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Pascal Siakam Wins 2019 NBA Most Improved Player over Fox and Russell
A year ago, few outside of NBA diehards knew Pascal Siakam's name.
One massive star turn later and the Toronto Raptors forward is the NBA's Most Improved Player.
Siakam won the accolade at Monday's NBA Awards, defeating finalists D'Angelo Russell and De'Aaron Fox. He averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 2018-19, helping lead Toronto to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Siakam's leaps in every category from 2017-18 to 2018-19 are staggering:
PPG: 7.3 to 16.9
RPG: 4.5 to 6.9
APG: 2.0 to 3.1
Threes Made: 29 to 79
Win Shares: 4.7 to 9.3
Essentially, Siakam went from being a solid bit player off the bench to a borderline foundational player. The Raptors outscored opponents by 11 points per 100 possessions when Siakam was on the floor and were outscored by 2.9 points when he sat.
While it's a regular-season award, Siakam was also vital in the Raptors' run to winning the NBA championship. He averaged 19.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists during the run, including a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in Toronto's clinching Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors.
One massive star turn later and the Toronto Raptors forward is the NBA's Most Improved Player.
Siakam won the accolade at Monday's NBA Awards, defeating finalists D'Angelo Russell and De'Aaron Fox. He averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 2018-19, helping lead Toronto to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Siakam's leaps in every category from 2017-18 to 2018-19 are staggering:
PPG: 7.3 to 16.9
RPG: 4.5 to 6.9
APG: 2.0 to 3.1
Threes Made: 29 to 79
Win Shares: 4.7 to 9.3
Essentially, Siakam went from being a solid bit player off the bench to a borderline foundational player. The Raptors outscored opponents by 11 points per 100 possessions when Siakam was on the floor and were outscored by 2.9 points when he sat.
While it's a regular-season award, Siakam was also vital in the Raptors' run to winning the NBA championship. He averaged 19.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists during the run, including a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in Toronto's clinching Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors.