Pascal Siakam named Most Improved Player at 2019 NBA Awards

You may not know this, but the 2019 NBA Awards are being handed out tonight to the top regular season performers in the Association. I heard Shaq did a fun dance.

Anyway, in news that won’t be too surprising, the (NBA Champion) Raptors’ Pascal Siakam has been named the league’s Most Improved Player.

There’s not a more deserving player than Siakam, a late first round draft pick who went from unknown quantity to the Raptors’ second-most productive player at points this season. In his third year, Siakam improved from 7.3 points per game to 16.9; from 4.5 rebounds to 6.9; and from 2.0 assists to 3.1. Siakam started 79 of the 80 games he played in, a constant during the load management of Kawhi Leonard and a few other nagging injuries the Raptors went through this season.

In the playoffs, Siakam improved his numbers, becoming a player Toronto could rely on when options seemed thin. His 19.0 points per game went with 7.1 rebounds, with arguably his best game of the post-season saved for last — a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in the clinching Game 6 against the Warriors.

Siakam is the first Raptor to win the Most Improved Player award, which was introduced in 1985-86. You can watch his acceptance speech below.