Yesterday, the NBA released the finalists for each of the season’s player awards.
Missing from the Most Improved Player category was Jordan Poole, who made some pretty significant leaps from a season ago.
Just hours before the finalists were announced, Draymond Green went on a long and semi-heated rant about the voting process.
“If Jordan Poole isn’t the Most Improved Player, then the NBA really needs to relook at their process. Because you cannot find a guy on that list that has made a bigger improvement,” Green said. “I don’t care. If he’s not the Most Improved Player, then let’s rename the award to … who we like the most, who we see as more electrifying, to who we see may have a bigger impact on our team.”
“That’s not the name of the award, that’s actually the Most Valuable Player, and so if we’re talking about the Most Improved Player, and if the award was voted on based upon its name, then it’s a no-brainer who’s the Most Improved Player. I just fear these awards sometimes aren’t voted on in junction with the name. That’s the issue. That’s probably why Jordan lost Most Improved Player.”
He even said he would start a petition to rename the awards if Poole didn’t get the award.
“If you’re talking contracts, Jordan Poole is playing himself into that as well, right? He was the 28th pick, not playing and was in the G-League a year or two to date almost. So if we’re going off the name of the award, it’s Jordan Poole. If it’s not Jordan Poole, I’m starting a petition on Change.org to rename these awards. It’s just not accurate.”
Draymond Green preemptively said he will start a petition on https://t.co/VhIZInXO9W to change the name of the 'Most Improved Player' award if Jordan Poole isn't selected. Draymond's explanation pic.twitter.com/cEhHj8SdWf
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) April 17, 2022
It remains to be seen if Green will actually start writing up these petitions, but it is true that the voting process has ever been consistent.
Year after year, voters prioritize different things and the interpretation of many of these regular-season awards has changed over time.
While Darius Garland, Ja Morant, and Dejounte Murray have certainly earned consideration for Most IMproved, it is criminal that Poole didn’t even make the final cut.
Maybe next year, we’ll have a clearer explanation of what winning the Most Improved Player award actually means.
