most improved player

Pelicans.com

The National Basketball Association announced today that Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram is the recipient of the 2019-20 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award.

“I want to congratulate Brandon on winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award,” said Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson. “I am so proud of Brandon’s personal achievements this season and am glad to see him rewarded for all of his hard work and dedication. It has been a truly memorable year watching him excel on and off the court.”

“This award recognizes the countless extra hours Brandon spent in the gym this season as well as the diligence and commitment he puts into the game every day, both mentally and physically,” said Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin. “I could not be more excited for him and his family to receive this well-deserved honor.”

Ingram, 6-9, 190, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers last July, finished the season averaging career-highs in multiple categories, including points (23.8), rebounds (6.1), assists (4.2) and steals (0.9). Entering the season, Ingram held career averages of 13.9 points, 2.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 0.6 steals. The Duke University product also saw a major improvement in both three-point shooting as well as at the free throw line. Entering the season a career .329 shooter from beyond the arc on 0.7 makes and 2.0 attempts, Ingram shot .391 from three-point range on the season, increasing both his makes (2.4) and attempts (6.2) per contest. At the free throw line, Ingram entered the season with a career .662 shooting percentage, including a .675 shooting percentage last season, and increased his mark to .851 from the charity stripe in 2019-20. The improvement at the free throw line is the third largest year-over-year in NBA history (min. 250 FTA).

Prior to the NBA restart, Ingram was one of just seven players in the NBA to average at least 24.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.0 SPG, and was the only player to average at least 24.0 PPG while shooting better than .465 FG%, .385 3FG% and .855 FT% (min. 25 games). Ingram produced 17 games with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists after recording seven such performances in his first three seasons. He also had 11 30-point games, including two 40-point games, after registering four career 30-point games prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Furthermore, Ingram became just the second player in NBA history to increase their total points by over 400, total rebounds by over 80, total assists by over 85, and total steals by over 25 from the previous season, while playing in less than five additional games and averaging less than .5 minutes more per contest, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo.

At 22 years old, Ingram, who was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game this season, became the second player his age or younger to average at least 23.5 PPG while shooting over .450 FG%, .390 3FG% and .850 FT%, joining Kevin Durant. He became just the fifth player in NBA history age 22 or younger to average at least 23.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.0 APG and 0.9 SPG, joining Tracy McGrady (twice), LeBron James (twice), Luka Dončić and Michael Jordan.

A Kinston, North Carolina native, Ingram is the first player in New Orleans franchise history to be named Most Improved Player, and just the third individual in franchise history to win one of the NBA’s annual performance awards, joining Chris Paul (Rookie of the Year – 2005-06) and Byron Scott (Coach of the Year – 2007-08).

Most Improved Player voting from a panel of national and international sportswriters and broadcasters was based on games played from the start of the regular season through March 11 and did not include “seeding games,” which took place July 30 – Aug. 14 for the 22 teams participating in the season restart.

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Brandon Ingram named NBA Most Improved Player

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Brandon Ingram named Most Improved Player of the Year

brandon-ingram-named-most-improved-player-of-the-year

Jim Eichenhofer

During the first week of his third NBA season, just about the only thing that could slow down Anthony Davis weighs less than a pound – a referee’s whistle. Aside from a modest 14-point, eight-rebound outing at Memphis in which he was plagued by foul trouble, the 21-year-old was dominant in games vs. Orlando, Dallas and Charlotte.

Davis’ week-long excellence began with a 26-point, 17-rebound, nine-block performance in a win over Magic and concluded with a 24-point, 13-rebound, three-block showing to help beat the Hornets. In between, the 2014 All-Star power forward posted 31 points, 15 boards and three rejections against the Mavericks.

Add it all up, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ standout enters Thursday’s light NBA schedule ranked No. 1 in rebounding average (13.3), No. 2 in blocks average (4.00) and tied for ninth with LeBron James in scoring average (23.8). He is third in player efficiency rating (34.06), marking him as a uniquely versatile player who flourishes in a wide range of categories.

“He’s tall enough, long enough, athletic enough, skilled enough to do pretty much anything,” Memphis point guard Mike Conley said. “There are only a handful of guys who can do that in this league.”

