Why Jalen Brunson Has the Best Case of Any Knick to Win NBA Most Improved Player Award
Yes, he has a better case than even RJ Barrett.
The NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, aka the MIP Award, is granted each year to one player who displayed the biggest and best leap over the course of a single season. If you take a look at the history of the award you’ll see that the recipients are a mixed bag of players; there are those who proved to be quality rotation pieces as a result of increased opportunities, and then there are the players who took it one step further and became stars of the game.
The last decade in particular has been special for the MIP Award, as most of the winners fell into the latter category. From 2012-2022, 7 of the 11 players who were named the MIP were selected to their first all-star game earlier that same year. Those players chronologically are Paul George (2013), Jimmy Butler (2015), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2017), Victor Oladipo (2018), Brandon Ingram (2020), Julius Randle (2021), and Ja Morant (2022). Just prior to that span, Kevin Love (2011) and Danny Granger (2009) had also won MIP and achieved all-star status during the same season.
As for the rest of the players who weren’t all-stars the same year from 2012-22, only Ryan Anderson (2012) didn’t go on to establish himself as star caliber. Goran Dragic (2014), CJ McCollum (2016), and Pascal Siakam (2019) all ascended in the seasons that followed their MIP campaigns.
This trend is relevant because it is important that we understand what it takes to earn this award in the modern NBA. It isn’t just about having an impressively improved stat line anymore; it is about elevating your game to a level that few others can, and in turn having a massive impact on your teams success, because that’s what stars do.
It is for that reason that Julius Randle was able to become the MIP two seasons ago, when he made the All-NBA Second Team and led New York to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. And it is what Jalen Brunson will need to do if he is going to be the 2023 MIP.
The Competition
Additionally, I’d be remiss not to mention that the field for the award this year is very strong. Vegas has Brunson sitting currently at an encouraging +1800 to be the MIP, good for the third best odds. He sits behind Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards respectively, and he’s just ahead of Zion Williamson, and his teammate RJ Barrett. The list also includes Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Anfernee Simons.
Speaking of Barrett, you may have read the title of this article and said to yourself, “RJ is going into his fourth year, is coming off of averaging 20 PPG, and he has a higher ceiling than Brunson. Why doesn’t he have the best case of any Knick to win the award?” Well, for those of you doubting such a concept, let me explain.
Don’t get me wrong, I was incredibly thrilled with the 41 game stretch in which Barrett closed the season with averages of 23.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. However, the big difference between Barrett and Brunson is track record. Brunson has seen more success both in the box score and in high leverage situations.
The Case for Jalen Brunson
I probably don’t have to tell you that Brunson is one of the most efficient guards in basketball, so he has that over Barrett. Given. it isn’t very hard for most NBA players to be more efficient than Barrett has been often times (I love RJ and trust in him fully, that is the only semi-Barrett slander you’ll get from me, I’m sorry). But, Brunson hasn’t just proven to be a star in his role, he has also proven to be a star when the onus is on him to lead his team.
With the Dallas Mavericks in 2021-22, Brunson played in 17 games without superstar Luka Doncic. In those games, he averaged 20.4 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 3.9 RPG shooting 49.3% from the field and 35% from three-point range.
Also, JB went on to flourish in the playoffs. In the three games in which Dallas was without Doncic against the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs, Brunson put up 32 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 5.3 RPG with blistering 50.7/41.2/85.0 splits. Overall, Brunson had 11 20+ point games in the 2022 playoffs, including 8 games of 23+ points. He even had two 31 point performances, one of which came in the conference finals and preceded a playoff high 41 point outburst.
For all of the optimism that surrounds Barrett’s immediate and long-term abilities, we need to be realistic, too. Barrett still has many facets of his game to perfect and polish before he can be a true all-star caliber guy. I think most of the expectations for him this season are reasonable, such as the idea of him putting up all-star worthy numbers. This could certainly win him MIP, but I think people are underselling Brunson’s ability to do the same, especially because of the shadow Barrett casts over him as the franchises fan-favorite cornerstone.
Brunson has simply accomplished more in his career up to this point than Barrett by being a more than sturdy presence, and at times the driving force, for a team that ultimately came two wins away from the NBA Finals. This will be the first time in his career that he will be a full-time starting point guard. If he has a similar winning impact on New York and if he can replicate the numbers he had as a Maverick when he was called upon to be their top player, then Brunson has as great a chance as anyone in the league to be an all-star. And whether or not he accomplishes that, he will still certainly be in the conversation for MIP, like many players were before him.