AP Source: Love is Most Improved Player
In one short season, Kevin Love(notes) went from gritting his teeth on the bench as a sixth man for the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves to playing as an All-Star and becoming the NBA’s leading rebounder.
That was more than enough to earn him the league’s Most Improved Player award. Two people with knowledge of the announcement told The Associated Press that Love will be given the award at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the award before the announcement.
Love averaged 20.2 points and led the NBA with 15.2 rebounds per game this season. He earned his first All-Star appearance despite playing for a team that finished with the worst record in the NBA.
I think Love is a suitable choice. My interpretation of the award is that it's intended to recognise a player that has not only shown statistical improvement but also become a more prominent player on his team and in the league; I guess in some ways, it's sort of a "Breakout Player of the Year" kind of award. In that respect, I'd say that Love is deserving of the award, as are most of the previous winners. He did establish himself as a starter and became The Man on the Timberwolves. He played eight more minutes per game but still had higher scoring and rebounding numbers per 36, his usage was only up half a percent on last year when he was a sixth man and his fouls and turnovers are down. Given the spirit of the award (as I see it, anyway) and his statistical improvement, I don't think his selection is inappropriate.
Congrats to Love - I'm a fan of his. The improvement is largely due to an increased role, but he's nonetheless deserving, likely moreso than my homer pick Aldridge, who was only good for half the season.
