Kyle Lowry Finishes 6th, DeMar DeRozan 8th in NBA Most Improved Award Voting

Apr 22, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and center Jonas Valanciunas (17) and guard Kyle Lowry (7) come off the court after a play against the Brooklyn Nets in game two during the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Brooklyn 100-95. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

2013-2014 was a historical season for the Toronto Raptors, and it has not gone unnoticed as the acknowledgement from the media continue to flow in. As two Toronto Raptors appeared on the 2013-2014 NBA Most Improved Player award voting.

Tuesday, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey finished 5th in NBA Coach of the Year voting.

Today, the NBA Most Improved Player Award voting was revealed and the Phoenix Suns’ Goran Dragic was awarded the title with a clear run away vote. With a total of 408 points, including 65 first place votes.

Dragic drastically improved from his 2012-2013 campaign increasing his production and shooting percentages.

Per Game averages

Season	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	77	77	33.5	5.2	11.8	.443	1.1	3.6	.319	4.1	8.2	.497	3.2	4.2	.748	0.8	2.3	3.1	7.4	1.6	0.3	2.8	2.8	14.7
2013-14	76	75	35.1	7.3	14.4	.505	1.6	3.9	.408	5.7	10.4	.542	4.2	5.5	.760	0.9	2.3	3.2	5.9	1.4	0.3	2.8	2.7	20.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2014.

Per 36 averages

Season	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	77	77	2581	5.6	12.6	.443	1.2	3.8	.319	4.4	8.8	.497	3.4	4.5	.748	0.8	2.5	3.3	7.9	1.7	0.4	3.0	3.0	15.8
2013-14	76	75	2668	7.4	14.7	.505	1.6	4.0	.408	5.8	10.7	.542	4.3	5.6	.760	0.9	2.4	3.3	6.0	1.4	0.3	2.9	2.8	20.8

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2014.

A pair of Toronto Raptors guards also made an appearance on results ballot, as Kyle Lowry finished 6th (43 points) and DeMar DeRozan finished 8th (28 points) in the voting for the 2013-2014 most improved player award.

In his 2nd season with the Raptors, Kyle Lowry received 2 first place votes, 8 second place votes, and 9 third place votes. Lowry’s production improved as a direct result of more playing time, evidenced by an increase of 6.5 minutes per game from last season. As when compared to per minute stats, Lowry’s production only increased slightly.

Per Game

Season ▴	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	68	29.7	3.7	9.2	.401	1.5	4.1	.362	2.2	5.1	.433	2.8	3.5	.795	0.8	3.9	4.7	6.4	1.4	0.4	2.3	3.2	11.6
2013-14	79	36.2	5.8	13.7	.423	2.4	6.3	.380	3.4	7.3	.460	4.0	4.9	.813	1.1	3.6	4.7	7.4	1.5	0.2	2.5	3.4	17.9

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2014.

Per 36

Season	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	52	2020	4.5	11.1	.401	1.8	5.0	.362	2.7	6.1	.433	3.4	4.3	.795	1.0	4.7	5.7	7.8	1.7	0.4	2.8	3.9	14.1
2013-14	79	2862	5.7	13.6	.423	2.4	6.3	.380	3.4	7.3	.460	3.9	4.8	.813	1.1	3.5	4.6	7.4	1.5	0.2	2.4	3.4	17.8

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2014.

DeMar DeRozan received 1 first place vote, 4 second place votes, and 11 third place votes as the 5th year guard became an all-star for the first time. Despite a decrease in field goal percentage, DeRozan increased his points production by an increase in 3-pointers and getting to the line. In addition to an increase in assists.

Per Game

Season	G	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	82	6.7	15.0	.445	0.4	1.5	.283	6.3	13.5	.463	4.3	5.2	.831	0.6	3.3	3.9	2.5	0.9	0.3	1.8	2.1	18.1
2013-14 ★	79	7.6	17.8	.429	0.8	2.7	.305	6.8	15.2	.451	6.6	8.0	.824	0.6	3.7	4.3	4.0	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.5	22.7
Career	383	6.1	13.6	.447	0.3	1.3	.267	5.7	12.3	.466	4.2	5.2	.815	0.7	3.0	3.7	2.2	0.9	0.3	1.7	2.4	16.7

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2014.

Per 36

Season	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	82	3013	6.5	14.7	.445	0.4	1.4	.283	6.1	13.3	.463	4.2	5.1	.831	0.6	3.2	3.8	2.4	0.9	0.3	1.8	2.1	17.7
2013-14 ★	79	3017	7.2	16.8	.429	0.8	2.5	.305	6.4	14.3	.451	6.2	7.5	.824	0.6	3.5	4.1	3.7	1.0	0.3	2.1	2.4	21.4
Career	383	12751	6.6	14.7	.447	0.4	1.4	.267	6.2	13.3	.466	4.6	5.6	.815	0.8	3.2	4.0	2.4	1.0	0.3	1.9	2.6	18.1

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2014.

The full results of the 2013-2014 Most Improved Player Award voting:

2013-14 Kia Most Improved Player award voting

Name	1st place (5 pts)	2nd place (3 pts)	3rd place (1 pt)	Total
Goran Dragic (Phoenix)	65	25	8	408
Lance Stephenson (Indiana)	13	24	21	158
Anthony Davis (New Orleans)	16	21	12	155
Gerald Green (Phoenix)	16	7	16	117
DeAndre Jordan (L.A. Clippers)	4	13	7	66
Kyle Lowry (Toronto)	2	8	9	43
Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers)	6	1	6	39
DeMar DeRozan (Toronto)	1	4	11	28
Patty Mills (San Antonio)	0	4	2	14
Markieff Morris (Phoenix)	1	1	5	13
Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento)	0	3	4	13
Shaun Livingston (Brooklyn)	0	2	5	11
D.J. Augustin (Chicago)	1	0	4	9
Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City)	0	1	5	8
Robin Lopez (Portland)	0	1	3	6
Klay Thompson (Golden State)	0	2	0	6
DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento)	0	1	2	5
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)	1	0	0	5
Al Jefferson (Charlotte)	0	1	1	4
Bradley Beal (Washington)	0	1	0	3
Mike Conley (Memphis)	0	1	0	3
Andre Drummond (Detroit)	0	1	0	3
Taj Gibson (Chicago)	0	1	0	3
LeBron James (Miami)	0	1	0	3
Terrence Jones (Houston)	0	1	0	3
Jodie Meeks (L.A. Lakers)	0	1	0	3
LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland)	0	0	1	1
Alec Burks (Utah)	0	0	1	1
Paul Millsap (Atlanta)	0	0	1	1
Chandler Parsons (Houston)	0	0	1	1
John Wall (Washington)	0	0	1	1

Chart from http://www.nba.com/2014/news/04/23/goran-dragic-wins-kia-most-improved-player-award/index.html

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