On Saturday, the NBA officially announced the award winners for the league's seeding games. The awards recognize the top performers from the eight seeding games played by each team in Orlando prior to postseason play. From the NBA:
The NBA announced today the Kia NBA All-Seeding Games Team and the Kia NBA Player of the Seeding Games to honor top performers for games played July 30 – Aug. 14 during the 2019-20 season restart at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
A panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who have been on site covering the season restart selected the Kia NBA All-Seeding Games Team and the Kia NBA Player of the Seeding Games. The media panel voted for five players for the All-Seeding Games First Team and five players for the All-Seeding Games Second Team, choosing a total of 10 players at any position from either conference.
In what should come as a surprise to no one, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was named the Kia NBA Player of the Seeding Games. Lillard was a unanimous selection for the award, as he led the Blazers to a 6-2 record during the eight seeding games while averaging 37.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game. Thanks largely to the performance of Lillard, the Blazers qualified for the Western conference play-in series.
In another non-surprise, Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams was named Coach of the Seeding Games after leading the Suns to a perfect 8-0 record during the stretch. The Suns were the only team that didn't lose a single game during the seeding slate. Though the Suns ultimately didn't qualify for postseason play, the way that the team played as a whole during their seeding slate provided plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the team's future.
In addition to the top player and coach from the seeding slate, the NBA also named a Kia NBA All-Seeding Games First and Second Team. The first team is made up of Lillard, Suns guard Devin Booker, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Houston Rockets guard James Harden, and Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren.
The second team consists of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis, Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert, and Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.
