Dwyane Wade)*

most shots blocked as the blocker where the blockee is at least 5 inches taller

1. Fred VanVleet (28)
2. Patrick Beverley (23)
3. Kyrie Irving (21)
4. Chris Paul (18)
5. Donovan Mitchell & Kyle Lowry (16)

The Most 3-Pt Shooting Fouls Committed Award*

credit to watchingsongsDL, kingcobweb & An-Indian-In-The-NBA for the idea

1. Dillon Brooks (10)
2. De'Anthony Melton, Deni Avdija, Jalen McDaniels & Luguentz Dort (9)

The "Master Baiter" Award (sponsored by Bass Pro Shops & Kleenex)

most 3-point shooting fouls drawn (Source at PBPStats)

1. Stephen Curry (37)
2. James Harden (34)
3. Jayson Tatum (33)
4. Jordan Clarkson (31)
5. Damian Lillard (30)

The "This Game Has Always Been, And Will Always Be, About Buckets" Award*

highest points as percentage of counting stats (rebounds, assists, steals, blocks), minimum 70% of games played

player	Points Per Game	Rebounds Per Game	Assists Per Game	Steals Per Game	Blocks Per Game	Points as Percentage of Other Stats
Bojan Bogdanović	21.6	3.8	2.6	0.6	0.1	75.26%
Norman Powell	17	2.9	1.8	0.8	0.3	74.56%
Gary Trent Jr.	17.4	2.6	1.6	1.6	0.2	74.36%
Klay Thompson	21.9	4.1	2.4	0.7	0.4	74.24%
Tyrese Maxey	20.3	2.9	3.5	0.8	0.1	73.55%

The Empty Calorie Stats Award (sponsored by Pop-Tarts)*

highest percentile rank within position in usage, descending VORP, descending TS% (minimum 50% of games played) (credit to eewap for the idea)

player	True Shooting %	Usage %	VORP	TS Positional Percentile Rank	Usage Positional Percentile Rank	VORP Positional Percentile Rank	Sum of Positional Percentiles
Dillon Brooks	0.494	21.8	-1.1	100.00%	79.31%	98.28%	277.59%
Jeremy Sochan	0.509	19.8	-0.7	94.29%	75.71%	97.14%	267.14%
Simone Fontecchio	0.495	20.2	-0.6	98.28%	74.14%	89.66%	262.07%
RJ Barrett	0.531	26.2	-0.7	77.65%	84.71%	97.65%	260.00%
Jaden Ivey	0.528	25.4	-0.7	83.53%	77.65%	97.65%	258.82%

The "Can’t Win With These Cats" Award (sponsored by Scar from The Lion King, presented by Kevin Durant in a fake mustache)*

biggest difference in on/off splits in weighted average with and without best (minimum 50% of games played) (credit to eewap for the idea)

player	team	Net Plus Minus per 100 Poss	Team Avg NPM per 100 Poss With	Team Avg NPM per 100 Poss Without	NPM Difference
Nikola Jokić	DEN	22	4.41	1.89	2.52
Nic Claxton	BRK	9.1	-0.30	-2.09	1.79
Draymond Green	GSW	13.1	1.05	-0.58	1.63
Damian Lillard	POR	12.8	4.06	2.63	1.43
Josh Hart	POR	12.8	4.06	2.63	1.43
Jrue Holiday	MIL	12.8	3.45	2.02	1.42

The "Anchors Aweigh" Award (presented by Ron Burgundy)*

biggest difference in on/off splits in weighted average with and without worst (minimum 50% of games played and 10 minutes/game) (credit to eewap for the idea)

player	team	Net Plus Minus per 100 Poss	Team Avg NPM per 100 Poss With	Team Avg NPM per 100 Poss Without	NPM Difference
Jeff Green	DEN	-15.8	4.41	6.72	-2.31
Max Strus	MIA	-9.1	0.82	2.43	-1.61
Lonnie Walker IV	LAL	-10.7	0.89	2.34	-1.45
Reggie Bullock	DAL	-4.7	1.50	2.91	-1.42
Paolo Banchero	ORL	-4.4	0.64	1.82	-1.18

Wouldn't take too much stock in this tbh, Banchero was carrying the Number 1 scoring burden for the Magic as a rookie

The “Fine, I’ll Do It Myself” Award (sponsored by Thanos, presented by Allen Iverson)

Highest percentage of unassisted field goals as portion of total field goals, minimum 50% of games played

1. Luka Doncic (84.7%)
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (79%)
3. Trae Young (78.7%)
4. Ja Morant & De'Aaron Fox (76.1%)

The “You Gotta Feed Me” Award (presented by Joey Chestnut & Marcin Gortat)

Highest percentage of assisted field goals as portion of total field goals, minimum 50% of games played

1. Duncan Robinson (97.7%)
2. Davis Bertans (97.1%)
3. Reggie Bullock (95.3%)
4. Joe Harris (94%)
5. Mike Muscala (93.9%)

The “FUCK OUTTA HERE, I GOT THAT SHIT” Award (presented by Carmelo Anthony)

