Taylor Swift congratulates Russell Westbrook for winning NBA MVP

BySN Staff ESPN logo
Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Social media was abuzz with reactions from some of the NBA's biggest stars and other celebrities as the league's inaugural awards show and announcement of All-NBA teams took place on Monday.

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook closed down the day's festivities by bringing home his first MVP trophy, beating out James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs in one of the most entertaining races in league history.

Another close race was for Rookie of the Year, which was ultimately bestowed upon Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon. The second-round pick in last year's draft received the honor overPhiladelphia 76ers pairJoel Embiid and Dario Saric.

The Bucks weren't done winning awards, though, as Giannis Antetokounmpo earned Most Improved Player. Although the Greek Freak wasn't in attendance to accept the hardware, he delivered a message through the Bucks' Twitter account, and some of his teammates reacted accordingly.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. set Twitter ablaze with his humorous reaction to Thunder guard Victor Oladipo's victory in the Dunk of the Year category. Nance Jr. posted a single photo of potato chips indicating his "saltiness" about the perceived snub of his memorable throwdown over new teammate Brook Lopez.

Coach of the Year went to Mike D'Antoni of the Rockets, who opened his acceptance speech with a zinger directed at the sportswriters who might have both voted for him this year and once ridiculed him during his tumultuous tenure with the New York Knicks.

All-NBA teams were also announced earlier Monday, and the results were met with mixed emotions.

Rockets guard Patrick Beverley received plenty of digital love from his teammates following the announcement that he made this year's All-Defensive First Team.

76ers guard Robert Covington gave a shoutout to his young teammates for making the NBA All-Rookie team.

Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley finished 10th in All-Defensive Team voting, and NBA players were both surprised and angry about it. Some of the league's biggest stars took to Twitter to argue that Bradley was robbed of a spot.

Regardless of the final vote count, it's clear the 26-year-old has the respect of his peers.

-- Sarah Scrivens and Nick Ostiller

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