Denver Nuggets guard Malik Beasley is among the shortlist of candidate vying for the coveted Most Improved Player award, one he could see himself winning at the end of this season.

Front office heads have noted the importance of a quality bench player and the impact he's had for the second-seeded Nuggets, who went from a playoff outlier to the second seed in a powerhouse Western Conference.

“Beasley has played well for a good team when Will Barton and Gary Harris were hurt,” one Western Conference general manager told Michael Scotto of The Athletic. “They didn’t miss a beat.”

The Nuggets were hit hard with injuries this season, but for anyone that didn't follow them during their run to the top seed, they wouldn't have noticed a change. That's because there wasn't one, as Beasley kept them afloat with his sharpshooting and strong play.

In 18 games as a starter, Beasley averaged 15.9 points on a studly 55.1 percent from the field, netting 50 percent from deep and an incandescent 93.8 percent clip at the stripe. The 6-foot-5 guard registered a 129 offensive rating and a plus-5.6 net rating while on the floor for the Nuggets.

“I want that (Most Improved Player award),” Beasley admitted. “There are a lot of guys in the league that deserve it like, for example, Derrick Rose, D’Angelo Russell, me, Monte Morris. There are a lot of players. For my case, I believe so because I came in not playing at all. D-Lo and them have played before. I’ve never played this many minutes ever. That’s why I say I think I deserve it and without me and Monte, we probably wouldn’t be in second place.

“Who knows? It’s a team effort. Plus, we’re in second place, so why not? If isn’t Monte it should be me. If it isn’t me, it should be Monte.”

Monte Morris, who played the backup point guard position most of the year, has also been a pleasant surprise — boasting one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the league while being the perfect complement to Beasley's aggressive scoring style.