Top 5 active NBA players who have won the Most Improved Player award
The NBA awards the Most Improved Player of the Year award to the hooper that has shown the most progress during the regular season. Some of the best players in the league have received this honor in their early days. Jalen Rose, Kevin Love, Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas are some of the notable mentions on the list.
Over the past few years, there have been some big names that have been awarded the Most Improved Player honors. In today's article, we talk about five active players who have won the Most Improved Player award.
Five NBA Players to win the Most Improved Player of the Year award
#5 Julius Randle
Julius Randle won the Most Improved Player of the Year award in the 2020-21 season. His brilliant performance with the Knicks helped him become an All-Star for the first time in his career. Throughout the season, Randle showed great improvement. He worked on his three-point shooting, which helped him shoot the ball at 41.1% from beyond the arc in the 2020-21 season, as compared to the 27.7% he shot during the 2019-20 season.
Randle averaged 24.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 6.0 APG for the season, which was also his career-best. He was an integral part of the Knicks team that finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and ended a 10-year wait to get to the playoffs.
After impressing in the regular season, Randle had a disappointing first-round series against the Hawks. However, the 26 -year-old will be hoping to bounce back strong after that disappointment and help the Knicks to another great playoff run this year.
#4 Brandon Ingram
Brandon Ingram was announced as the Most Improved Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season. He averaged 23.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 4.2 APG that year and was a pivotal part of the New Orleans Pelicans team that had young stars like Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson.
During the 2019-20 season, Ingram was also announced as an All-Star for the first time in his career. He carried his form into next season and continued to play brilliantly well for the Pelicans. Ingram averaged 23.8 PPG and was also a massive help to Zion Williamson, who excelled as an All-Star during the 2020-21 season.
This season will be a big test for Ingram. The Pelicans will be entering the season without their point guard, Lonzo Ball. The responsibility of carrying the team forward now falls on the shoulders of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. The two of them will have to do something special this season if they want to lead the Pelicans into the playoffs.