2007 InterBasket Basketball Award Nominations

[mvblair]

Only 2007 accomplishments should be considered (nothing in 2006)... so do you need help with your nominations? Don't know what happened in Africa (or elsewhere) in 2007? check out the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor..._in_basketball

We’ve got to get started on our “2007 InterBasket.Net Basketball Awards.” First, we need to nominate players. Nominations will end approximately Monday, December 24th. Second, voting will begin immediately on December 24th and last until January 4th (or so). The names of the winners will be released immediately after the voting.

We will use this thread to nominate players. We might change some of the categories over the next week or so.

You may nominate three players for the following categories:

* Player of the Year: (any country)
* NBA Player of the Year: (any country)
* Euroleague Player of the Year: (any country)
* International Player of the Year: (non-US)
* U22 Player of the Year: (any country, Under 22-years-old)
* African Player of the Year: (any African-born player)
* Asian Player of the Year: (any Asian-born player)
* European Player of the Year: (any European-born player)
* Latin American Player of the Year: (any Latin American-born player)
* North American Player of the Year: (any US/Canadian-born player)
* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year: (any Oceanic/Australian-born player)

You may nominate three teams for the following category:

* Team of the Year: (any country)

You may nominate 3 players for the following categories (these will determine the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams):

* All-World Team Guard of the Year : (any country)
* All-World Team Guard of the Year : (any country)
* All-World Team Forward of the Year : (any country)
* All-World Team Forward of the Year : (any country)
* All-World Team Center of the Year : (any country)

The voting will be based on individual member votes, however as with last year, we independently selected six members (excluding myself and Stuart) who had voted in every single category and used their votes as sort of the "experts" vote, weighing their votes a little more heavily.

The InterBasket Tribunal, as Stuart calls them, are not even aware of who they are - I will pick them without their knowledge. I selected the Tribunal with a combination of their time spent/experience at Interbasket, their knowledge of basketball, their credentials, the amount of respect they have around the forum and lastly, but not least, if they had voted in every poll (as well as other factors).

Also, please try your best to make nominations for each category. In addition, write a brief reasonwhy you are nominating each player or team.

-- Matt & Stuart

[ArkadiosV2]

Great job blair. I'm sure it'll be fun for everyone.

And I think I might know the #1 'expert'... Philip

Good luck and I hope it doesn't turn out into a demographic war between nations such as Lithuania and Greece, per say.

[mvblair]

Great job blair. I'm sure it'll be fun for everyone.

Thanks for reminding me to do it, man.


My nominations:

* Player of the Year: Theodoros Papaloukas (he was great in EL and made contributions EC), LeBron James (made a mediocre team great, led Americas Tourn), Luis Scola (had the best summer ever, except for maybe Kirilenko)
* NBA Player of the Year: Tony Parker (NBA Champ, good show at EC), LeBron James (made a mediocre team great), Dirk Nowitzki (great, great player)
* Euroleague Player of the Year: Trajon Langdon (best season ever), Theodoros Papaloukas (enough said), Nikola Vujčić (played well all season)
* International Player of the Year: Theodoros Papaloukas (he was gold in EL and EC), Andrei Kirilenko (nobody had a better summer), Luis Scola (except maybe Scola)
* U22 Player of the Year: Brad Newley (one of the hottest younger stars), Anton Ponomarev (solid in every game, rising star), Joakim Noah (led Florida to back-to-back NCAA champs)
* African Player of the Year: Ahmad Ismail (All-Africa MVP, great showing with Riyadi, All-Arab MVP), Luol Deng (became NBA star last season), Rob Thomson (showed heart and love by going to Africa Champ)
* Asian Player of the Year: Yao Ming (best center in the world all year), Hamed Hadadi (Asia Basket MVP, great club season), Fadi El Khatib (excellent with clubs, excellent with NT)
* European Player of the Year: Theodoros Papaloukas (he was gold in EL and EC), Tony Parker (led NBA champs, good NT show), Andrei Kirilenko (led EC champs)
* Latin American Player of the Year: Luis Scola (wonderful show in EL and Americas), Pablo Prigioni (great EL season), Carlos Arroyo (Caricom MVP, good show at Americas, good start to new NBA team)
* North American Player of the Year: LeBron James (led mediocre team to NBA finals, played well in Americas), Steve Nash (great, great NBA season)
* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year: Andrew Bogut (just a solid player), Brad Newley (hot, rising star), Pero Cameroon (good show in Bundesliga)

You may nominate three teams for the following category:

* Team of the Year: San Antonio Spurs (always strong in NBA), Panathinaikos (won game of the year against CSKA), Dallas Mavericks (the greatest team to suck)

I'll do the rest of my nominations when I'm not so sleepy.



