Tyrese Maxey holds of Coby White, Alperen Sengun to win Most Improved Player

In addition to making his first career All-Star appearance this season, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey has been named the 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Improved Player of the Year.

Maxey is the second player in franchise history to earn the award, joining guard Dana Barros -- who accomplished the feat in 1995.

Here is the voting breakdown, as provided by the official league news and information page of the NBA on X (formerly known as Twitter):

Tyrese Maxey holds off Coby White and Alperen Sengun to win the 2023-24 NBA Most Improved Player Award

The Sixers floor general narrowly beat out Chicago Bulls combo guard Coby White, receiving 51 first-place votes and 319 points based on ballot results, while the latter was not too far behind in second place after tallying a cumulative poll score of 305. Houston Rockets versatile big man was a distant third among the finalists, totaling 92 points.

There was no wrong answer here -- all three players demonstrated considerable signs of improvement from the year prior throughout this past regular season. But Maxey separated himself from the pack by ascending to All-Star status, which the Sixers desperately needed after they traded disgruntled former league MVP James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers in October, making his emergence even more eye-opening.

Maxey averaged career-highs in points (25.9), assists (6.2), rebounds (3.7), and steals (1.0) across 70 games with .450/.373/.868 shooting splits, serving as the co-star for the 76ers alongside reigning MVP Joel Embiid, playing a critical role in the team finishing with a 47-35 record and reaching the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

Currently in the final year of his rookie contract, Maxey will be eligible to earn a five-year deal upwards of $200 million should he make an All-NBA team. But Philly has reportedly been "preparing" for the massive payday for quite some time.