Boris Diaw to be named Most Improved

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/ ... ved_award/

East Valley Tribune - Boris Diaw, who went from a benchwarmer in Atlanta to a savior for the shorthanded Suns, will win the 2005-06 NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in a runaway, the East Valley Tribune is reporting.

Diaw was originally projected as a throw in to the Joe Johnson sign and trade deal and quickly became a key component to the Suns lineup when Amare Stoudemire was injured.

Diaw set career highs in almost every statistical category including points (13.3), rebounds (6.9), assists (6.2) and minutes (35.5), playing in every game until skipping the meaningless season finale in Portland with strep throat. During his first two seasons in Atlanta, Diaw averaged 4.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Congrats to Diaw, I guess he has improved in more categories than David West did so I can't argue about this.

Congrats to Diaw, he has really improved heaps, hence him winning the award

The "increased minutes equals better stats" argument is there, but he still came through with the opportunity given to him, and if that's the standard very few MIP award winners of years gone by truly deserve the honour.

2/3 so far this year. Definitely a selective jinx these days.

he really benefited from the change of scenery, change of position & most importantly, change of playing style....

he's a deserving winner....West improved too but Diaw gets the slight nod here....for those who argue for West, he too falls under "increased minutes equals better stats" argument too....

it's a tough call this award....the voters will never know the 'actual' MIP....it could be a practice player, heck it could even be Sean Marks (unlikely) or Darko Milicic (unlikely as he probably already had it)....what about Anthony Johnson, who went from scrub to backup to starting PG on playoff team....he is who he is, so he hasn't really improved too much....

honestly if you ask me who the MIP is....Andres Nocioni....

I think he deserves it. And I'm glad that it wasn't Mike James...

I'm glad it wasn't mike jones either.

I'm glad it wasn't mike jones either.

Great work by Diaw,he really deserves it

I don't think anyone would have imagined the impact he would have on Phoenix. Most people just assumed he'd be a spare part from the Joe Johnson trade, so I think that the fact that he suprised a lot of people really helped him earn the award.

David West was already expected to be a solid player even before this season.

Congrats to Boris.

Voters seem to love Phoenix this year. Oh well.

May aswell give it to Steve Nash, since everyone wants to credit him for Diaw's play.

too bad all these awars add up to zero championships.

too bad all these awars add up to zero championships.

Spoken like a true Detroiter(Detroitian?).

Wow, i was never expecting the suns to actually be benefitting from this joe johnson deal. but they are. diaw has come on and become an effective player in this league. all his stats went up, should be even better next year when amare comes back. however, partial credit to steve nash, because of his great ability to take a bunch of castoffs, and make them effective.

Yeah, even though the Hawks got the better player (Joe Johnson) I think it's fair to say that the Suns won that trade. Not only did they get Boris Diaw but they also got two first round draft picks. This is all for a player who was going to leave for nothing via free agency, too.

Boris Diaw deserved this award and I'm glad he got it.

too bad all these awars add up to zero championships.

Spoken like a true Detroiter(Detroitian?).

I believe the correct term is Piston fan.

As for the whole increased minutes equals better stats argument, while I do think this a major factor in the increase in statistical output for these guys, I think we also must look at reasons for thier increased minutes. Coaches wouldn't play these guys twice or three times the minutes this season unless thier game had improved a great deal. Take Diaw for example. He obviously wasn't all about and increase in minutes, he was one of like three or four people to average 12/6/6. That is saying something.

If Diaw didn't win this it woulda been a crime

i think kobe should've won it, but its no surprise that diaw did and a good choice to boot.

hahaha kobe wouldnt of. Good work to Boris Diaw.

According to ESPN magazine, Diaw was just a victim of the Hawks' system. In Europe he was taught pass-first and on the Hawks whenever he passed it, it gave him a title of being soft.

wow nice job

Congrats to Boris.
Well deserved.

they hate kobe, due to the number change.

PHX wins the awards, but no chip. Detroit's the opposite. But this wasn't even close. Had anyone else won, I would've gone on a rampage in DC or wherever the hell league headquarters is.

Spoken like a true Detroiter(Detroitian?).

it's true though....remember when Philly racked up a bunch of awards....MVP, 6th man, COY...hell i can't remember.....0 titles

Detroit later had the same thing.....DPOY, 6th man and such and zero titles...

it's all a conspiracy.

The only other person I consider deserving of MIP is Tony Parker.