Locked out of the offseason awards since Tyreke Evans took home the Rookie of the Year trophy in 2010, the Sacramento Kings have two legitimate candidates this season for the NBA's Most Improved Player award.
It's a crowded field, but with the Kings drawing a lot of attention this season with their strong play, both Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox will receive consideration. One of the pair may even take home the trophy.
The case for Buddy Hield
Coming out of Oklahoma, Hield walked into the NBA as a known scorer. In year three, he cemented himself as one of the premiere shooters in the league.
After earning a starting role coming out of training camp, Hield instantly settled in next to De'Aaron Fox in the Kings' backcourt. He showed improvements across the board, but his real leap came as a scorer.
Hield showed a 7.2 points per game increase over his previous season, jumping from 13.5 points per game as a sophomore to 20.7 in year three. He also set new career highs in rebounds, assists and minutes played.
Known for his ability to knock down the long ball, Hield hit 278 3-pointers, which is the seventh highest single season mark in NBA history, and a 102-make increase over his previous best season.
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Hield increased his 3-point attempts by 2.8 per game, while seeing his percentage barely drop from 43.1 to 42.7 percent. He became the Kings' most consistent scoring threat and he hit big shots all season long.
The case for De'Aaron Fox
Fox posted a decent rookie campaign last year, but he took a massive leap as a sophomore. Not only did he improve, but the 21-year-old point guard became the face of the Kings' franchise, which showed a shocking 12 game improvement in the standings.
Like Hield, Fox took steps forward in almost every facet of his game. His scoring average jumped from 11.6 points per game as a rookie to 17.3 in year two. He improved his 3-point percentage from 30.7 to 37.1 percent and his overall field goal percentage from 41.2 to 45.8 percent.
As a rookie, Fox posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.4-to-2.4. Despite the Kings cranking up their pace from 29th in the league to fifth, Fox successfully improved his assists to 7.3 per game while barely increasing his turnovers to 2.8.
Fox finished the season in the top 10 in both assists and steals and he looks like a player that can take another leap forward in his production. He has elite potential on both ends of the court, which bodes well for Sacramento.
Primary Competition
-Pascal Siakam had a tremendous season for the Toronto Raptors, and his team's win total, although expected, may play a role in his candidacy.
Siakam jumped his scoring average from 7.3 points per game to 16.9 and added a career best 6.9 rebounds per game. He went from a back end of the rotation player to starting 79 games on a 58-win team. He gets added points for being a late first round selection.
-D'Angelo Russell went from bust to the leader of a surprise playoff team in Brooklyn. It's a riches to rags to riches story for Russell who made himself a lot of money with his play this season.
Russell posted his best season as a pro, finishing the year averaging 21.1 points and seven assists per game while leading the Nets to a 42-40 record.
-Montrezl Harrell found a home alongside Lou Williams coming off the Clippers bench. The 25-year-old undersized center bullied opposing bigs, helping lead Los Angeles back to the postseason.
Harrell averaged career-highs in points (16.6), rebounds (6.5), blocks (1.3) and minutes (26.3). He also shot 61.5 percent from the field and routinely dunked on his competition.
-Jon Collins slipped to the 19th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and he's making plenty of teams regret that decision.
The high flying power forward increased his scoring average from 10.5 points as a rookie to 19.5 as a sophomore. He made a similar jump as a rebounder, grabbing 9.8 rebounds compared to 7.3 in year one.
Collins flourished in Atlanta's uptempo style, although the Hawks won just 29 games.
Prediction
Both Hield and Fox have a strong case to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award. Hield elevated his game to become one of the game's elite shooters while Fox developed into a floor general.
If one of the two is going to win the award, Fox might have the advantage. He is the face of the franchise and his ability to change the game with his speed helped multiple players post career years in Sacramento.
