The league announced its winner for Most Improved Player of the Year on Monday. Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen came away with the trophy.
If you’ve been keeping track of the award, this was likely going to be the case. Markkanen had the best season of his career with the Jazz including his first All-Star nod.
Markannen averaged a career-high 25.6 points on 49.9% shooting and 8.6 rebounds in 66 games.
Other finalists included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished No. 2 in voting with 289 total voting points. Overall, he finished with 24 first-place votes, 54 second-place votes and seven third-place votes.
In 68 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 points on 51% shooting, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. He made his first All-Star game this season and will likely be named to an All-NBA team.
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