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NBA Awards 2013: Paul George Likely to be Named NBA’s Most Improved Player

By John Adair

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Apr 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) advances the ball during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 90-80. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) advances the ball during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 90-80. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

The Indiana Pacers will hold a press conference on Tuesday, likely to announce that Paul George has been named the NBA’s Most Improved Player.

The 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft from Fresno State was always viewed as a player with tons of upside on the defensive end, but nobody expected the leaps and bounds he grew offensively from a year ago.

Last season George averaged 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. This year? An impressive 17.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.

In a year the Pacers had the built-in excuse of the absence of Danny Granger due to injury, Paul George emerged as the leader of a young, talented, Pacers team.

His defensive ability and effort has always been a given, but his all-around offensive play was an pleasant surprise. Not only did George makes improvements in scoring and rebounding, his assist numbers also jumped from 2.4 to 4.1.

Paul George has been the front-runner for this award for the majority of the season. He made his first All-Star appearance in 2013, and led the Pacers to the third seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

In Game 1 of the Pacers series with the Atlanta Hawks, George notched a triple-double and made more free-throws than the entire Hawks team attempted.

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