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NBA Awards: 4 Ways To Fix The System

By Josh Cornelissen

Feb 14, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, and LeBron James pose for a picture after the NBA All Star Game at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, and LeBron James pose for a picture after the NBA All Star Game at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 3, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket as Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) defends during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket as Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) defends during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Improved — What Are We Voting For?

With the NBA’s year-end awards there will always be a level of ambiguity. How does one define “most valuable” — is it the player whose team could least afford to lose him or the player who has seen the most success?

Is the Defensive Player of the Year the best defender on the league’s best defense or the player with the most blocks and steals?

Even amid the uncertainty, the Most Improved Player award is directionless and confusing and needs to be addressed.

Each season the league’s media struggles to make a selection based on unknown criteria and the player chosen often has to express joy in an award that they have little reason to care about.

There are three main categories of players who are considered for this award. The first are players who saw success, then in recent seasons due to injury or poor play did not hit those same levels but this year returned to that previous success.

Jimmy Butler or Nick Young are among this season’s candidates who followed that track.

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    • The second category are players who see a large increase in their playing time, and respond with similar per-minute numbers that result in larger overall stat totals.

    This would be a player such as C.J. McCollum last season.

    The final category belongs to the players who truly improved – young or old, these players saw an uptick in both per-minute and total statistics.

    While this often is affected by opportunity — Harrison Barnes, for example — it shows a player who has added to his game and seen on-court success as a result.

    The simplest solution is to create two separate awards. The first would be “Comeback Player of the Year” and exist for players in the first category.

    The world loves a good comeback story and it give clarity to the voting process.

    This would allow the “Most Improved Player” award to focus on the second two categories, and ideally showcase those in category three who have played better than ever before.

    Karl-Anthony Towns, Harrison Barnes, and especially Giannis Antetokounmpo would be among the leaders for that track this season.

    The NBA doesn’t lose anything by adding an award, and it gains clarity and more discussion. This should be a simple move that allows both media and fans to understand the award process just that much more clearly.