Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies wins the Most Improved Player award

Yes Morant is the Most Improved Player of the 2021/22 season! As the NBA announced on Tuesday night, the Grizzlies star prevailed over Dejounte Murray and Darius Garland in the media representatives’ choice.

In his third year in the association, Morant made the leap to superstardom. In 57 appearances, the 22-year-old averaged 27.4 points (19.1 in the previous year), 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds with shooting odds of 49.3 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from downtown. In his young career he has never scored better.

Led by spectacle machine Morant, Memphis won 56 games, 18 more than last season (up 10 games), with just 26 losses, earning them second place in the Western Conference. For his excellent individual performances he was rewarded with his first participation in the All-Star Game and now with the MIP-Award.

Morant received a total of 38 first votes from the 100 eligible voters and prevailed with a total of 221 points ahead of Spurs guard Dejounte Murray (183, 20 first votes) and Cavs youngster Darius Garland (178, 11 first votes). Seven different players received a first vote, with Jordan Poole finishing fourth despite having the third most first votes.

“You could see the joy on their faces when they celebrated my success,” said Morant when asked about the presentation of the MIP trophy to his teammates. “It just shows what a team we are. Everyone’s happy for each other. That’s all that counts – my boys are proud of me.”