NBA Award Watch: Wade, Kanter and Durant make first appearances

Most Improved Player

The reason the New York Knicks shipped Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder was to not only let Anthony get what he wants, but also to start a new era in New York.

Kristaps Porzingis is a young player, but he’s a superstar in the making and is now the face of the New York Knicks.

Porzingis averaged 18.1 points on 45 percent shooting and 36 percent shooting from three-point range last season. In 2017-18, Porzingis is scoring 25.8 points on 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.

A huge leap in scoring for Porzingis along with the improved play of the Knicks compared to the last season should be the two huge factors why Porzingis should win the award.

Knicks have won 11 games already, while they only won 31 last season. They’re on pace to surpass that, with the Latvian star being a huge reason why.