“You have to keep a body on him on the boards to keep his rebound numbers reasonable,” said Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle, whose team watched Davis grab six offensive boards. “You have to know where he is when you drive, because a lot of times he’ll cover ground and block shots, and people won’t see him. So you have to have a high level of awareness of where he is. Offensively, he’s getting better and better every year, shooting the ball from the outside, post-up game, drive game. It’s a constant challenge dealing with him.”

Indeed, one of the most impressive aspects of Davis averaging 27.0 points in the non-foul-trouble games was the versatility of his offense. While he feasted on his usual assortment of close-range scores – he’s second in the league in total dunks, with 16, according to CBSSports.com – he also showed continued improvement on his jumper. Eleven of his made field goals were on shots beyond 15 feet from the hoop, in 24 attempts (45.8 percent accuracy), a significant chunk of his 35 total baskets. Facing Charlotte on Tuesday, Davis helped turn a one-point halftime deficit into a double-figure advantage for New Orleans by draining four straight deep two-point jumpers, part of his 16-point second half.

Although unfavorable whistles and the formidable Memphis big-man duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol prevented Davis from continuing on an unprecedented statistical pace Monday, through two prior games Davis had placed himself in some elite company. He became just the fourth player in NBA history to record 50-plus points, 30-plus rebounds and 10-plus blocks in the first two games of a season (joining Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Bob McAdoo). He’s the only player in New Orleans franchise history to register a 26-17-9 line, with the nine blocks in a single game also representing a team record.

“Anthony Davis’ first two games (28.5 points, 16.0 rebounds, 6.0 blocks) offered a glimpse at what the 21-year-old power forward has in store this season,” SI.com writer Matt Dollinger assessed.

If there were any doubts that Davis would build on his first All-Star season of 2013-14, followed by a banner offseason spent winning a FIBA World Cup gold medal with Team USA, it took less than a week for those to be erased. After finishing third in the Most Improved Player vote last season, Davis already appears to have taken another leap in his development.

“Anthony Davis’ eye-popping Week 1 numbers let you know what he thinks about our fears he’s been overhyped,” ESPN.com’s Marc Stein wrote.

“That’s AD,” New Orleans point guard Jrue Holiday said. “He gets better and better.”

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Pelicans' Anthony Davis delivers historic opening week

9: Anthony Davis’ number of games of 30-plus points in 2013-14

As a rookie in 2012-13, Anthony Davis’ top scoring game was a 28-point outing at Milwaukee. During his second season – which ended with him finishing third in the NBA’s Most Improved Player vote – Davis exceeded that single-game output 12 different times, including nine games of 30 points or more.

The All-Star power forward registered 32 points on Nov. 8 against the Lakers, but his next 30-point game didn’t come until Jan. 18 vs. Golden State. Between Jan. 28 and March 22, he went on to accomplish the feat seven more times, highlighted by a 40-point eruption against Boston on March 16.

Nine is also the total number of combined times another player on the New Orleans roster has tallied 30 or more points in a game over the past two seasons. Ryan Anderson has done it five times since 2012-13, while Tyreke Evans has two of those performances. Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon each have one 30-point game during that timeframe.

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Countdown to Pelicans training camp: 9 days

Partly behind one of the league’s biggest scoring increases from last season to 2013-14, New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis vaulted his name into the running for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. He didn’t quite win it, but when the NBA announced final voting results Wednesday, the All-Star power forward finished third overall, behind only Phoenix guard Goran Dragic and Indiana guard Lance Stephenson.

Dragic won by a relatively comfortable margin, earning 65 of 126 first-place votes. Dragic netted 408 total points, doubling the overall scores of both Stephenson (158 points) and Davis (155 points).

After Dragic’s 65 first-place votes, Davis and Phoenix guard Gerald Green earned the next-most No. 1 spot votes, at 16 apiece. Earlier in the week, Davis finished in the top 10 of another NBA season-ending award race, taking eighth place in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

The 6-foot-10 power forward upped his scoring average by 7.3 points, going from 13.5 as a rookie to a team-leading 20.8 in 2013-14. His rebounding average went from 8.2 to 10.0, while his blocks per game zoomed from 1.8 to an NBA-leading 2.8. Davis also improved his foul shooting, from 75.1 to 79.1 percent, one of the best rates among NBA power forwards.

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Anthony Davis third in Most Improved Player balloting

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