As it turns out, Ja Morant's Most Improved Player of the Year award wouldn't be heading to his trophy case. Just hours after he received the award, the Memphis Grizzlies star took to Instagram to show how he's giving it to his teammate Desmond Bane.
On his IG story, Morant mentioned Bane and said that he left the award in his kitchen. He ended the note emphasizing that the second-year guard deserves it.
Ja Morant gave the MIP award to Desmond Bane ✊ pic.twitter.com/qQ3FRdLxJa
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 26, 2022
Desmond Bane finished fifth in the overall voting, while Ja Morant edged out the other finalists in Dejounte Murray and Darius Garland for the honor.
Despite his win, though, Morant previously shared his belief that Bane should have made it to the Top 3 and win the recognition. After all, he has seen the major leap the 23-year-old took after his rookie year.




1. @jarenjacksonjr led the league in blocks, blocks per game, & blocks + steals, & not on the list for DPOY . 💐
2. @DBane0625 took a major leap this season & should be on the MIP list instead of me . 💐
3. Congrats coach, you deserve that award . 💐
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) April 17, 2022
Bane averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in the regular season, all while recording 46.1/43.6/90.3 shooting splits. He almost doubled his scoring from 9.2 points in 2020-21 and upped his assist numbers by one from 1.7. His rebounds also improved from 3.1 to 4.4.
As Stat Muse noted, Bane had a bigger increase in points and assists per game than Morant.
Still, that doesn't mean Morant isn't thankful for the award. While he believes his teammate deserves it more and gave the award to him, he took to Twitter to show his appreciation to those who voted for him. The Grizzlies superstar shared how the recognition is a testament to his hard work and dedication to improve on a daily basis.