Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies just won this year’s NBA Most Improved Player Award.
Last year, he was scoring 19.1 points a game – this year it’s 27.4.
Additionally, he stepped up assists and rebounds this year too, and just generally enhanced his skills in nearly every way.
In other words, he is very deserving of the award.
Yet, he felt that someone else had earned it.
he deserve it 💐💯💙 https://t.co/20Yu5jLW9f
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) April 26, 2022
Morant made the huge decision to gift his trophy to his teammate Desmond Bane.
The Grizzlies superstar revealed the choice on Instagram, where he shared a photo of the boxed trophy sitting in Bane’s kitchen.
“@_dbane1 i left your award in your kitchen gang, you deserve it killa,” Morant wrote.
Later, when Bally Sports tweeted out the image, Morant responded with, “he deserve it”
Sure enough, Bane is having a season almost as good as Morant’s – and he’s only stepping it up in the postseason.
Bane’s Big Time
Fans of the Grizzlies are blown away by Bane’s season.
He is averaging 23.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists a game.
He has also secured 1.2 steals a game too.
Bane started in 17 of his 68 in his first season but he started in 76 games this year.
Now in the postseason, Bane is leading the team in scoring and has been a beast on the defense.
The Grizzlies are currently battling it out against the Minnesota Timberwolves and are tied at 2-2.
If Memphis ends up winning the series, Bane will be a huge part of that.
All of that being said, Morant was the right choice for Most Improved Player and has helped push his team into the postseason.
He has a lot of powerful players around him but there is no doubt that the Grizzlies are Morant’s team.
NEXT: Ja Morant Trolls Timberwolves After Historic Comeback