Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler named KIA NBA Most Improved Player of the season

Jimmy Butler is the 2014-15 KIA NBA Most Improved Player

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2014-15 season, the NBA announced on Thursday morning. The league’s twitter handle made it official:

The @ChicagoBulls' @JimmyButler named 2014-2015 @Kia NBA Most Improved Player of the Year! #KiaMIP pic.twitter.com/s7AkGKiDGj

— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2015

Butler registered career highs of 20 points (15th in the league), 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists with league leading 38.7 minutes on the court in 65 games this season. He also posted career highs in free throw shooting percentage, free throws attempted and three pointers made. From a panel of 129 sportswriters, Butler received 92 first-place votes and totalled 535 points while Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors finished second and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz finished third.

Here’s a breakdown of the voting results:

Official breakdown of the Most Improved Player voting. Congrats @JimmyButler pic.twitter.com/je1gYywv35

— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) May 7, 2015

The award is given to players who make vast improvement in the game and despite Draymond Green possibly being snubbed, there is no doubt that Butler deserves the honour. Butler was known as a defensive stopper right from the beginning of his career, but during this off-season his offence caught everyone’s eye. He had 34 games where he scored 20+ points this season whereas he had just 9 in the previous two season combined.

What he has achieved, coming from the 30th pick of the 2011 Draft to being named MIP three season later is commendable to say the least. His teammate Nazr Mohammed was quick to congratulate him on social media:

Congrats to my lil bro @JimmyButler on winning @NBA's Most Improved Player Award. .... http://t.co/sDXS680ISI pic.twitter.com/IOFDGQODXA

— Nazr Mohammed (@NazrMohammed) May 7, 2015

Currently, the Bulls are in a heated Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls’ management will look ahead to locking up Butler as soon as possible this summer, when he becomes a free agent.