Report: Bulls’ Jimmy Butler named NBA’s Most Improved Player
No one can settle on the best interpretation of the NBA’s annual Most Improved Player award. But that doesn’t mean the voters don’t regularly settle on a very deserving winner.
As reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Chicago Bulls All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler, the final pick of the first round in the 2011 draft, will be named the 2014-15 Most Improved Player later this week:
Sources say Butler could be officially introduced as the league’s MIP award winner as early as Thursday, with Friday’s Game 3 at home against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals looming as a natural opportunity for the NBA to present Butler with the award in front of his home fans at the United Center.
Despite losing 17 games to injury, Butler hiked his scoring average this season from 13.1 points per game to 20.0 and became an Eastern Conference All-Star for the first time. He also raised his shooting percentage from 39.7 percent from the floor last season to 46.2 percent.
This award often goes to a player whose per-game scoring average increases simply because he plays more minutes, but Butler is an exception. The 25-year-old guard played exactly the same number of minutes per game in 2014-15 as he did last season (38.7, tops in the league this year) and improved every single one of his shooting percentages, including boosts to 37.8 percent from beyond the arc (from 28.3 percent) and 83.4 percent from the free-throw line (from 76.9 percent). Those changes coincided with a more essential role in the Bulls offense. Butler was the team’s most consistent perimeter scorer for the bulk of the season, made his first All-Star team, and is currently averaging 24.1 ppg through the Bulls’ first seven playoff games. Butler earned his first postseason award last spring when he was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.
Butler joins recent MIP winners Kevin Love and Paul George as players who took home the hardware while making the leap from the level of a solid young player to that of a star. There are many other ways to look at the award, and the other 2014-15 candidates fall into some of the most common categories. Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside became one of the league’s top rim protectors after falling out of the league for two full seasons — he was the pick for those who value a rise from having been written off by the vast majority of analysts. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was a relative non-factor as a rookie but became a fearsome player at both ends in his second season — he’s a good choice for anyone who wants a player who rises from obscurity and looks primed for much better things in the future. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is a bit like Butler — he stands out for those looking for a rotation player who becomes an essential part of a contender.
Whatever option you prefer, it’s difficult to argue that Butler isn’t deserving of the honor. His next challenge will be to stay a star for years to come.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
