Player of the D.A.Y.

By Sam Rubenstein

Poor Darko. He was once a running joke, but has fallen so far off the radar that nobody mentions him anymore. Free Darko is bigger than Darko, and they’re selling Gilbert Arenas inspired t-shirts. The last time you heard Darko’s name was when the Raptors picked Andrea Bargnani first overall. That was when there was a segment of the population that wrote the pick off as another Darko.

Andrea Bargnani is emerging as a shooting star. It’s a very very very slow emergence, but he’s on his way up. Obviously it’s too early to call him the next Dirk. It didn’t help Darko’s cause that Andrea had his signature king against his Orlando Magic. 23 points, hitting 5 of 8 from three. And in a WIN against the team with the best record in the East.

Boozer and Deron Williams each deserved this, but they tag teamed to knock each other off, splitting the imaginary vote in my head. Andrea Bargnani, you are the Player of the D.A.Y., even with Vince/Kidd, Gilbert, and Big Ben putting up numbers in wins.