The Case for Hassan Whiteside as the NBA's Most Improved Player

Hassan Whiteside isn't a conventional Most Improved Player nominee, but it would be a tremendous oversight to discount his candidacy just because he spent the last two seasons abroad.

At first, his production felt like a bizarre blip on the NBA radar. But after posting double-double averages (13.0 points and 10.6 rebounds) in January and doing the same while starting all 11 games he appeared in during February, it's clear Whiteside's output is sustainable.

Last month, Whiteside averaged season highs of 14.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 61.2 percent from the field and posting eight double-doubles. That string of monstrous outings was punctuated by a 14-point, 24-rebound showing in the Miami Heat's 93-91 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday evening. The 24 rebounds tied a career high, marking the second time in 30 days he pulled down two dozen boards.

	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Whiteside On Court	103.0	100.6	+2.4
Whiteside On Bench	99.2	106.3	-7.1

According to Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com), "Whiteside, who began his career with Sacramento over four years ago, now has three career 20-rebound games, all for Miami this season. The last player to collect 20-or-more rebounds in a game that many times over his first 50 NBA contests was Shaquille O'Neal, who did so six times as a rookie in the 1992-93 season."  

And if we judge Whiteside as a starter, he occupies rare air. In 16 starts at center, Miami's man in the middle has averaged 13.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting 60.5 percent from the field. 

According to Basketball-Reference.com, here is the list of qualified players averaging at least 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks as a starter this season:

• Pau Gasol

If you're wondering where the rest of the list is, stop trying to rack your brain. It starts and ends with Gasol, who was an All-Star starter during last month's midseason showcase.  

In a vacuum, it's abundantly clear Whiteside has the chops necessary to be in the conversation. 

But how do those numbers stack up against a wide array of Most Improved candidates?

Among that surging collection of players, Whiteside is the only one averaging a double-double. That said, his scoring figures pale in comparison to those posted by Butler and Thompson because he's attempting half as many shots.

As a way to properly evaluate the value Whiteside packs into limited touches, it's worth looking at just how efficient he is when Miami plays through him. 

If we narrow the field of nominees down to the three perceived front-runners and Whiteside, the 25-year-old is far and away the most dominant on a possession-by-possession basis.

Despite averaging 15 fewer half-court touches per game than the next-closest candidate, Whiteside is scoring at a rate three times more efficient than Green—and twice as efficient as Butler.

"He gets so close to the basket, and his reach is next to none," Dirk Nowitzki said, according to Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick. "He's so long out there, it's incredible. When he's so close to the basket, he just tips it to himself or tips it in. And then he started to make some jump shots today. So, yeah, that's a nice find for sure for Miami."

As Nowitzki mentioned, Whiteside's 7'7'' wingspan (h/t DraftExpress.com) makes him nearly impossible to stop once he seals off defenders in the low-post or slips into a clean lane out of the pick-and-roll.

It's the main reason he ranks No. 5 overall in player efficiency rating behind Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, according to ESPN.com.  

But despite finishing pick-and-rolls at a more efficient rate than DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler, according to Synergy Sports data provided to NBA.com, Whiteside is also a surprisingly steady jump-shooter in doses.

While just over 10 percent of his shots are coming between 10 and 16 feet, those looks are falling at a 52.2 percent clip, per Basketball-Reference.com. For a player built to bludgeon opponents with his raw size and athleticism in the paint, that sort of range is staggering.

However, things get tricky when sample sizes come into play. 

Whiteside has appeared in just 31 games and started 16 of them. Compared to perceived top dogs like Butler, Thompson and Green, that's more than a 40 percent reduction in exposure.

There's also the matter of comparative context. 

Unlike Butler, Green and Thompson, Whiteside didn't enter this year with a solid track record under his belt. Considering he was a virtual unknown during the 19 games he appeared in with the Sacramento Kings throughout the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, how can we properly gauge his improvement?

Heck, the guy entered this season with a grand total of 29 points and 39 rebounds to his name and then exploded for 23 points and 16 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 11. 

But as the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman notes, the NBA has outlined qualities that should make Whiteside eligible for the hardware: 

"

The criteria on the ballot reads, 'This award is designed to honor an up-and-coming player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons. It is not intended to be given to a player who has made a 'comeback.'' I think most would agree that 'dramatic improvement' has defined Whiteside's play with the Heat since the turn of the calendar.

"

Combine his unorthodox resume with a field of competitors thriving on title-contending teams, and it's not hard to see why Whiteside might ultimately fall short in the final vote. 

However, it's clear his emergence isn't a fluke. Each and every night it feels like he changes the game in a wholly unique way, and his skyrocketing numbers reflect a steadfast commitment to honing new skills.  

"Every day is a new day to get better," Whiteside said, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix. "I want to make people remember my name."

So far, Whiteside's achieving his goal. Not only is his name primed to enter the Most Improved Player ballot box, but it's already been etched into the record books.

Capturing the hardware would be a well-deserved form of validation, but Whiteside's unprecedented rise into the conversation alone should confirm just how brilliant he's been.

And whether he's victorious or not, you can bet his NBA 2K rating will be going up for the foreseeable future.

All statistics current as of March 1 and courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless noted otherwise.