| April 25, 2022, 6:48 PM
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been named the Most Improved Player for the 2021-2022 season, the NBA announced Monday.
Morant averaged a career-high 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 57 games this season, averaging 33.1 minutes per game. Morant is the first player in franchise history to win the award for Memphis.
A second-overall pick in 2019 NBA Draft and the 2019-2020 Rookie of the Year, Morant was voted ahead of San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, who finished in second place, and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, who finished third.
Morant set a Grizzlies’ single-game regular-season scoring record in back-to-back games, first scoring 46 points against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 26, then a career-high 52 points against the Spurs on Feb. 28, posting 40-plus points six times this season.
Recieving his first all-star selection as a starter in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, Morant was also named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week in consecutive weeks on Jan. 3 and Jan. 10.
The Grizzlies matched a franchise single-season record as they finished with the second-best record in the NBA at 56-26, earning the team their highest-ever playoff seed at No. 2 in the Western Conference.
