Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz has won the NBA's Most Improved Player award, according to ESPN.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished second, while Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks finished third. Lauri Markkanen received 69 first-place votes, 27 second-place votes and four third-place votes, giving him 430 total points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received 24 first-place votes and finished with 289 points. Jalen Brunson received four first-place votes and finished with 91 points. Mikal Bridges, Tyrese Haliburton and Trey Murphy III each received one first-place vote as well.
Lauri Markkanen finished with 69 1st place votes to win the Most Improved Player award.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished in second place with 24 1st place votes, followed by Jalen Brunson who earned four 1st place votes.
Did the voters get it right? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Fu7AggYVTG
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 24, 2023
It has been quite the journey over the last couple of seasons for Markkanen. He was drafted ahead of the 2017-2018 season by the Chicago Bulls. He then spent four seasons with the Bulls, averaging between 13.6 and 18.7 points per game, according to Basketball Reference. He played his fifth season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and averaged 14.8 points. Then, last summer he was a part of the package that was traded from the Cavaliers to the Jazz for Donovan Mitchell.
Markkanen truly took the next step with the Jazz, averaging 25.6 points per game, according to Basketball Reference. He was part of why the Jazz got off to such a great start to the season. Despite tailing off and missing the NBA Playoffs and the play-in tournament altogether, the Jazz have reason to believe that Markkanen can be a key player for them in the future. He just finished his age-25 season.
For now, the Most Improved Player award gives Markkanen and Jazz fans a reason to celebrate as they try to rebuild their team into a contender again.
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