Top 5 candidates for Most Improved Player award

#4 Jaylen Brown

Brown dunks it home against the Suns

2016-17 stats: 6.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks on 45.4% shooting from the field in 17.2 minutes per game

2017-18 stats: 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks on 46.2% shooting from the field in 30.8 minutes per game

Jaylen Brown had more expectations on his back as the 3rd pick of the 2016 NBA draft, but he was largely rooted to the deep end of the bench on Brad Stevens' rotations for the Boston Celtics in his rookie season.

There were good indications that Brown had the potential to become a really good player, but we only saw glimpses instead of the full package. The full package is yet to arrive, but the 21-year-old has definitely shown a lot of improvement on both ends of the floor.

Jaylen Brown has a case for making an All-Defensive team this season, ranking 9th among all players in defensive win shares per game. He's also upped the ante on offense, scoring 7.5 more points per game while knocking down 38% of his 3-pointers - signifying a 3.9% jump in this category for the sophomore.