NBA's Most Improved Players

Deron Williams tops the list of candidates for the Award.

Feb 13, 2007 Phil Partington

The 2006-2007 NBA season has been a story of numerous injuries to key players, which has given other players the chance to show their stuff through more playing time.

The Utah Jazz team is firing on all cylinders this season, with a 34-17 record, in part due to a healthier lineup than last season and Carlos Boozer’s fantastic season. Perhaps the biggest difference for the Jazz this season as opposed to last season, when they finished with a record of 41-41, is the improved play of point guard Deron Williams.

Williams has provided much-needed perimeter play to a team that has been desperate for it in the past few seasons. He has improved his 10.8 ppg, 4.5 apg and 42.1% field goal shooting in 2005-2006 to 17.1 ppg, 9.1 apg and 47% field goal shooting in 2006-2007. Moreover, with Carlos Boozer out for at least a month with a knee injury, Williams is stepping up his performance, averaging 10.6 apg and shooting 51% from the field in the past month. For these reasons, Deron Williams should be the early favorite for the NBA’s Most Improved Player (MIP) Award.

The list of injured players this season has reached unusual lengths, and includes Yao Ming, Paul Pierce, Michael Redd, Rashard Lewis, Steve Nash, Carlos Boozer and Antawn Jamison, just to name a few. As a result, many NBA teams are scratching their heads as they try to figure out how to tread water without their star player(s), while other players are taking advantage of the suddenly available playing time. Therefore, it is understandable that the competition for the MIP Award is pretty steep this season.

Here’s a look at the top candidates as we approach the All Star break.

Al Jefferson, Boston Celtics

2005 – 2006: 7.9 ppg, 5.1 rbpg, 0.8 bspg
2006 - 2007: 13.9 ppg, 10.7 rbpg, 1.5 bspg

Mo Williams, Milwaukee Bucks

2005-2006: 12.1 ppg, 4.0 apg
2006-2007: 18.3 ppg, 5.1 rbpg, 6.2 apg

Eddy Curry, New York Knicks

2005-2006: 13.6 ppg, 6.0 rbpg
2006-2007: 19.8 ppg, 7.8 rbpg

David Lee, New York Knicks

2005-2006: 4.5 ppg, 5.2 rbpg
2006-2007: 11.1 ppg, 10.8 rbpg

Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers

2005-2006: 12.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg
2006-2007: 17.8 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.0 spg

Caron Butler, Washington Wizards

2005-2006: 17.6 ppg, 6.2 rbpg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg
2006-2007: 20.5 ppg, 7.8 rbpg, 3.8 apg, 2.1 spg

J.R. Smith, Denver Nuggets

2005-2006: 7.7 ppg, 1.0 threes made per game
2006-2007: 15.9 ppg, 2.8 threes made per game

Matt Barnes, Golden State Warriors

2005-2006: 3.0 ppg, 1.9 rbpg, 0.0 threes made per game
2006-2007: 10.9 ppg, 5.1 rbpg, 1.6 threes made per game

Monta Ellis, Golden State Warriors

2005-2006: 6.8 ppg, 1.6 apg, 0.7 spg, 41.5% FG
2006-2007: 17.0 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.4 spg, 47% FG

Andrew Bynum, LA Lakers

2005-2006: 1.6 ppg, 1.7 rbpg, 0.5 bspg, 40.2% FG
2006-2007: 8.3 ppg, 6.4 rbpg, 1.7 bspg, 54.7% FG

Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies

2005-2006: 13.7 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.9 threes per game
2006-2007: 17.9 ppg, 4.4 apg, 3.0 threes per game

Hakim Warrick, Memphis Grizzlies

2005-2006: 4.1 ppg, 2.1 rbpg, 44.3% FG
2006-2007: 12.3 ppg, 4.3 rbpg, 52.1% FG

Tyson Chandler, New Orleans/OKC Hornets

2005-2006: 5.3 ppg, 9.0 rbpg, 1.3 bspg
2006-2007: 7.8 ppg, 11.9 rbpg, 1.8 bspg

Jarrett Jack, Portland Trail Blazers

2005-2006: 6.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 0.5 spg
2006-2007: 12.5 ppg, 5.6 apg, 1.3 spg

Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings

2005-2006: 10.8 ppg, 0.9 threes per game
2006-2007: 21.1 ppg, 1.8 threes per game

The copyright of the article NBA's Most Improved Players in Basketball is owned by Phil Partington. Permission to republish NBA's Most Improved Players in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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