Building the All-Improved NBA First Team for the 2014-15 Season
The NBA's Most Improved Player pool is stocked with so much surging talent that eligible candidates have emerged at all five positions.
And while favorites like Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Hassan Whiteside and Draymond Green all have legitimate cases to take home the hardware, this year's class of improving talent deserves special treatment.
So instead of merely ranking the most esteemed candidates, it's time to put a unique spin on awards season and construct a comprehensive starting five.
Using the general outline implemented by the NBA to select All-NBA teams, we've pinpointed five players and five runner-ups at each position who have made the most significant year-over-year per-game and advanced statistical leaps during the 2014-15 campaign.
Point Guard: Jeff Teague
1 of 5
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Age: 26
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 16.5 points, 6.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 0.2 blocks, 17.1 PER
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 16.8 points, 7.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, 21.6 PER
Welcome to prime time, Jeff Teague.
While the Atlanta Hawks' floor general flashed steady improvement over each of the last five seasons, his sixth professional campaign has culminated in a full-blown breakout.
Not only are his per-game averages up across the board, but he's shooting the rock at a far more efficient clip.
Stroking it at 46.4 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from three, Teague has transformed into one of the NBA's most versatile scorers at the point. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he's one of eight guards who are averaging better than 10 points and hitting more than 50 percent of their two-point shots.
According to Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, statistics reveal that Teague is also the NBA's most clutch point man thanks to his distributive prowess:
"Playmaking is the vessel through which Teague travels to get here. He's assisting on 45.5 percent of Atlanta's baskets in the clutch. Of every point guard with 20 or more crunch-time appearances, only John Wall registers a higher mark (52).
Precision carries Teague even further. His assist-to-turnover ratio is a ridiculous 3.33 in these situations. That ranks first among all point men and second when taking into account all guards. For further perspective, consider that only three offensive pilots (minimum 35 appearances) top that proportion in general, inside or outside crunch time.
"
No wonder his player efficiency rating has jumped more than four points since last season. Only three point guards—Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul—have recorded higher PERs to date.
With an All-Star selection serving as evidence of his growth, it won't be long before Teague carves out a spot on the superstar ladder alongside his PER peers.
Runner-Up: Brandon Knight, Phoenix Suns
Before he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns, it was easier to marvel at Brandon Knight's most-improved credentials. But since he was shipped to the desert on Feb. 19, Knight's scoring average has dipped by more than four points, while his shooting splits have all plummeted. Adapting to a new scheme midseason will do that to a point guard's production, but it's hard to keep Knight in the conversation with his role in flux.
Shooting Guard: Jimmy Butler
2 of 5
Team: Chicago Bulls
Age: 25
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.5 blocks, 13.5 PER
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 20.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.6 blocks, 21.3 PER
Say hello to the front-runner for Most Improved Player honors.
A supplementary scorer who couldn't even knock down 40 percent of his shots last season, Jimmy Butler is now in the max-contract conversation with a sizable pay increase looming this summer.
While Butler's monster per-game improvements reflect his exploding value, they've also placed him in exclusive company. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the only other players who are averaging at least 20 points, five boards and 1.5 steals are LeBron James, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
You know what those guys have in common? They're all in the MVP conversation.
And while Butler may not be in that discussion just yet, he makes the prized two-way impact necessary for eventual inclusion.
Ranked No. 2 overall among shooting guards in player efficiency rating, Butler is the sort of polished product that teams dream of building around.
Runner-Up: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
It's a shame Butler and Klay Thompson play the same position, because the Splash Brother really deserves more than a passing mention. However, Thompson's growth hasn't been as shocking. That's because his 18.4 point-per-game average on 41.7 percent shooting from deep last year earned him a max extension, which sent expectations soaring. Thompson has met them, without question, but Butler's evolution into a featured weapon earns him the edge.
Small Forward: Gordon Hayward
3 of 5
Team: Utah Jazz
Age: 24
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 16.2 points, 5.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.5 blocks, 16.2 PER
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 19.4 points, 4.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, 20.0 PER
Gordon Hayward has long been searching for stability, and it appears he's finally found it under head coach Quin Snyder.
Hayward has bounced back in a big way one year removed from floundering under Ty Corbin, when he posted career-worst shooting splits of 41.3 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three.
Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal explains:
"It isn't exactly easy to average at least 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal per game. In fact, only six qualified players are doing so this season:
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- Stephen Curry
- James Harden
- Gordon Hayward
- LeBron James
- Damian Lillard
- Russell Westbrook
"Gordon is a top player in this league," Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tweeted in early February. "And it's just crazy how he doesn't get any respect and credit."
