The 2020-21 NBA ‘Season Just Started’ Awards
TNSJS Most Improved Player: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Also receiving votes: Julius Randle, Keldon Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Collin Sexton, Tobias Harris
Yeah, this one shouldn’t be particularly close in my opinion. That’s not to insult very worthy candidates in the inefficient turnover-machine-turned-creative-playmaker Julius Randle, the human wrecking ball Keldon Johnson or even NBA Twitter’s favorite long-armed assassin Mikal Bridges. Jaylen Brown has simply been that good.
Last year, he was at times properly criticized for his lackadaisical off-ball defense and for his suboptimal self-creation skills. This year, he’s been nothing short of spectacular making difficult shots in all manners and methods. If he continues on his current pace, his ridiculous efficiency on his 26 points per game volume would place him in historically elite company.
The full list of players to average over 25 points per game and over 60 eFG% for a season via @Stathead :
— Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger) January 10, 2021
1987 Kevin McHale
1988 and 1990 Charles Barkley
2013 and 2014 LeBron James
2016, 2018 and 2019 Stephen Curry
2021 Jaylen Brown
Once relegated to a straight-line driver and corner 3 marksmen, Brown has busted out several combinations of crossovers, hesitations and even a “Smitty” during Boston’s bout vs Detroit the other week. There are plenty of worthy candidates, but Brown is in a league of his own when it comes to the MIP race two weeks in.
Previous years TNSJS winners (2016-2019): Harrison Barnes, Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, Jayson Tatum