Wolves' Love wins Kia Most Improved Player Award

NEW YORK -- Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves is the winner of the 2010-11 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.

Love received 400 of a possible 580 points, including 66 first-place votes, from a panel of 116 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers (157 points, 11 first-place votes) and Dorell Wright of the Golden State Warriors (124 points, 16 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.

Love, who earned his first All-Star berth in 2010-11, set career highs in most categories, including points (20.2 ppg), rebounds (league-leading 15.2 rpg), assists (2.5 apg), double-doubles (64) field goal percentage (.470), three-point field goal percentage (.417) and free throw percentage (.850). Love started all 73 games in which he appeared after starting 22 of 60 during the 2009-10 campaign, and increased his points per game by 44 percent and his rebounds per game by 38 percent. He became the first player to average at least 20 points and 15 rebounds since Moses Malone (24.5 ppg, 15.3 rpg) in 1982-83. Love recorded a club-record 53 consecutive double-doubles, the longest streak in the NBA since Elvin Hayes ran off 55 in 1973-74.

As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV to The Dylan Witschen Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate and honor the life of Dylan and support his dreams and maintain his legacy by providing scholarships to college bound students and raising funds in support of St. Jude's cancer research efforts.

Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of four 2010-11 season-end award winners as part of the "The Kia NBA Performance Awards." Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 16 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA's prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.

The 2010-11 Most Improved Player Award presented by Kia Motors is part of a series of on-court performance awards called "The Kia NBA Performance Awards." The series, currently in its fourth season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Most Improved Player, Defensive Player, Sixth Man and Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards. It also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the "The Kia NBA Performance Awards" visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.

Attached are the 2010-11 voting results and the all-time Kia NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award winners: