NBA Awards Watch: The All-Star Break ballot
By Brad Rowland
Most Improved Player
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls – While he hasn’t been a wire-to-wire leader in this category, Jimmy Butler is a mainstay in the top spot, and with good reason. Butler’s shooting numbers dropped considerably in January (41.7% FG, 32.1% 3-PT), and that worried some people, but his play has rebounded in February and if we are comparing this campaign to the 2013-2014 season, the results aren’t close. Butler has jumped nearly eight points (13.57 to 21.32) in PER while becoming a 20-point scorer, and he has been the best player on the Chicago Bulls this season. Who saw that coming?
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors – A movement has started that places Thompson within the elite class of NBA players, but even if I don’t agree, his ascent has been remarkable. The 25-year-old is posting career-bests in scoring (22.1 points per game), true shooting (59.9%) and assists (2.9 per game), and he has managed to improve his overall efficiency in the face of a steady rise in usage. On the other end of the floor, Thompson is solidly above-average, but the real transformation has come offensively in the way that he has been able to become a more versatile asset.
Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz – Quietly, Gordon Hayward has become a star in Utah. In his fifth season, Hayward is close to cracking the 20-5-5 threshold with 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and after a woefully inefficient season in 2013-2014, he is posting 46-39-81 shooting splits while being the primary offensive option. The Jazz have a long way to go, but the contract for Hayward now appears to be a bargain, and that is a quality building block for the future.
Next: 6th Man of the Year