Edit: I'm getting alot of heat for picking Papaloukas as my player of the year!

[T.W.Is.M.]

* Player of the Year:
LeBron James(USA) - reached the NBA finals practically by himself, was the star of the Americas tournament
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia) - MVP of the EC, led an underdog 2 the gold
Tim Duncan(USA) - led SA Spurs 2 another championship

* NBA Player of the Year:
LeBron James - led Cleveland 2 the finals, had the biggest game of the season(game 5 vs Detroit)
Tim Duncan - another championship year and consistent performance throughout the year
Dirk Nowitzki - great year despite the Mavs' early playoff exit

* Euroleague Player of the Year:
Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania) - EL champion and triple crown holder, had the biggest transfer of the summer and makes an impact with another team too
Dimitris Diamantidis(Greece) - EL champion too and Mr "I do it all"
Nikola Vujcic(Croatia) - the most consistent big guy in Europe, led a mediocre team 2 the EL quarterfinals

* International Player of the Year: (non-US)
Dirk Nowitzki(Germany) - NBA MVP, brought a mediocre at best team like Germany 2 the 5th place in the EC
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia) - the best individual performance by any european in this year(during the EC)
Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania) - triple crown, lethal in all crucial moments(EL, greek championship and EC), bronze medal winner in EC

* U22 Player of the Year:
Greg Oden(USA) - the best big guy in the NCAA, next dominating force(predictably) in the NBA
Joachim Noah(France) - back-to-back NCAA champion
Danillo Gallinari(Italy) - the next big european prospect, he already shows skills similar or better than his countryman Bargnani

* African Player of the Year:
Luol Deng(Sudan/England) - breakthrough season in the NBA
Joaquim Brandao Gomes(Angola) - Afrobasket 2007 MVP
Marques Houtman(Cape Verde/USA) - I admit I didn't know almost a thing about african bball, but the fact that Cape Verde won the bronze medal over Nigeria and Egypt makes a Cape Verdean an immediate candidate and Houtman was in the all-star lineup of the Afrobasket

* Asian Player of the Year:
Yao Ming(China) - commonly accepted as the best Asian player, one of the top(if not the best) centers in the world
Yi Jianlian(China) - the next big man from China with an encouraging NBA start
Hamed Ehadadi(Iran) - Asia Basket MVP

* European Player of the Year:
Dirk Nowitzki(Germany)
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)
Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania)
the reasoning 4 all of them is stated above

* Latin American Player of the Year:
Manu Ginobili(Argentina) - another NBA championship with big contribution in crucial matches and periods
Luis Scola(Argentina) - dominated the Euroleague in the first half, adjusts in the NBA in the second half rather well 4 a rookie, Americas tournament MVP
Andres Nocioni(Argentina) - important part of the Bulls' rotation, contributed 2 their good last season

* North American Player of the Year:
LeBron James(USA)
Tim Duncan(USA)
Steve Nash(Canada) - the best PG in the world maintaining his efficiency and his unique style, his performances remain at top level

* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year:
Andrew Bogut(Australia) - develops as a regular starter in the Bucks' rotation
Brad Newley(Australia) - considered as the best young Australian player, makes a good start in Europe-he even set a record with 8/8 3p in a greek game
Matt Nielsen(Australia) - ULEB Cup finalist with Lietvos Rytas, solid performances all year long

* Team of the Year:
Russia National Team - the underdog who won the gold medal in Europe in the home court of their opponents
San Antonio Spurs(USA) - 3rd championship trophy in 5 seasons, arguably the best NBA team of this era
Panathinaikos(Greece) - triple crown winners, the team that won it all in Europe club competition

