Here’s the Charlotte Observer on a super-talented young Hornet who thinks it wouldn’t hurt if there was more clarity around criteria for the league’s Most Improved Player award:
Charlotte Hornets point guard Devonte Graham has made peace with not winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
But he still thinks he got ripped off, not even being among the three finalists. He’s for the NBA providing some definition to voters of what the award is.
“Obviously, I was upset about it. I’m pretty much over it now,” Graham said following the Hornets’ workout Thursday. “I just know the people who really watch and are around basketball know.”
Graham received endorsements, first from Dallas Maverick Luka Doncic, and then from Los Angeles Laker LeBron James, that he should have at least finished as a finalist. The former second-round pick jumped in scoring average from 4.7 points as a rookie to 18.2 last season.
New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram won the award. Graham finished a distant fifth in the balloting, among 100 media members. All four players ahead of him — Ingram, Bam Adebayo, Doncic and Jayson Tatum — were former lottery picks.
There are definitely many ways to determine who in the league truly improved the most from the previous season. Certainly this award, like the rest, will always be subjective. If there was a perfect formula, results could be calculated, and human voters wouldn’t even be needed. But Graham’s views are certainly valid. The discussion will continue.
