NEW YORK, May 1 -- Gilbert Arenas of the Golden State Warriors was named the winner of the 2002-03 NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons.

NBA TV on Arenas: 56k | 300k Complete news conference: Play

Arenas is the first Golden State Warrior to be honored with the Most Improved Player Award since it was presented following the 1985-86 season. In addition to Arenas, three other Warriors received votes this year, including Troy Murphy, who finished third in voting, Earl Boykins and Antawn Jamison.

Arenas is one of four Warriors to get Most Improved votes. Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

In only his second NBA season, Arenas was one of only eight players in the NBA who averaged at least 18.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds. He improved his scoring average from last season by 7.4 points per game (10.9 to 18.3), his assists average by 2.6 assists per game (3.7 to 6.3), his rebounding average by 1.9 rebounds per game (2.8 to 4.7) and minutes played by 10.5 minutes per game (24.5 to 35.0).

He started all 82 games for Golden State, leading the Warriors in scoring in 28 games, in assists 55 times and in steals 36 times. He also led the team in assists (6.3) and steals (1.51), while finishing second in minutes played.

Under first-year head coach Eric Musselman, the 2002-03 Warriors posted the biggest turnaround in the NBA this season, improving to a 38-44 overall mark, the team’s best record since the 1993-94 (50-32) season and a 17-win improvement from last year’s 21-61 record.

Arenas received a total of 288 points, including 41 first-place votes, from a panel of 118 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Utah’s Matt Harpring finished second with 234 points (29 first-place votes) and Murphy was third with 144 points (18 first-place votes. 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.

A second round selection in the 2001 NBA Draft (31st overall pick), Arenas turned in 11 double-double performances this season and became the first Warrior to get 15 assists (Nov. 11 vs. Memphis) in a single game since Mookie Blaylock dished out 16 against New York in 2001. He also posted a career-high 41 points versus Washington on March 23.

Attached are the voting results for this year’s NBA Most Improved Player Award and the all-time list of winners.

2002-03 NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD VOTING RESULTS

Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Gilbert Arenas, Golden State	41	24	11	288
Matt Harpring, Utah	29	24	17	234
Troy Murphy, Golden State	18	13	15	144
Tony Parker, San Antonio	14	19	16	143
Ricky Davis, Cleveland	2	10	3	43
Chauncey Billups, Detroit	3	6	9	42
Jason Williams, Memphis	3	6	7	40
Richard Jefferson, New Jersey	2	2	7	23
Troy Hudson, Minnesota	1	2	3	14
Corey Maggette, LA Clippers	0	2	6	12
Bobby Jackson, Sacramento	0	3	2	11
Michael Redd, Milwaukee	1	1	1	9
Ron Artest, Indiana	1	0	2	7
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas	1	0	0	5
Andrei Kirilenko, Utah	1	0	0	5
Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana	1	0	0	5
Stephon Marbury, Phoenix	0	1	2	5
Stephen Jackson, San Antonio	0	0	4	4
Tracy McGrady, Orlando	0	1	1	4
Brad Miller, Indiana	0	1	1	4
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota	0	1	0	3
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland	0	1	0	3
Brent Barry, Seattle	0	1	0	3
Eric Snow, Philadelphia	0	0	3	3
Earl Boykins, Golden State	0	0	2	2
Steve Nash, Dallas	0	0	1	1
Antawn Jamison, Golden State	0	0	1	1
Radoslav Nesterovic, Minnesota	0	0	1	1
Anfernee Hardaway, Phoenix	0	0	1	1
Stromile Swift, Memphis	0	0	1	1
Dion Glover, Atlanta	0	0	1	1

ALL-TIME NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD WINNERS

1985-86 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio
1986-87 Dale Ellis, Seattle
1987-88 Kevin Duckworth, Portland
1988-89 Kevin Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 Rony Seikaly, Miami
1990-91 Scott Skiles, Orlando
1991-92 Pervis Ellison, Washington
1992-93 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver
1993-94 Don MacLean, Washington
1994-95 Dana Barros, Philadelphia
1995-96 Gheorghe Muresan, Washington
1996-97 Isaac Austin, Miami
1997-98 Alan Henderson, Atlanta
1998-99 Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 Jalen Rose, Indiana
2000-01 Tracy McGrady, Orlando
2001-02 Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
2002-03 Gilbert Arenas, Golden State