* All-World Team Guard of the Year : Steve Nash(Canada), Dimitris Diamantidis(Greece), J.R. Holden(USA/Russia) - the game-winner and tournament-winner of the EC is enough-he also was a part of a successful club who played a EL final
* All-World Team Guard of the Year : Manu Ginobili(Argentina), Juan Carlos Navarro(Spain) - had some great moments in the EC and started strong in the NBA, Kobe Bryant(USA) - keeps the worst LA Lakers team of the decade in playoff competition and brought a spark in Team USA
* All-World Team Forward of the Year : LeBron James(USA), Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania), Carmelo Anthony(USA) - evolves 2 the next NBA superstar, every year he is improved
* All-World Team Forward of the Year :Dirk Nowitzki(Germany), Tim Duncan(USA), Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)
* All-World Team Center of the Year : Yao Ming(China), Nikola Vujcic(Croatia), Dwight Howard(USA) - a breakout season that continues in the current one, he displays vast improvement

[elaj]

* Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) - Russia won the EC, MVP of the EC, what else do you need?! Very dominant performance on EC.

* NBA Player of the Year:
LeBron James - kind of surprisingly for me he led his team to the finals of NBA
Dirk Nowitzki - great year for him in the NBA as individual
Tim Duncan - NBA Champion once again

* Euroleague Player of the Year:
Ramunas Siskauskas (Lithuania) - true MVP, nuff said.
Dimitris Diamantidis (Greece) - sometimes a bit hyped (especially on this forum ), but still great player

* International Player of the Year: (non-US)
Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) - NBA MVP, great performance with his NT
Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) - EC MVP, though not so good club season, but still he did a remarkable job with Russia
Emanuel Ginobili (Argentina) - Consistant, won the NBA title

* U22 Player of the Year:
Greg Oden (USA) - huge force in the paint, unfortunately he got injured
Danillo Gallinari (Italy) - huge season for him
Goran Dragič (Slovenia) - promising guard, amazing EC for him, one of best young prospects around
Nikola Peković (Serbia) - huge force in the paint, dominat center in Euroleague

* African Player of the Year:
Luol Deng (Sudan) - huge season for him

* Asian Player of the Year:
Yao Ming (China) - best Asian player without any doubt
Fadi El Khatib (Lebanon) - best Asian SG, huge scorer

* European Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) - the EC performance

* Latin American Player of the Year:
Emanuel Ginobili (Argentina) - great season for him, NBA title

* North American Player of the Year:
LeBron James (USA)
Steve Nash (Canada) - another great season for him
Tim Duncan (USA)

* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year:
Matt Nielsen (Australia) - consistant performances in Europe for whole season
Andrew Bogut (Australia) - though I find him overrated, he should be here

* Team of the Year:
Russia National Team - great team spirit, won EC in great style
San Antonio Spurs (USA) - NBA title
Panathinaikos (Greece) - they did it all, CSKA was close, but homecourt decided which team will take the EL

[Straight forward]

* Player of the Year: A. Kirilenko (Russia). MVP of EC, most competitive tournoment in the world, imho. Led Russia to the gold.
R. Siskauskas (Lithuania). Champion of EL, led Lithuania to bronze in EC.
Tim Duncan(USA) - led Spurs to NBA championship.

* NBA Player of the Year: L. James(USA) Led Cavs to NBA final.

* Euroleague Player of the Year: R. Siskauskas (Lithuania) Led Panathinaikos to EL champship. D. Diamantidis (Greece). Led Panathinaikos to EL champship.

* International Player of the Year: D. Nowitzki (Germany) NBA mvp. Led Germany in EC by only him self.

* U22 Player of the Year: Danillo Gallinari (Italy). Great skils, impresive game in EL already.

* African Player of the Year: J. Gomes (Angola) MVP of Afrobasket 2007.

* Asian Player of the Year: Yao Ming(China) One of the best centers in the world. No doubt the best player in Asia.

* European Player of the Year:
A. Kirilenko (Russia).
D. Nowitzki (Germany).
R. Siskauskas (Lithuania).

* Latin American Player of the Year: Manu Ginobili (Argentina) - NBA champions, one of the leaders of Spurs.

