A player receiving the Most Improved Player award is generally a sign that they’ve made massive strides in their game. There are a lot of players who make minor improvements from year to year but generally, MIP winners take that to another level.
For example, Julius Randle surprised many people by being able to bring the Knicks to the playoffs this season, while also upping his counting stats and improving his playmaking and shooting. Such improvement in a lot of areas got him the award, and for good reason.
Going into the 2021-22 season, there are certainly a lot of players who will look to improve upon last year, but only one player will end up getting MIP. Jamal Murray has recently made his choice for the award, which is his teammate, Michael Porter Jr. Murray then asked fans about who their pick was, and there was a variety of answers. Some particularly frequent answers included Warriors guard Jordan Poole, and Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr.
I got Mpj winning most improved this season..who y’all got?
— Jamal Murray (@BeMore27) October 6, 2021
There is no question that fanbases are passionate about their players, but a lot of the time, they have reason to be excited about a young player taking a leap. For example, Kevin Porter Jr. averaged 16.3 PPG and 6.3 APG last season after being traded from the Cavaliers and flashed his potential with a 50 point, 11 assist game against the Bucks. While one game doesn’t equate to massive improvement, it does seem like Porter Jr. has the ability to hit that extra gear.
Michael Porter Jr. may well win the award like Jamal Murray predicted, but he certainly has a fair amount of competitors. Porter Jr. isn’t exactly focused on that though, and he’s previously stated that winning a championship means more than any individual award to him. He’ll likely be in the conversation though, and without Jamal Murray for a while, he will likely see his usage increase.
It remains to be seen who will win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2021-22, but it seems as though fans already have a variety of candidates that they believe in. Hopefully, we see a bunch of players be able to make the jump and create a fun race for the award.
