Ja Morant wins Most Improved Player Award for first time

The NBA revealed Monday that superstar guard Ja Morant had won the Most Improved Player Award for the first time in Grizzlies history, and he presented it to teammate Desmond Bane, who finished fifth in the voting.

Bane, a native of Richmond, was a dominant force at Seton Catholic. After playing for TCU, he was picked 30th overall by Boston in 2020 and later traded to Memphis.

During his second season, the 6-5 guard set a Grizzlies single-season record with 228 3-pointers. Bane nearly quadrupled his scoring average (9.2 to 18.2), as well as his rebounds (4.4 to 3.1) and assists (2.7 to 1.7), all while maintaining his excellent 3-point shooting (43.6 percent to 43.2 percent) on much more attempts (6.9 to 4.0).

Dejounte Murray of the Spurs came in second for the Most Improved Player Award, while Gary native and Cavs star Darius Garland came in third. This season, Garland, Murray, and Morant were All-Stars for the first time.

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Just to show y’all what type of teammate JA is ‼️ My Dawggg fasho 🤝 @JaMorant pic.twitter.com/fTCKD2BDku

— Desmond Bane (@DBane0625) April 26, 2022

Garland was picked fifth overall by Cleveland in 2019 after playing at Vanderbilt under former Valparaiso University coach Bryce Drew. The 6-1 point guard is in his third NBA season and has established himself as one of the league’s best playmakers.

Garland averaged 17.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game last season, but this season he has career highs of 21.7 points, 8.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game.

On March 8, Garland set a career high with 41 points in a win over the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Winston Garland, Garland’s father, was also born in Gary and played in the NBA. Winston Garland was a standout at Roosevelt, guiding the Panthers to the state title in 1982 at Market Square Arena, where they were defeated by Plymouth and great player Scott Skiles in double overtime.

Skiles went on to play in the NBA, winning the league’s Most Improved Player Award in 1991 while playing for the Orlando Magic.

Jalen Rose (2000), Jermaine O’Neal (2002), Danny Green (2009), Paul George (2013), and Victor Oladipo (2018) were all players of the Pacers, who have a tie for the most Most Improved Player Award winners in NBA history with the Magic.

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