* North American Player of the Year: Tim Duncan (USA).

* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year: Andrew Bogut(Australia) - strong NBA player, realy talanted.


* Team of the Year: Russia National Team, Panathinaikos (Greece) Because they played great all-rounded basketball. SA Spurs.


* All-World Team Guard of the Year : Jose Calderon (Spain) Great season in NBA with Raptors. Led SPain to silver in EC. T. Parker (France) One of the leaders of NBA champs.
* All-World Team Guard of the Year : Lebron James (USA)
* All-World Team Forward of the Year : Ramunas Siskauskas (Lithuania)
* All-World Team Forward of the Year : A. Kirilenko (Russia). D. Nowitzki (Germany)
* All-World Team Center of the Year : Yao Ming (China). Imho, the best center in the world at the moment.

[donmar]

* Player of the Year: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany)
* NBA Player of the Year: Dirk Nowitzkti (Germany)
* Euroleague Player of the Year: Ramunas Siskauskas (Lithuania)
* International Player of the Year: Dirk Nowitzki (non-US)
* U22 Player of the Year: ??? (any country, Under 22-years-old)
* African Player of the Year: Joaquim Brandao Gomes(Angola)
* Asian Player of the Year: Yao Ming (China), Fadi El Khatib (Lebanon)
* European Player of the Year: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia), Tony Parker (France)
* Latin American Player of the Year: Emmanuel Ginobili (Argentina)
* North American Player of the Year: Lebron James (USA), Steve Nash (Canada)
* Oceanic/Australasian Player of the Year: Kirk Penney (New Zealand)

* Team of the Year: San Antonio Spurs (NBA)

.....

[Phantim3dx]

wow twism we think somewhat a like except for a few slight things from your post.


* Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia) - MVP of the EC, led an underdog 2 the gold
Luis Scola (ARG)- like Kirilenko, he pretty much lead ARG in the Americas tourney. Hustle and old school in physicality. I dislike him with passion when he plays intl games, but I have the utmost respect for him as a player to fire up and have his team ride his emotional flare. Natural Born leader.
Tim Duncan(USA) - led SA Spurs 2 another championship

* NBA Player of the Year:
LeBron James - led Cleveland 2 the finals, had the biggest game of the season(game 5 vs Detroit)
Tim Duncan - another championship year and consistent performance throughout the year
Kevin Garnett- With the BIG 3 in Beantown, he is hungry and determined, shows in his performance

* Euroleague Player of the Year:
Sorry have nothing here

* International Player of the Year: (non-US)
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia) - the best individual performance by any european in this year(during the EC)
Yao Ming (CHINA)- heart and soul of the CHN natl team, althoug records dont show it, never the less without Yao China has no leader on the floor

* U22 Player of the Year:
Yi Jianlian (China)- Next big thing to come out of China, definitely not your traditional old school style of basketball. full of fundamentals but with a flare that traditionally the chinese are humble to show, this guy has a "i dont back down attitude"


* African Player of the Year:
Luol Deng(Sudan/England) - breakthrough season in the NBA

* Asian Player of the Year:
Yao Ming(China) - commonly accepted as the best Asian player, one of the top(if not the best) centers in the world
Yi Jianlian(China) - the next big man from China with an encouraging NBA start

* European Player of the Year:
Dirk Nowitzi (Ger)
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)
La Bomba of the Spanish NT..that guy is smooth as silk

* Latin American Player of the Year:
Manu Ginobili(Argentina) - another NBA championship with big contribution in crucial matches and periods
Luis Scola(Argentina) - dominated the Euroleague in the first half, adjusts in the NBA in the second half rather well 4 a rookie, Americas tournament MVP
Andres Nocioni(Argentina) - important part of the Bulls' rotation, contributed 2 their good last season

* North American Player of the Year:
LeBron James(USA)
Tim Duncan(USA)
Steve Nash(Canada) - the best PG in the world maintaining his efficiency and his unique style, his performances remain at top level

* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year:
Brad Newley(Australia) - considered as the best young Australian player, makes a good start in Europe-he even set a record with 8/8 3p in a greek game
Matt Nielsen(Australia) - ULEB Cup finalist with Lietvos Rytas, solid performances all year long

* Team of the Year:
Russia National Team - the underdog who won the gold medal in Europe in the home court of their opponents
San Antonio Spurs(USA) - 3rd championship trophy in 5 seasons, arguably the best NBA team of this era

* All-World Team Guard of the Year :
Steve Nash(Canada)
Jason Kidd (USA)-over the hill but still a lot of heart, true leader of USA in the Americas tourney
Tony Parker(FRANCE)- could I say heart and soul of French natl team?

