Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE
You can watch the press conference here.
Here is the official word from the Magic:
– Anderson Becomes Fifth Magic Player to earn Honor Since 1986 –
NEW YORK, May 4, 2012 – Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.
Anderson received 260 of a possible 605 points, including 33 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks (159 points, 21 first-place votes) and Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves (104 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.
Anderson established career highs in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage. He also paced the league and established personal bests in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He increased his scoring from the previous season by 5.5 ppg and his rebounds by 2.2 rpg. Orlando averaged 107.5 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court, compared to 94.1 points with the 6-10 forward on the bench.
As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Anderson to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2011-12 year-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 21 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.
The 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its fifth season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Defensive Player, Sixth Man, Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards, and this year for the first time, Rookie of the Year. It also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.
2011-12 KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD
1st Place (5 Pts) 2nd Place (3 Pts) 3rd Place (1 pts) Total
Ryan Anderson 33 27 14 260
Ersan Ilyasova 21 15 9 159
Nikola Pekovic 10 15 9 104
Greg Monroe 10 9 19 96
Andrew Bynum 13 8 7 96
Jeremy Lin 10 8 17 91
Goran Dragic 4 8 10 54
Avery Bradley 4 4 4 36
Danny Green 3 3 3 27
Jeff Teague 1 5 7 27
Serge Ibaka 2 2 0 16
Ty Lawson 1 3 2 16
Paul George 2 1 0 13
Steve Novak 1 2 1 12
DeMarcus Cousins 0 2 5 11
Kevin Love 1 0 3 8
Roy Hibbert 0 1 4 7
James Harden 0 2 1 7
Gerald Henderson 1 0 1 6
Marcin Gortat 1 0 1 6
Kyle Lowry 1 0 0 5
Andrew Bogut 1 0 0 5
Marc Gasol 1 0 0 5
Gordon Hayward 0 1 1 4
Arron Afflalo 0 1 0 3
C.J. Watson 0 1 0 3
Brandan Wright 0 1 0 3
Tony Parker 0 1 0 3
Jarrett Jack 0 0 1 1
Marreese Speights 0 0 1 1
Following is the all-time list of winners:
ALL-TIME KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD
1985-86 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio
1986-87 Dale Ellis, Seattle
1987-88 Kevin Duckworth, Portland
1988-89 Kevin Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 Rony Seikaly, Miami
1990-91 Scott Skiles, Orlando
1991-92 Pervis Ellison, Washington
1992-93 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver
1993-94 Don MacLean, Washington
1994-95 Dana Barros, Philadelphia
1995-96 Gheorghe Muresan, Washington
1996-97 Isaac Austin, Miami
1997-98 Alan Henderson, Atlanta
1998-99 Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 Jalen Rose, Indiana
2000-01 Tracy McGrady, Orlando
2001-02 Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
2002-03 Gilbert Arenas, Golden State
2003-04 Zach Randolph, Portland
2004-05 *Bobby Simmons, L.A. Clippers
2005-06 Boris Diaw, Phoenix
2006-07 Monta Ellis, Golden State
2007-08 Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando
2008-09 Danny Granger, Indiana
2009-10 *Aaron Brooks, Houston
2010-11 Kevin Love, Minnesota
2011-12 Ryan Anderson, Orlando
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)
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