5 Candidates For Most Improved Player in 2016-17

Bojan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, Brooklyn Nets

Bojan Bogdanovic will be heading into his third NBA season in 2016-17, and it may be one to remember.

His stats through his first two years are indicative of a solid role player as his 10.1 points on 43 percent shooting from the field along with 38 percent from three and 83 percent from the line are numbers any team would love to have as a bench contribution.

But this season, Bogdanovic could end up looking more like a quality starter rather than a quality reserve.

Make no mistake, Bogdanovic wasn’t limited by a lack of minutes last year; he averaged 26.8 minutes per game as a starter for Brooklyn. What may have held him back, however, was an aging veteran with a propensity for taking a lot of shots.

Joe Johnson averaged 10.7 shot attempts per game last season, and once he was shipped off to the Miami Heat, that opened up some more opportunities.

Before Johnson was traded in late February, Bogdanovic had double-digit shot attempts in just 16 of his 57 games played. In the 22 games he played after Johnson was traded, he had 18 games with double-digit attempts.

It’s no surprise that led to an increase in scoring as well, as he averaged under 10 points per game before Johnson was sent to Miami, compared to 15 points per game after.

A full season without Joe Johnson on the roster could do wonders for Bogdanovic.

And when you factor in that he’ll likely be more comfortable in his third year in the league and he’ll have a more competent point guard with Jeremy Lin on board, a breakout year could be in store for the Croatian sharpshooter.

Next: No. 4