The NBA announced today [Friday, April 22] the Portland Trailblazers’ CJ McCollum won the Most Improved Player Award. McCollum, now in his third year with the Blazers, became a starter after the major exodus of players from Portland in the summer of 2015. He averaged 20 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds a game, and was a major piece, alongside their star point guard Damian Lillard, in getting the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
The Blazers have struggle so far in their series with the Clippers, losing both games so far. Chris Paul has been playing tremendous defense against Lillard, and McCollum has struggled to affect the game, only scoring 9 points in his last game. This series now moves to Portland, with the next game on Saturday, April 23, with the tip off at 10:30 PM EST.
Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, and the “Greek Freak,” Giannis Antetokounmpo, of the Milwaukee Bucks, came in second and third respectively.
Earlier this week, Kwahi Leonard took home the Defensive Player of the Year award, beating out Draymon Green and Hassan Whiteside for the award. Jamal Crawford got the NBA Sixth Man of Year award, winning over Andre Iguodala and Enes Kanter. The next big award to be announced will be the MVP award, which Steph Curry is considered the front runner for. Of course, Curry won the MVP last year, and after the historic season he has had this year, it is his award to lose.