* All-World Team Guard of the Year :
Manu Ginobili(Argentina)-South America's future HALL OF FAMER in hte NBA...doesnt care if he starts but if a teammate is down he can ignite
Kobe Bryant(USA) - keeps the worst LA Lakers team of the decade in playoff competition and brought a spark in Team USA. competitive as hell..just wants to win

* All-World Team Forward of the Year :
LeBron James(USA)
Carmelo Anthony(USA) - evolves 2 the next NBA superstar, every year he is improved

* All-World Team Forward of the Year :
Dirk Nowitzki(Germany)
Dwight Howard(USA)- a manchild...but I personally consider him to be a PF
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)-

* All-World Team Center of the Year :
Yao Ming(China)-Poster child of the old school big man. he isnt a brute force but his game is modeled more on finesse.
Bargnani(Italy)- when I think of this eye-talian I think of the typical Euro big man: agile(agile than most), fast(faster than most), can go in and out and shoot the J.

to MVBLAIR I would also like to add to this award thread Coach of the year. I think coaches deserve it

NBA COACH OF THE YEAR:
Jerry Sloan-even though the Jazz aren't starting off well, Sloan is as old school as you can get he is very rare and not many NBA coaches have balls like the old coaches had in the past.
Poppovich-Another old school style of coach which players respect

AMERICAS COACH OF THE YEAR:

EURO COACH OF THE YEAR:
I can only tihnk of Russia's NT coach...Coach Blatt leading an underdog team thru tough waters in a Euro tourney. Hands down praise...

ASIA COACH OF THE YEAR:

[mvblair]

I should've picked Yi as U22 player of the year. I'll probably vote for him now.

[stuart]

My large list of nominations...

I just want to emphasize a couple things: the 2007 player of the year will only include 2007 accomplishments, and nothing in 2006. So basically, we're talking about the EuroBasket, Americas Championships, 2007 NBA Finals, etc.... things that happened in the year 2007. This is a great link to get familiarized with what has happened in basketball 2007 --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor..._in_basketball

Also, had a question, Dwight Howard just turned 22 10 days ago, is he eligible for the U22, what do you suggest should be the rules there? That they must be under-22 that entire year?

One more thing, I think Luis Scola had a fantastic year and I think he deserves more love -- he didn't come out on top all the time, but it's been a very productive and accomplished year for him. Without further wait, here's my list of nominations...

* Interbasket Player of the Year:

• LeBron James
• Luis Scola
• Rimunas Siskauskas
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Dimitris Diamantidis
• Honorable Mention: Tony Parker, Theodoros Papaloukas, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Yao Ming

* NBA Player of the Year:

• LeBron James
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Steve Nash
• Tim Duncan
• Tony Parker

* Euroleague Player of the Year:

• Rimunas Siskauskas (EL Finals MVP)
• Dimitris Diamantidis (All-EL, EL Champion)
• Theodoros Papaloukas (EL Regular Season MVP)
• Luis Scola (All-Euroleague, ACB MVP)

* International Player of the Year (non-US):

• Dirk Nowitzki
• Rimunas Siskauskas
• Steve Nash
• Dimitris Diamantidis
• Luis Scola
• Tony Parker
• Theodoros Papaloukas
• Andrei Kirilenko
• see all the player credentials below

* U22 Player of the Year:

• Danillo Gallinari (Italy)
• Kevin Durant (set all types of NCAA records)
• Greg Oden
• Ricky Rubio
• Marco Belinelli
• Andris Biedrins

* African Player of the Year:

• Joaquim Gomes (Afrobasket MVP, ideal five, AB Champ)
• Luc Richard Mbah A Moute (Cameroon, silver in Afrobasket, was named to Afrobasket Ideal Five, and currently plays for UCLA)
• Olímpio Cipriano (AB champ, Afrobasket Ideal Five)
• Honorable Mentions: Brice Vounang of Cameroon, Eduardo Mingas, and Luol Deng of Sudan.

