And those are just the candidates for MVP.

Here's a look at our midseason award winners in several key categories:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

The winner: LeBron James, Cleveland

As good as both Bryant and Howard --- former Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy star and leading vote-getter in All-Star balloting --- have been this season, it's hard to ignore the way James has dominated his foes. Even with the addition of a veteran talent such as point guard Mo Williams, James is still working with the least amount of help of the three front-runners. And for anyone who suspected the Cavaliers would bow down to either Boston or Howard's Magic in the chase for the Eastern Conference title, now you know why they call James the King.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The winner: Dwyane Wade, Miami

Wade's renaissance began with a dominant showing in the U.S. Olympic team's march to the gold medal in August. Not only was he the team's most relentless player, but he also proved that he was fully recovered from the injuries that plagued him the previous two years. Wade is as strong as ever, and no player is more efficient --- witness his 35 points in 35 minutes in a victory over the Hawks on Monday. The fact that Wade has the Heat in the hunt for a top-four playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, which would lead to a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, is perhaps his most impressive accomplishment.

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR

The winner: Manu Ginobili, San Antonio

Dallas guard Jason Terry scores more points. But Ginobili's team is better and will certainly make the playoffs, and he can change the game on both ends of the floor. Both guys are more than deserving. Ginobili's edge is that he makes an impact in more ways than Terry does. And with the addition of players such as Roger Mason, he becomes even more dangerous because teams will have to pay attention to other spot-up shooters when Ginobili decides to put the ball on the floor and make his way to the basket.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The winner: Dwight Howard, Orlando

The Magic maintain a spot as one of the top five defensive teams solely because of the presence of Howard, who leads the league in rebounds and blocks. There's not another legitimate big-time defender on the roster --- Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson don't exactly strike fear into opponents. But with Howard around to clean up the mess and protect the rim, everyone else looks more than competent. Toss in Howard's 20 points per night, and it's easy to see why young Superman has supplanted all others as the league's unquestioned top big man.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

The winner: Derrick Rose, Chicago

Memphis guard O.J. Mayo has dazzled, and Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook has surprised. No one, however, has lived up to the hype the way Rose has this season. Remember, he's playing in front of his hometown fans and in the building Michael Jordan built. Talk about pressure. All Rose has done is step in and run a struggling team from the first day while also showing off a scoring touch from the perimeter that wasn't evident when he was in college. He has played alongside both Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon this season and looked like the most natural leader of the bunch.

COACH OF THE YEAR

The winner: Mike Brown, Cleveland

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is the trendy pick. But Brown, once again, has worked wonders with the roster he has been handed. Sure, they both have anchors for whom most coaches would give up a limb, but that doesn't account for the way Brown has been able to get the most out of guys such as Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic and even rookie J.J. Hickson, who played at Wheeler. Brown has cobbled together a rotation at center without the services of All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, doing a masterful job under the circumstances.