Another season and, unfortunately, another missed playoffs for the Lakers. However, considering Lonzo Ball has only played 52 games, Brandon Ingram has only played 59 games, KCP was in jail for a whole month, and Julius Randle did not start the first 33 games, they still won 35 games -- which many saw as this team's ceiling in the preseason. This squad showed incredible growth and promise in what has been arguably the most enjoyable Lakers season since their 2010 title. To celebrate this promise, let's hand out awards to those most worthy.

Most Valuable Player: Julius Randle

Five players played at least 60 games in a Lakers uniform this season: Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Brook Lopez, and Josh Hart. All of them but Josh Hart played at least 70 games. Only Julius Randle played all 82. My mom used to tell me 80% of life is showing up. Randle playing every game was a huge plus for the Lakers. As a starter in the last 49 games, he played like an all-star. A couple months ago, I wrote about how he has taken his game to the next level by becoming an elite finisher, developing as a passer out of the post, consistently defending multiple positions, etc. While his play dipped the last few games, partly due to looking absolutely exhausted, overall, he was a force all season. Of the Lakers to play at least 40 games and average 20 MPG, here are Julius Randle's ranks amongst the team in the following categories:

- 2P%: 2nd with 57.5% (1st if you discount Larry Nance, Jr.)

- FT%: 3rd with 71.8% (2nd behind KCP if you discount Jordan Clarkson)

- eFG%: 3rd with 56.3% (2nd behind Josh Hart if you discount Larry Nance, Jr.)

- TS%: 2nd with 60.6% (1st if you discount Larry Nance, Jr.)

- USG%: 2nd with 25.3% (1st if you discount Jordan Clarkson)

- PPG: T-1st with 16.1 (Ingram and Kuzma tied)

- RPG: 1st with 8

- APG: 4th with 2.6 (3rd if you discount Jordan Clarkson)

Overall, Julius was incredibly valuable to this team as their primary scorer, rebounder, and Swiss-army-knife defender. He unlocks so much of what they can do. Given his productivity, role, and games logged, he has easily been the Lakers' MVP.

Defensive Player of the Year: Lonzo Ball

It is rare to see a point guard have so much impact on the defensive end, let alone a rookie one. Ball is tall, long, and savvy. He has the best hands of any Laker since Ron Artest and this shows with his 1.7 SPG and .8 BPG averages. Even so, that does not even begin to display his defensive impact. He can guard any position 1-4. His hawk-like wingspan disrupts lots of passing lanes and he does an incredible job doubling the post. Here are some defensive stats for the big baller when defending certain play types:

Isolation: .87 points per possession (PPP) allowed

Post-ups: .86 PPP allowed

Spot-ups: .92 PPP allowed

PNR Ball-Handler: .78 PPP allowed

Ball's on-ball defense and off-ball rotations have been outstanding.  While it was tempting to give the edge to Randle due to the number of games Ball missed, the UCLA rookie deserves recognition because his impact has just been that good. He may not have made an All-Defensive team, but he should've gotten more consideration, especially since he didn't garner a single vote.

Most Improved Player: Brandon Ingram

Here is Brandon Ingram's sophomore season's statistical differential compared to his rookie campaign:

- PPG: +6.7

- RPG: +1.3

- APG: +1.8

- 2P%: +4%

- 3P%: +9.6%

- eFG%: +5.5%

- FT% +6%

- TS%: +6.2%

- USG%: +5.4%

Brandon Ingram still has several flaws in his game. While his 3P% looked great at 39%, he only took 1.8 3PAs per game. He does not have the volume to show he is a knockdown shooter yet and still isn't the most efficient scorer. However, Ingram's playmaking and driving made him much more valuable on the offensive end. His jumper, decision-making, and change of speeds on drives are improving exponentially. Additionally, he was a lot tougher and more engaged defensively. His length and size gives him a lot of versatility. Ingram, Ball, and Randle make a fierce trio on the defensive end since they can all switch virtually everything. He has the talent to be an excellent jack of all trades and if he keeps improving at this rate, he will be an incredibly important piece for this roster going forward.

Rookie of the Year: Kyle Kuzma

To be clear, Lonzo Ball is a better player than Kyle Kuzma. He is a better rebounder, passer, and defender. Kuzma, while better towards the end of the season, was a pretty bad defender for the most part. Ball just impacts the game in so many more ways. With that being said, Kuzma played a whopping 25 more games than Ball. Considering Kuzma's solid play and the substantial disparity of games played between him and Lonzo, Kuz has to be the Lakers' rookie of the year. The former Ute was tied with Randle in points per game and was one of their best shooters at 36.6% on 5.6 attempts per game from 3. His eFG% was an outstanding 52.7%, but his 54.9 TS% could have been better, mostly due to his low free-throw-attempt rate. Nevertheless, he is a matchup nightmare considering he is too tall for most perimeter players at 6'9" and is too quick for most big men. Kuz was very streaky, but when he was on fire, he was incredibly fun to watch.

Most Underrated Player: Josh Hart

In a rookie class with Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart got a little lost in the shuffle early on in the season. When he got minutes, he was reluctant to shoot and looked lost. However, he started to become a very good shooter. In October and November, he shot 23.5% from 3 on just 1.1 attempts per game. For the rest of the season, he shot 41.1% from 3, averaging 4 attempts per game. For the season, he shot an incredible 55% from 2 and 68% at the rim. Hart's cutting and running the floor in transition made him a great option for ball-handlers to find. In traffic, Hart does a great job jumping off the wrong leg (right) and finishing with his right hand. He does this to use the rim as a shield and trick defenders into thinking he'll do a reverse layup when he isn't.

Hart also earned a great nickname: Josh Barkley, after Hall of Famer "Round Mound of Rebound" Charles Barkley. He made his presence felt on the glass. In February, he had 4 games, including 3 in a row, where he grabbed at least 10 rebounds and averaged 7 RPG for the whole month. Per 36 minutes, Hart averages 6.5 rebounds, which is great for a 6.5" shooting guard.

Lastly, he was very good on the defensive end. Hart did tend to reach a bit too much, which is a common flaw in rookies. For the most part, his size and strength made it tough on opposing guards. His post defense needs more recognition. No Laker defended more post-ups per game last year than Hart at 1.2 per game at a 12.7% frequency. He only allowed .93 points per post up, which is outstanding considering lots of the guys he had to guard were much bigger. Hart's hip strength along with his lower center of gravity made it difficult on big men down low.

Incredible stat:@joshhart over the last 18 games he played this season:

33.3 MPG

14.1 PPG

7.3 RPG

2.1 APG

50.6/44/76.6 splits

Really looking forward to seeing what he does next season ??????

— Josh Toussaint (@josh2saint) May 31, 2018

(All stats via Basketball-Reference, but all defensive advanced stats via NBA.com)

In a season that started out rough and ended marred by injuries, the Lakers' young core showed out. The win total this season versus previous ones was not because of an addition of veteran free agents or superstars. It was because the young guys were extremely good. They were not good for young players; they were good NBA players, period. Going forward, whether they add a star or not either in free agency or by trade, this core has shown they can win at a solid level in this league.