Hoops Habit
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2016-17 NBA Awards Season: Top 5 Fringe MVP Candidates

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 8, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives in against Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives in against Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 5, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) celebrates a fourth quarter three pointer against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Celtics 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Isaiah Thomas

Last season with the Boston Celtics, Isaiah Thomas was an entertaining performer, but he was also an inefficient gunner, with his career-high 22.2 points per game on middling .428/.359/.871 shooting splits.

This season, IT made the leap to superstardom as an efficient scorer, posting a career-high 28.9 points per game on .463/.379/.909 shooting — all while remaining one of the most entertaining performers on a night-to-night basis of any Boston sports team.

Seeing as how these Celtics earned the No. 1 seed in the East, IT’s massive contributions to an offense that was a whopping 14.6 points per 100 possessions worse this season without him on the floor.

That’s no small feat considering Boston ranked eighth in offensive rating this season, en route to the league’s fourth-best record. His transformation from “fun” to “legitimately dangerous” was one of the NBA’s best story lines this season, but his defense and the potency of the next guy on the list place him just on the outside of the top spot.