Lowest contested rebound percentage, minimum 50% of games played

1. Tyus Jones (7.5%)
2. Seth Curry (8%)
3. Dennis Schroder (9.1%)
4. Cameron Payne (9.4%)
5. Austin Rivers (9.6%)

alternatively: restricting to players > 6 foot 6 inches in height

1. Joe Ingles (13.4%)
2. Terrence Ross (14%)
3. Amir Coffey (17%)
4. Bojan Bogdanovic (17.6%)
5. Jayson Tatum (18%)

The "Glass Cleaner" Award (presented by Dennis Rodman, sponsored by Windex)

Highest contested rebound percentage, minimum 50% of games played

1. Wenyen Gabriel (63.9%)
2. Mitchell Robinson (60.5%)
3. Luke Kornet (58.9%)
4. Romeo Langford (57.8%)
5. Isaiah Jackson (55.7%)

alternatively: restricting to players < 6 foot 7 inches in height

1. Romeo Langford (57.8%)
2. Derrick Jones Jr. (51%)
3. Josh Okogie (45.9%)
4. Kenrich Williams (42.5%)
5. Aaron Wiggins (39.9%)

The Stonks Award*

contract overperformance by fewest contract $ per 1 VORP, excluding rookie contracts & lower salary than CBA minimum (like 10-days, two-ways, hardship, etc) (credit to memeticengineering for the idea)

player	salary	vorp	VORP per $1M
Drew Eubanks	1836090	0.8	0.4357
Kenrich Williams	2000000	0.8	0.4000
Moritz Wagner	1878720	0.7	0.3726
Josh Okogie	1836090	0.6	0.3268
Domantas Sabonis	18500000	5.4	0.2919

alternatively, also excluding players making less than 5% of the salary cap:

player	salary	vorp	VORP per $1M	Salary as Percent of Salary Cap
Domantas Sabonis	18500000	5.4	0.2919	14.96%
Nikola Jokić	33047803	8.8	0.2663	26.73%
Kyle Anderson	8780488	2.2	0.2506	7.10%
Kevon Looney	8000000	2	0.2500	6.47%
Delon Wright	7804878	1.7	0.2178	6.31%

The Rotation Awards

(the awards I agonize over the most & still get wrong lmao)

I value depth over one solitary star (it’s a rotation after all). My attempt to make this more objective than past years:

• Get position estimates from Basketball-Reference
  • players with most minutes at PG & SG: guard
  • players with most minutes at SG & SF or SF & PF: wing
  • players with most minutes at PC & C: big
  • exceptions: all players greater than 7 foot are bigs and all players less than 6 foot are guards
• Filter out players with less than 12 MP/G
• Rank teams based on highest positional VORP without positional VORP leader

The Best Guard Rotation Award (sponsored by Buckingham Palace)

East

1. Wizards (Delon Wright, Bradley Beal, Monte Morris, Jordan Goodwin, Kendrick Nunn)
2. 76ers (James Harden, De’Anthony Melton, Tyrese Maxey)
3. Cavaliers (Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio)
4. Boston (Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart, Payton Pritchard)
5. Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose)

West

1. Grizzlies (Ja Morant, Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard)
2. Mavericks (Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyrie Irving, McKinley Wright IV, Frank Ntilikina)
3. Warriors (Steph Curry, Donte DiVincenzo, Ty Jerome, Jordan Poole, Gary Payton II)
4. Nuggets (Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, Bones Hyland, Reggie Jackson)
5. Pelicans (CJ McCollum, Devonte’ Graham, Jose Alvarado, Dyson Daniels)

The Best Wing Rotation Award (co-sponsored by Lou Williams and Magic City)

East

1. Boston (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Grant Williams)
2. Bulls (Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Jones Jr, Ayo Dosunmu)
3. Raptors (Scottie Barnes, Chris Boucher, OG Anunoby, Thad Young, Juancho Hernangomez)
4. Cavaliers (Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens)
5. Pistons (Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Saddiq Bey, Hamidou Diallo, Kevin Knox, Eugene Omoruyi, Isaiah Livers, Rodney McGruder, Jared Rhoden)

West

1. Suns (Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Torrey Craig, Josh Okogie, Ish Wainright, Damion Lee, Terrence Ross, TJ Warren)
2. Clippers (Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Terance Mann, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris, Luke Kennard, Amir Coffey)
3. Kings (Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk, Terence Davis, Kessler Edwards)
4. Pelicans (Trey Murphy III, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, Josh Richardson, Naji Marshall)
5. Timberwolves (Kyle Anderson, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Taurean Prince, Jaylen Nowell)

The Best Big Rotation Award (jointly sponsored by Tom Hanks, Cadbury and Sex and the City)

East

1. Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis)
2. Nets (Kevin Durant, Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson)
3. Knicks (Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims, Obi Toppin)
4. Cavaliers (Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Kevin Love)
5. Hawks (Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson, John Collins)

West

1. Lakers (LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Thomas Bryant, Wenyen Gabriel)
2. Grizzlies (Jaren Jackson Jr, Brandon Clarke, Santi Aldama, Steven Adams, Xavier Tillman)
3. Jazz (Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, Kelly Olynyk, Damian Jones, Rudy Gay)
4. Pelicans (Zion Williamson, Larry Nance Jr, Jonas Valanciunas, Willy Hernangomez, Jaxson Hayes)
5. Timberwolves (Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Karl-Anthony Towns)

What are some other awards you'd like to see? Feel free to give me feedback on my choices, especially for the Rotation Awards contenders!