Ja Morant exploded this season, the Memphis Grizzlies star took the next step along with his team, establishing himself as a bonafide superstar in the NBA. Morant’s numbers went up across the boards, with a notable increase in his scoring, in particular, averaging 8.3 points per game more than he did last season.
His stellar performances have earned him some shouts for the MVP across the season, although the competition for that award is incredibly intense, and Morant missed almost 25 games. So with that award likely out of his sights, there have been suggestions that he could be in the running for the Most Improved Player award instead.
However, considering that he’s always shown signs of being an elite player and that the award usually isn’t given to superstar players, there is a case to be made that there are other players who should be candidates for it instead. Draymond Green spoke about that facet of the game, explaining to Clutch Points why he believes his teammate Jordan Poole should get the honor instead.
“Ja Morant isn’t a Most Improved Player candidate. Ja Morant was incredible last year. So when you look around, the most improvement has been Jordan Poole.
“The award is called the Most Improved, not who had the best year. That’s the MVP award actually, and I think a lot of times we get confused when talking about the Most Improved Award or who in that group is having the best year, but no disrespect to Ja Morant, but Ja Morant is an MVP candidate.”
Jordan Poole established himself as a key scoring threat for the Golden State Warriors this season, thriving with increased opportunity being handed to him, and he is a serious candidate to be named the MIP. For Ja, his aims will be greater than bagging the MIP as well, the Grizzlies are entering the postseason as the 2nd seed, and a deep playoff run will do more for Morant than winning any award would, something he has spoken about as well.
