The 2013-2014 NBA regular season was a season to remember. The Eastern Conference’s usual playoff teams failed to make the cut this year, including the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and the Milwaukee Bucks. However, new teams emerged from the Conference and made it to the playoffs like the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards. The Western Conference also had one team not make the playoffs this year that is usually a regular in the Los Angels Lakers. On the other hand, new young teams from the Western Conference, such as the Portland Trailblazers made the playoffs ending their three-year drought. During the season we watched as new star players emerged, while others struggled to find their game. Overall, the NBA regular season was a roller coaster of a ride, but the season was exciting as ever for all sports fans to enjoy.

To begin, the Indiana Pacers ended their 2012-2013 season with a devastating game seven loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. This devastating loss truly motivated the organization to do better next year and that was exactly what they did. From day one, Pacer’s coach Frank Voguel wanted his team to achieve the best record in the Eastern Conference to gain the number one seed in the playoffs. The Pacers did exactly that, while dominating their competition all season long. The team’s star players in Paul George and Roy Hibbert weren’t the only ones leading the way for the Pacers, but new key players such as Lance Stephson and George Hill stepped up helping the team in many ways. A key trade during the season sending long-time Pacer Danny Granger to the 76ers for the young star Evan Turner also boosted the Pacer’s depth majorly.

Not only did the Indiana Pacers have a great season in the Eastern Conference, but the Miami Heat also had another amazing season with “The Big Three” leading the way again to victory. However, the Heat did not finish with the best record in the NBA as they did a season ago, this year they finished with the 5th best record in the NBA, which the Heat lost 12 more games than they did last year. Another major headline from the season was the NBA’s usual premier teams not performing as well as expected this year. The New York Knicks all-star squad couldn’t come together collectively night in and night out behind Carmelo Anthony’s elite play to put up a winning record. The Los Angeles Lakers lost faith in their season when their future hall of fame player, Kobe Bryant, went down with another injury, leaving the team with no leader and a bunch of young players with little or no experience in the NBA.

Finally, my personal favorite team the Boston Celtics hit rock bottom this season, finishing with one of the worst records in the NBA. However, the Western Conference had its usual dynasties in the San Antonio Spurs making history by making the playoffs for the 17th time in a row. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker’s all-star play amazingly never seems to go away. The Oklahoma City Thunder also had a very successful season making the playoffs once again with Kevin Durant’s and Russell Westbrook’s explosive offensive fire-power. The Portland Trail Blazers finally emerged as a dominant team in the West with Damian Lillard and Lamarcus Aldridge leading the way to victory. Also don’t forget about the Phoenix Suns who missed the playoffs by one game and shocked everyone by winning so many games this season with the sudden emergence of Goran Dragic.

After the long NBA season, I have chosen the players that I feel should win my personal NBA Awards. To start, the NBA Rookie of the Year I feel is easily the 76ers point guard in Michael Carter Williams, who averaged an astonishing 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in his rookie year. Honorable mention should be given to the Nets Mason Plumlee and the Knicks Tim Hardaway Jr., who also had great rookie seasons. Next, the NBA’s most improved player to me is Lance Stephenson, but many experts believe that Anthony Davis should be given the award. Honorable mention should be given to DeAndre Jordan and to Goran Dragic, who also had incredible seasons. Furthermore, the MVP Award in my personal view certainly goes to Kevin Durant, with an amazing season averaging over 30 points a game, that’s four points more than any other player’s average. LeBron James also could be considered for the award, but KD deserves the award much more this season for his great offensive stats. My defensive player of the year goes to Joakim Noah, the center for the Chicago Bulls, who seems to harass anyone under the basket. Finally, my sixth man award goes to Taj Gibson, also from the Chicago Bulls, who averaged around 12 points a game coming off the bench, which was major for a team that needs offense with their star player in Derrick Rose out for another season. Jamal Crawford is also highly considered by many for this award, but I strongly feel that Taj has clearly won himself the award.

Every NBA regular season is special in its own way, but this year the similar theme throughout was old dynasties ended, while new ones emerged. Teams that were always on the losing side found their formula to win for seasons to come, while old teams with legends fell with lingering injuries and setbacks. All I know is that I will be ready for the upcoming exciting NBA season awaits ahead with even more surprises for us sports fans to discover.