SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole was not selected as a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. Instead, the three finalists are the Cavaliers’ Darius Garland, Grizzles’ Ja Morant, and Spurs’ Dejounte Murray, the leagued announced on Twitter Sunday.
Warriors forward Draymond Green said he disagrees with the decision to leave Poole off the most-improved player list of finalists. Green adds Poole should have won the award.
“The NBA really needs to relook at their process,” Green said in a press conference after the Warriors’ practice on Sunday. “Because you cannot find a guy on that list that has made a bigger improvement. I don’t care. If he’s not the most improved player, let’s rename the award.”
Poole, 22, is coming off a regular season in which he averaged 18.5 points per game on 44% shooting and 35% from 3-point range. He started 51 of the 76 contests he appeared in this season, including many games before Klay Thompson’s return from injury in January.
Last season, Poole averaged 12 points per game. This season, Poole became a larger piece of the Warriors offense, especially when Thompson or Stephen Curry were out of the lineup.
Poole led all scorers with 30 points in Game 1 of the first round against the Denver Nuggets in his first playoff game of his career. Curry only played 21 minutes as he was his first game back since injuring his foot on March 16.
Green’s full soundbite talking about Poole and the most improved player award can be viewed here. The Warriors head into Game 2 Monday night at home with a 1-0 series lead.
