2022-23 NBA Awards Media Poll: Most Improved Player
Over the last few weeks, the NBA awards have been a hot topic of discussion around the NBA world.
The three finalists for each award were announced on Friday, April 14, but Fastbreak on FanNation has collected data from NBA media members around the country covering both the league at-large and individual teams.
These media members were asked to vote on their Top-3 for Most Improved Player this season with the voting process working as follows:
- 5 points for every first-place vote
- 3 points for every second-place vote
- 1 points for every third-place vote
Below are the results from the voting that took place for the 2022-23 NBA Most Improved Player award at the conclusion of the regular season:
Official results from Fastbreak on FanNation’s NBA Media Awards Polling 2022-23 - MIP
Media Members Pick To Win 2022-23 NBA Most Improved Player:
Lauri Markkanen - Utah Jazz
Going from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Utah Jazz this past offseason in the deal that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland, not many gave much attention to Lauri Markkanen and the Jazz. Well, that narrative has surely changed, as Markkanen had a sensational first season in Utah and became an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Receiving 15 of the 20 first-place votes for Most Improved Player and accumulating 88 out of 100 total points, Markkanen was the clear-cut favorite for this award in the polling seen above and rightfully so.
Playing in 66 games this season with the Jazz, Markkanen averaged a career-high 25.6 points, a career-high 8.6 rebounds and a career-high 1.9 assists per game while shooting a career-best 49.9 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from three-point range, making a career-best 200 three-pointers.
Markkanen also recorded a career-best 28 double-doubles this season, which ranked tied for 21st in the league this year. He also ranked 12th in the NBA in scoring this season.
The jump Lauri Markkanen made in his sixth NBA season was truly remarkable, as Markkanen increased his scoring average by 73 percent compared to the 2021-22 season, his rebounding average by 50.9 percent and his shooting percentage by 5.4 percent.
Coming in behind Markkanen in the voting was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he received five first-place votes and 11 second-place votes. Jalen Brunson from the New York Knicks finished third in the voting with three second-place votes and seven third-place votes.
The Thunder were picked to finish in last-place by many at the start of the season, but that did not matter to Gilgeous-Alexander, as he single-handedly led Oklahoman City, one of the youngest teams in the NBA, to the Western Conference Play-In Tournament and one win from being in the playoffs.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a career-high 31.4 points per game this season, finishing fourth in the league in scoring, and like Markkanen, he made his first All-Star appearance this season.
As for Brunson, he helped lead the Knicks back to the playoffs and while he was not an All-Star this year, he should have been. The 26-year-old guard averaged a career-best 24.0 points per game during the regular season and he shot a very efficient 49.1 percent from the floor, 41.6 percent from three-point range.
Nicolas Claxton and Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, as well as De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings were the only other players to receive multiple votes for this season’s Most Improved Player award.
Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies, Tyrese Haliburton from the Indiana Pacers and Austin Reaves from the Los Angeles Lakers each received a single third-place vote.
