Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Awards Watch: Full Midseason Awards

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 5, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) is defended by Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) is defended by Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next
NBA
Oct 28, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) reacts after making a three point basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Improved Player of the Year: C.J. McCollum

Honorable Mentions: Draymond Green, Andre Drummond

Statistically, there’s really only one correct answer here, and his name is C.J. McCollum. While Andre Drummond’s meteoric rise to All-Star caliber play has been a beauty to behold with Stan Van Gundy’s revamped roster, and while Draymond Green is only now getting the kind of league-wide respect he deserved last year, McCollum has clearly shown the greatest leap in play compared to last year:

  • McCollum 2014-15 stats: 6.8 PPG, 1.0 APG, 1.5 RPG, 0.7 SPG, .436/.396/.699 shooting splits, 13.1 PER
  • McCollum 2015-16 stats: 20.4 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 SPG, .432/.387/.795 shooting splits, 17.6 PER
  • Drummond 2014-15 stats: 13.8 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 0.9 SPG, .514/—/.389 shooting splits, 21.4 PER
  • Drummond 2015-16 stats: 17.8 PPG, 15.5 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 1.8 SPG, .521/—/.356 shooting splits, 22.8 PER
  • Green 2014-15 stats: 11.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.3 BPG, .443/.337/.660 shooting splits, 16.4 PER
  • Green 2015-16 stats: 14.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.4 BPG, .467/.421/.682 shooting splits, 20.1 PER

Just by looking at the numbers, it quickly becomes clear that McCollum is the best example of rising from NBA obscurity to relevance. You could argue that Green’s improvement into a borderline top-10 player in this league has been more impressive, but Drummond is basically out because he was a double-double animal last season too.

No one really knows what the merits for the Most Improved Player of the Year Award are, since it’s one of the vaguest awards the league gives out, but I’d say McCollum’s out-of-nowhere ascension best fits the category — even if he was the only one of the three to be promoted from a bench role into the starting unit.

Next: Defensive Player Of The Year