The
National Basketball Association's Most Improved Player Award is an annual
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) award given since the 1985–86 NBA season, to the most improved player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 25 different players. The most recent award winner was
Kevin LoveKevin Love, born in Des Moines, Iowa, is a former NASCAR driver. He ran five races in the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series season, all for Fiddleback Racing....
. None of the award winners have won an
NBA Championship until 2011 when
Darrell ArmstrongDarrell Eugene Armstrong is a former American professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association...
won the title as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. Hedo Türkoğlu,
Rony SeikalyRonald Fred "Rony" Seikaly is a retired Lebanese-born American professional basketball player.-Early life:Seikaly was born in Beirut, Lebanon. At the age of 9, Rony moved from Beirut where he'd been attending elementary school at the Athenee de Beirut to Greece, where he spent the rest of his youth...
,
Gheorghe MureşanGheorghe Dumitru Mureşan, , also known as Ghiţă or George, is a retired Romanian professional basketball player. At 7 ft 7 in , he is one of the tallest players in NBA history, along with Sudanese player Manute Bol, who was also 7 ft 7 in. Both Mureşan's parents are of average size, and,...
and
Boris DiawBoris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod, better known as Boris Diaw , is a French professional basketball player for JSA Bordeaux in France. He has also played in the National Basketball Association for the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, and Charlotte Bobcats...
are the only award winners not born in the United States; all but Seikaly were also trained completely outside the U.S. (Seikaly played college basketball at
SyracuseThe Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team representing Syracuse University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference...
).
Only
Alvin RobertsonAlvin Cyrrale Robertson is a retired American basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1984 to 1993, and for one final season in 1995–96.-Career:...
,
Dana BarrosDana Bruce Barros is a retired American professional basketball player from the NBA. Before the NBA he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers....
,
Tracy McGradyTracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons.Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto...
,
Jermaine O'NealJermaine Lee O'Neal is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in , 255 lb forward-center had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school...
,
Danny GrangerDanny Granger, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. He is mainly a small forward, though he does log time at the power forward position. He is also able to initiate the team's offense and so is regarded as one who can play the point forward position...
and Kevin Love won the award and selected as an
NBA All-Star in the same season;
Dale EllisDale Ellis is a retired American professional basketball player, who played in the National Basketball Association....
,
Kevin DuckworthKevin Jerome Duckworth was an American professional basketball player at center in the National Basketball Association. A native of Illinois, he played college basketball at Eastern Illinois University before being drafted in 1986 in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs...
,
Kevin JohnsonKevin Maurice Johnson is the current mayor of Sacramento, California. He is Sacramento's first African American mayor. Prior to entering politics, Johnson was a basketball player in the NBA, playing point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns...
,
Gilbert ArenasGilbert Jay Arenas, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . He plays as a point guard and shooting guard....
and
Zach RandolphZachary Randolph , nicknamed Z-Bo, is an American professional basketball player currently with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA...
were the other winners who were later selected to play in the All-Stars Game.
Winners
| * |
Denotes player who is still active in the NBA |