Finalist for NBA Most Improved Player Award wants to give his spot to Devonté Graham
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat on Saturday were chosen the three finalists for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award for the 2019-20 season.
Doncic on Saturday night told a reporter that he should not be a finalist, and lobbied for former University of Kansas guard Devonté Graham of the Charlotte Hornets to take his spot.
Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News was asked Saturday by Doncic: “Who votes in this?”
Townsend said: “Well, 100 of us (media members), including me.”
Doncic responded: “Take me off the list and put Devonté Graham on there. I don’t deserve to be on there.”
The 25-year-old Graham, a second-round pick of the Hornets in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 assists a game as a rookie compared to 18.2 points and 7.5 assists per outing this season. Doncic averages 29.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game this season after averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists a year ago.
After reading Townsend’s twitter post about the exchange with Doncic, Graham posted on Twitter, “Respect.”
Here’s Charlotte Observer writer Rick Bonnell’s take on the NBA’s snub of Graham, a 6-foot-2 native of Raleigh, North Carolina.
“The Most Improved Award typically draws the widest field of vote-getters. That’s because the term ‘most improved’ is so subjective that it’s nebulous,” Bonnell wrote. “Is Player ‘X’ who comes out of nowhere to be a starter more improved than Player ‘Y’ who ascends from starter to star? What about a star who crosses into all-NBA status? And how do you compare individual stats between players on good and bad teams?
“Graham likely was hurt by circumstance. He got really hot from three-point range in November and December, drawing the league’s attention. As defenses chased him off the three-point line, he had to adjust, and that hurt his efficiency in January and February.
“Then, the pandemic struck in March and the NBA went on hiatus for three months. The Hornets weren’t among the 22 teams included in the restart. Out of sight, out of mind,” Bonnell wrote. “National media covering the NBA probably didn’t watch a lot of Hornets games. It was far easier for the Pelicans’ Ingram or Heat’s Adebayo to be front-of-mind when those ballots were filled out this week.
“Is Graham among the NBA’s most improved? Undoubtedly. Does it matter much whether he gets that trophy? Hardly. He’s a keeper. He’s the Hornets’ keeper. That’s what counts.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 8:34 AM with the headline "Finalist for NBA Most Improved Player Award wants to give his spot to Devonté Graham."
