Does Thomas Bryant even qualify for the MIP Improved Player award? I know a lot of people say that you can’t give it to a second-year player because drastic improvement is expected from rookies. That’s not a codified rule as far as I know (it’s more like a “guideline”), but it seems to be one that the voters are still reluctant to break.
The thing is, Bryant’s situation is totally different from most rookies. He went from a barely-used scrubench player (that’s “scrub player” and “bench player” combined) to a starting center for a team that’s not great but it’s completely horrawful either. When the Wizards got him, they would have been happy with any amount of positive production, but what Bryant has done this season goes way past just simple “positive production”. He’s actually a good starting center as far as I can tell. To go from nothing to starting center in one year is impressive enough to me that I would not hesitate in giving the MIP Improved Player award to him.
Actually, Monte Morris has done something similar for the Nuggets (except as a point guard rather than a center), so if we were to bend the rules for the MIP Improved Player award, it would probably go to Morris and not Bryant. In light of this new information, I have created a new award for him: the PWMLTSOIRTACOP award. It stands for “Player Who’s Most Likely To Spaz Out In Reaction To A Call Or Play” award. I pronounce it “Paw-malt-soy-rata-cop”. You should learn how to pronounce it too because I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be on the NBA award show this year.