* Asian Player of the Year:

• Yao Ming
• Fadi El-Khatib
• Wang Zhizhi (back from the dead to lead his team to the CBA championships and was named CBA Finals MVP)
• Yi JianLian

* European Player of the Year:

• Rimunas Siskauskas
• Dirk Nowitzki (NBA MVP)
• Dimitris Diamantidis (All-EL, EL Champion)
• Tony Parker (NBA Finals MVP)
• Theodoros Papaloukas (EL MVP)

* Latin American Player of the Year:

• Manu Ginobili (NBA Champion)
• Luis Scola (2007 ACB Player of the Year, all-Euroleague team, joined the Houston Rockets, led Argentina to an Olympic berth without Manu, Nocioni, Herrmann, Sanchez)
• Leandro Barbosa (NBA sixth man of the year, led Fiba Americas in scoring)
• Honorable mention: Fabricio Oberto, Pablo Prigioni

* North American Player of the Year:

• LeBron James
• Steve Nash
• Kobe Bryant
• Tim Duncan

* Oceanic/Australasian Player of the Year:

• Sam Mackinnon (NBL MVP)
• David Andersen
• Kirk Penney (PG led NZ in scoring)
• Andrew Bogut

* Team of the Year:

• San Antonio Spurs
• Panathinaikos
• Russian National Team
• Angolan National Team (have won 21 straight games in African championships and five straight afrobasket championships, and 9 of last 10!)
• Golden State Warriors
• Team USA and Team Argentina also deserves mentions

* All-World Team Guard of the Year (6):

• Steve Nash
• Tony Parker
• Theodoros Papaloukas
• Kobe Bryant
• Juan Carlos Navarro
• Dimitris Diamantidis
• honorable mention: JR Holden, Jose Calderon

* All-World Team Forward of the Year (6):

• Ramunas Siskauskas
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Tim Duncan
• LeBron James
• Andrei Kirilenko
• Luis Scola
• honorable mention: Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire

* All-World Team Center of the Year (3):

• Yao Ming
• Shaquille O'Neal (gotta have diesel here, probably his last year though)
• Dwight Howard
• honorable mention: Nikola Vujcic

C'mon people, get this nominations in and reasons why! if you don't have time, start a post and finish it later...

Stuart

[keratsinio]

Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia) - MVP of the EC
Tim Duncan(USA)
Dimitris Diamantidis

* NBA Player of the Year:
LeBron James
Steve Nash
Manu Ginobili

* Euroleague Player of the Year:
Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania)
Dimitris Diamantidis(Greece)
Nikola Pekovic (Croatia)

* International Player of the Year: (non-US)
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)
Pau Gasol (Spain)
Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania)

* U22 Player of the Year:
Kostas Koufos (Greece)
Danillo Gallinari(Italy)
Ricky Rubio (Spain)

* African Player of the Year:
Keleena Azubuike
Joaquim Brandao Gomes(Angola)
Marques Houtman(Cape Verde/USA)

* Asian Player of the Year:
Yao Ming(China)
Yi Jianlian(China)
Hamed Ehadadi(Iran)

* European Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)
Pau Gasol (Spain)
Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania)
the reasoning 4 all of them is stated above

* Latin American Player of the Year:
Manu Ginobili(Argentina)
Luis Scola(Argentina)
Andres Nocioni(Argentina)

* North American Player of the Year:
LeBron James(USA)
Tim Duncan(USA)
Steve Nash(Canada)

* Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year:
Brad Newley(Australia)
Matt Nielsen(Australia)
Andrew Bogut(Australia)

* Team of the Year:
Russia National Team
Panathinaikos(Greece)
Greece National Team

* All-World Team Guard of the Year : Steve Nash(Canada), Diamantidis(Greece), J.R. Holden(USA/Russia)
* All-World Team Guard of the Year : Manu Ginobili(Argentina), Arvydas Macijauskas (Lietuva) , Sarunas Jasikevicius (Lietuva)
* All-World Team Forward of the Year : LeBron James(USA), Ramunas Siskauskas(Lithuania), Carmelo Anthony(USA)
* All-World Team Forward of the Year: Dirk Nowitzki(Germany), Pau Gasol (Spain), Andrei Kirilenko(Russia)
* All-World Team Center of the Year : Yao Ming(China), Nikola Vujcic(Croatia), Dwight Howard(USA)

[sinobball]

African player = born in Africa is OK? Where is Steve Nash?

