The 2012-13 season has been Larry Sanders’ coming-out party and he could win the Most Improved Player award. (Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com)
The NBA is always in a state of flux. Players come in with a chip on their shoulder or simply work hard in the offseason and it sometimes pays off when their production suddenly skyrockets the following season.That’s what the NBA’s Most Improved Player is all about, rewarding those who have made the biggest jump.
A great many players have shown improvement over their previous years but here are five who have made the biggest jump.
Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers
The trade for Andrew Bynum didn’t work out for Philadelphia since he hasn’t played a single second in a 76ers jersey because of yet another knee injury.
It’s all made worse by the fact that they also gave up their previous star, Andre Iguodala as well, but that’s been great for Jrue Holiday so far.
The former UCLA Bruin has been the lone bright spark for the Philly faithful this season, as he taken his game to a whole another level. Holiday almost doubled 2011-12 assists average to 8.5 per game while increasing his scoring by 4.5 points to 18 a game.
The fourth year player’s crowning moment came when he was named as an Eastern Conference All-Star for the first time in his career back in February.
And some times he can do this to you.
Omer Asik, Houston Rockets
Omer Asik was a great asset for the Chicago Bulls coming off the bench last year and he played his way to a pretty nice three-year, $25 million contract with Houston. So far, he’s been worth every penny.
At 7’, Asik is a huge defensive presence and he’s the defensive anchor in the middle the Rockets longed for. Averaging a block a game and he’s more than doubled his rebounding average to a third-best in the NBA clip at 11.7.
The third-year Turk has tripled his points output from last season scoring a respectable 10.3 a game while increasing his field-goal percentage, too. His free-throw shooting has also improved slightly by 10 percent to a career-high 55 percent this season.
It’s not great but its progress nonetheless.
Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks
Larry Sanders has developed into one of the NBA’s most intimidating big men as he’s averaging 2.9 blocks per contest.
Not only that, the third-year center has trebled his rebounding stats to and is scoring nearly three times as much as he did last season with 9.9 points a game.
Despite his team being the 19th-best defensive unit, Sanders is one of the front runners for the Defensive Player of the Year.
All this in just 27.5 minutes of game time.
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
With Danny Granger struggling with a knee injury, the small-forward position (George’s natural spot) opened up and boy did George take advantage. So much so that I genuinely think Indiana is considering cashing in on Granger.
The 6’8” Fresno State product is a great athlete and his long arms are problematic for his matchups He’s recording 1.8 steals a game and is a key part of the second-best defensive unit in the NBA.
Offensively, George has been Indiana’s leading scorer this season with 17.5 ppg, a five-point improvement from last year, not to mention he’s second in assists with 4.1 and tied for second in rebounds at 7.7.
Oh, and he was a first-time All-Star as well.
James Harden, Houston Rockets
This season, James Harden didn’t just play his way into a first All-Star selection in his career. Nope, he aimed higher, way higher. At one point, the fourth-year shooting guard was in the MVP chatter. That is until a guy (LeBron James) in South Beach decided otherwise.
Harden has been making the Oklahoma City Thunder regret not giving him that max contract he so dearly coveted all of this season by playing his way right into superstardom.
His 25.9 points a contest is a phenomenal nine-point increase and has led the high-scoring Rockets offense to the top of the scoring charts with 106 points a game, as well as a playoff spot for the first time since 2009.
To top it all off, he’s still making plays for others as he did back in OKC, averaging six assists while rebounding decently well at 4.8 per game and playing increasing his pick-pocket rate to 1.8 a game.
Just crown the man already.
Honorable Mention :
Greivis Vasquez, New Orleans Hornets
Vasquez increased his assist numbers to a third NBA best 9.2 from 5.4 assists last year. He also increased scoring output by five points to 14.1 ppg.
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic
In his sophomore year, his numbers shot up to 12.7 ppg and 11.8 rpg (second in the league) from 5.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg in his first season.
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats
The 2010-11 NCAA champion improved his numbers to 17.4 ppg and two steals a night on 42 percent shooting after 12.1 ppg, 0.9 steals and 36 percent last season.