Knicks' Randle wins NBA's Most Improved Player award
New York Knicks star Julius Randle is the 2020-21 recipient of the NBA's Most Improved Player award, the league announced Tuesday.
Randle beat out Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons and Michael Porter of the Denver Nuggets for the honor.
The Kentucky product received the trophy from his son during the Knicks' shootaround.
Who better to present Julius with the award than the only and only, Kyden! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/bM2jlQGYEh
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 25, 2021
Here's how the voting broke down:
| Player | Team | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Randle | NYK | 98 | 1 | 0 | 493 |
| J. Grant | DET | 2 | 33 | 31 | 140 |
| M. Porter | DEN | 0 | 40 | 18 | 138 |
| C. Wood | HOU | 0 | 10 | 14 | 44 |
| Z. LaVine | CHI | 0 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
Jaylen Brown, Chris Boucher, Zion Williamson, and Nikola Vucevic were among 20 other players to receive down-ballot votes.
Randle averaged career highs in points (24.1 per game), rebounds (10.2), assists (six), and 3-point percentage (41.1%) during the regular season.
Randle also joined Larry Bird as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 boards, and five assists while also shooting at least 40% from deep over a single season, according to StatMuse.
His strong play helped the Knicks secure their first postseason berth since the 2012-13 campaign.