Ja Morant is recognized as the NBA’s Most Improved Player

Ja Morant was chosen as the Most Improved Player in the NBA, totaling 221 points in the votes of a panel of sportswriters from the United States and Canada. The point guard of the Memphis Grizzlies beat Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs (183) and Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers (178).

The Murray State alum has put a different face on the Grizzlies, who drafted him in the 2019 Draft with the second overall pick: in 2021 they qualified for their first playoffs since 2017 and this season they got their first Southwest Division titlefinishing with a record of 56 wins and only 26 losses, after finishing in 2020-21 with 38-34 for eighth place in the West (they advanced via play-in) and lost to the Utah Jazz (4-1 ) in the first round.

As far as his individual production is concerned, Morant finished with averages of 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.which represents a considerable increase between the previous season and the current one: 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists (this figure decreased a little), but his ability to move the ball and distribute the game is not in doubt.

In addition, he has proven to be an element of power when it comes to scoring: he closed the regular phase with a 49.3 percent effectiveness rate from the field, 34.4 percent from the triple line and 76.1 percent from free throws, which they also mean an improvement with respect to their percentages in the 2020-2021 season (44.9 percent shooting from the field, 30.3 percent from the perimeter and 72.8 percent from the free throw line).

Gives her trophy to Desmond Bane

After being decorated as the Most Improved Player, Morant posted on his social networks that he passed his trophy to his partner Desmond Banewho has been a mainstay for the Grizzlies in these playoffs.

“I left you the prize in the kitchen brother. You definitely deserve it.”, posted the point guard in a story on Instagram. In these playoffs, Bane is averaging 23.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists, while Morant has averages of 20.5, 7.8 and 10.8 in the same statistical categories.

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