U22 player - what is the definition? Born in 1985 or later? How about Dwight Howard, born in December 1985! (PS: Yi doesnt really qualify :S)

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

African player = born in Africa is OK? Where is Steve Nash?

I wouldn't think so. Neither of his parents are SAcans, he does not hold a SA passport and he has never played in SA or for SA. The guy was just born there. By that logic, Carlos Boozer would be eligible for the best European player award.

[stuart]

African player = born in Africa is OK? Where is Steve Nash? U22 player - what is the definition? Born in 1985 or later? How about Dwight Howard, born in December 1985! (PS: Yi doesnt really qualify :S)

Right JCN, nothing is solid. And as the years go by, lines will be further blurred, these categories will be even tougher and certain players will be hard to classify, but generally there are a few examples we can somewhat guide ourselves with:

Where were they born and how long did they spend in the country?
Where were they schooled?
What is their citizenship?
What does the player consider himself?
Have they represented their home-country?
Have they represented the USA?

Luol Deng - spent a significant enough time in Sudan to be considered Sudanese, but also learned the game of basketball in England and went to college in USA. He's played for the GB National Team... Deng is one of those special players that can be considered both Sudanese and English in my eyes.

Hakeem Olajuwon - Born in Africa, spent a lot of time in Nigeria, played for the Nigerian National Team, and was schooled in US basketball... one thing that automatically disqualifies him for an IBN award in my eyes (if it existed when he played) is that Hakeem represented the USA in international competition.

A player like Dikembe Mutombo basically had the same timeline and experiences as Hakeem, but had never represented the USA and Dikembe is very very active in his home-country. Because of this he is still available for an African award. I know a lot of this is subjective, but I think thats the nature of it.

As for U22 Nominations, I would have nominated Dwight Howard, but I think a good rule to work by is that the player must NOT turn 22 in the year in which they are being nominated. So since, Dwight turned 22 only 10 days ago, he is ineligible for the 2007 U22 award.

Stuart

[rikhardur]

Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko
LeBron James
Ramūnas Šiškauskas

NBA Player of the Year:
Dirk Nowitzki
LeBron James
Tim Duncan

Euroleague Player of the Year:
Ramūnas Šiškauskas
Dimitris Diamantidis
Luis Scola

International Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko
Dirk Nowitzki
Yao Ming

U22 Player of the Year:
Kostas Koufos
Milan Mačvan
Yi Jianlian

African Player of the Year:
Luol Deng
Joaquim Gomes
Olímpio Cipriano

Asian Player of the Year:
Yao Ming
Hamed Ehadadi
Fadi El Khatib

European Player of the Year:
Andrei Kirilenko
Dirk Nowitzki
Ramūnas Šiškauskas

Latin American Player of the Year:
Manu Ginóbili
Luis Scola
Leandro Barbosa

North American Player of the Year:
LeBron James
Tim Duncan
Steve Nash

Oceanic/Australian Player of the Year:
Brad Newley
Andrew Bogut
Matt Nielsen

Team of the Year:
Russia
Spurs
Panathinaikos

All-World Team Guard of the Year:
Steve Nash
Dimitris Diamantidis
Teo Papaloukas
All-World Team Guard of the Year:
Manu Ginóbili
Tony Parker
Kobe Bryant
All-World Team Forward of the Year:
LeBron James
Ramūnas Šiškauskas
Carmelo Anthony
All-World Team Forward of the Year:
Dirk Nowitzki
Andrei Kirilenko
Tim Duncan
All-World Team Center of the Year:
Yao Ming
Dwight Howard
Pau Gasol