OKC Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 6th in Most Improved voting
The NBA Most Improved Player honors go to Brandon Ingram but OKC Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got some love from the pundits.
As the NBA playoffs progress, this season’s awards are being handed out. This week’s honor goes to Brandon Ingram for the Most Improved Player. Fans knew the three finalists were Ingram, Bam Adebayo, and Luka Doncic. OKC Thunder sophomore Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished sixth in the voting.
As expected it was an extremely close race and came down to four extra first-place votes for Ingram. Doncic omission from Most Valuable Player is likely why he found himself in the mix although he finished third in the voting.
Ingram was my top choice for most of the season, however, I wonder if the votes would’ve changed had the bubble games counted.
The media listed their first, second, and third place MIP players with each receiving five points, three points, and one point respectively.
All three finalists received double-figure first-place votes while five others also collected at least one first-place. Devonte’ Graham, Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam, Christian Wood, and Fred VanVleet were the five with votes in this top tier.
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OKC Thunder cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sixth in votes
Shai’s received five second-place votes and six third-place votes for a total of 21 points landing him sixth overall.
The Canadian is in good company sandwiched between Graham and Siakam. His improvement this season was significant.
He nearly doubled his points per game leading the OKC Thunder in scoring and made a significant leap in rebounding. The most impressive part of his season was he played off the ball much more with Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder who occupied more of the typical point guard ball-handling duties.
SGA turned 22 while in the Orlando bubble and these votes should serve as a reminder he’s got the industry and media actively paying attention to his game.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/1/2020.
Typically players who win Most Improved have three seasons under their belts but there were a number of great sophomore performances this season including SGA, Doncic, Graham, and Trae Young all in the top 15.
Also of note, there were several All-Stars on the list which makes the assessment that Gilgeous-Alexander could ascend to that status conceivable.
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As per Howard Beck’s tweet, the top 15 vote recipients and tallies were:
- Brandon Ingram – Pelicans
- Bam Adebayo – Heat
- Luka Doncic – Mavericks
- Jayson Tatum – Celtics
- Devonte’ Graham – Hornets
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – OKC Thunder
- Pascal Siakam – Raptors
- Christian Wood – Pistons
- Trae Young – Hawks
- Fred VanVleet – Raptors
- Davis Bertans – Wizards
- Jaylen Brown – Celtics
- Markelle Fultz – Magic
- Spencer Dinwiddie – Nets
- Duncan Robinson – Heat
As for the honoree, while New Orleans began the season with talk of Zion Williamson it was Ingram who kept the Pelicans in the mix and was showcasing spectacular growth.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | LAL | 79 | 28.8 | 8.7 | .402 | 2.4 | .294 | 6.3 | .443 | .442 | 2.7 | .621 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 9.4 |
| 2017-18 | LAL | 59 | 33.5 | 12.9 | .470 | 1.8 | .390 | 11.1 | .483 | .497 | 4.8 | .681 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 16.1 |
| 2018-19 | LAL | 52 | 33.8 | 14.0 | .497 | 1.8 | .330 | 12.2 | .521 | .518 | 5.6 | .675 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 18.3 |
| 2019-20 | NOP | 62 | 33.9 | 17.7 | .463 | 6.2 | .391 | 11.5 | .501 | .531 | 5.9 | .851 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 23.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/1/2020.
Ingram’s statistic s perhaps didn’t take as large of a leap as some other candidates, but he did this while learning a new system and being the primary scorer for the Pels. His shooting splits particularly from the perimeter and the free-throw line showed impressive growth plus he upped his rebounds and assists.
Ingram is a restricted free agent this offseason which is something the Pelicans should’ve dealt with prior and may regret their choice to wait now.
Moving forward, if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander takes another leap next season he could once again be in the mix and other OKC Thunder players I could see taking a leap is both rookies Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley who both factored largely in the clutch time Game 6 victory to force a Game 7 on Wednesday.
The Sixth Man award should be the next individual award announced with Dennis Schroder a finalist facing Clippers Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams.
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