The Memphis Grizzlies All-Star guard Ja Morant was named the recipient of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2021-22 season. Morant swept the competition, including San Antonio Spurs’ Dejounte Murray and Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, getting 38 first-place votes and 221 points.
Morant being in consideration for the MIP was somewhat controversial considering that he was already considered a rising star in the league last season. Historically, the award was given to players who mostly came out of nowhere to become stars. However, Morant’s jump in 2021-22 was so drastic that the league felt he qualified.
This season, Morant improved his career highs in almost every category and did that by a lot. After averaging 19.1 points in 2020-2021, he had 27.4 per game in 2021-22. The 22-year-old player also went from 4.0 rebounds to 5.7 boards while improving his shooting percentage from 44.9 percent to 49.3 percent.
“Shoutout to all the guys who were up for this award, our aim is to always improve,” Morant wrote on Twitter. “So to be acknowledged for this award lets all of us know we are trending in the right direction.”
This was the second award for Morant since he arrived at the league. The Memphis Grizzlies’ second overall pick in 2019 also won the Rookie of the Year award in his first season in the NBA. This makes him the only player in league history to win both the MIP and ROY awards.