Now shooting better than 45 percent from the field and nearly 37 percent from deep with an above-average mid-range conversion rate for the first time in his career, Hayward looks like the franchise centerpiece he's long been touted as.
We hear you loud and clear, Rudy.
Runner-Up: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Hornets
Formerly mocked for his awkward and broken jump shot, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has made a rapid and commendable transformation.
Not only does Kidd-Gilchrist finally represent a net positive on offense, but the former No. 2 overall pick also is shooting a career-best 41.7 percent from mid-range, up more than 10 percent from last season. Additionally, the Hornets defense ranks as the league's best when he's manning the wing, which has helped bump his PER above the league average for the first time in three seasons.
Power Forward: Draymond Green
4 of 5
Team: Golden State Warriors
Age: 25
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.9 blocks, 12.7 PER
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks, 15.7 PER
Draymond Green oscillates between the two forward spots and guards seemingly every player on the floor, so it would be criminal to omit him based on petty positional discrepancies.
Counting stats aside, Green has made tremendous strides under head coach Steve Kerr. With Kerr favoring smaller, more flexible lineups that can scramble and switch constantly, Green has emerged as the poster child for Golden State's position-less revolution.
He's holding both small and power forwards to player efficiency ratings below 14, per 82games.com, which has contributed to a net rating that's up roughly 13 points from last season. According to ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss, Kerr noted that the team's defensive rating with Green at center also sits at a cool 87.5 following Wednesday night's 102-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
"He deserves some accolades for what he does: Guards everybody on the floor, switches onto Isaiah Thomas and guards Tyler Zeller," Kerr said, according to SlamOnline.com's Jake Fischer. "How many guys in the League can do that? He’s the key to our small lineup because we can still have rim protection and rebounding and toughness around the paint."
A Defensive Player of the Year award may be in Green's future, but he also deserves serious consideration for Most Improved honors as the regular season winds down.
Runner-Up: Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz
There are exciting things going on in Salt Lake City, and Derrick Favors is a major reason why. To simplify things, here's a quick primer on how the fifth-year power forward stacks up against his most celebrated colleagues:
- The only power forwards with higher PERs are Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and Pau Gasol. Each of those players was selected as an All-Star this season.
- Favors is also one of four players who are averaging at least 16 points and eight rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. The other three are Davis, Dwight Howard and Nikola Vucevic.
Case closed.
Center: Hassan Whiteside
5 of 5
Team: Miami Heat
Age: 25
2011-12 Per-Game Stats*: 1.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.8 blocks, 0.2 steals, 16.2 PER
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 11.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 2.5 blocks, 0.5 steals, 27.9 PER
In the blink of an eye, Hassan Whiteside can snatch a rebound, dunk over unsuspecting bigs and crush opponents' dreams.
The blink of an eye is also a nice way to describe the speed at which Whiteside has established himself as one of the game's most feared interior presences.
Since getting elevated to the starting lineup on Jan. 14, he is averaging 13.9, 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Dating back to 2007-08, the only player to meet those benchmarks over the course of a single season is Dwight Howard.
According to the Palm Beach Post's Jason Lieser, Whiteside's league-leading rebound rate already has him occupying the No. 2 spot on Miami's franchise leaderboard for 20-rebound games. The four he's compiled are more than Alonzo Mourning had over the course of 11 seasons with the team.
That's not bad for someone who spent the last two years bouncing around overseas and in the D-League (hence the asterisk) after appearing in just 19 games with the Sacramento Kings during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
The small sample size may prohibit Whiteside from taking home the hardware in a couple of months, but his ability to sustain such absurd production deserves effusive praise.
Runner-Up: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Welcome to the Gobert Report, where guests are frequently met at the rim and turned away in emphatic fashion. But flashy rejections aside, Gobert's defensive discipline has vaulted the Utah Jazz into a spectacular new realm.
"Since February 1, Utah is the only team in the league holding opponents to under 50 percent shooting inside of 8 feet," Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry wrote. "Sure, it’s a collective effort, and it involves some good scheming by first-year coach Quin Snyder, but it’s clear that Gobert is the most important factor."
Now Utah's full-time starter in the middle, Gobert is averaging 10.6 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks since taking over for Enes Kanter after the trade deadline.
That's what a franchise building block looks like.
All statistics current as of March 4 and retrieved from Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless noted otherwise.
