John Hollinger writes in The Athletic's NBA preview: Amen Thompson will win Most Improved Player In the wake of last season’s successful prediction that Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey would win the award, I have no choice but to attempt to repeat the feat. Scanning rosters and eyeballing candidates, I’ve settled on Thompson. I think perception will play a big role here. Thompson’s rookie season didn’t really register with fans, partly because he missed the beginning of it and only played 62 games, starting just 23. However, he was a very successful rookie when he played. Check out these splits as a starter: 13.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 58.4 percent shooting, two assists for every turnover and nearly two “stocks” (steals + blocks) per night. He’ll have to become more threatening as a shooter (8 of 58 from 3 … yikes), but that’s the one area in which young players can sometimes make great progress. With Houston possibly stepping up as a more serious playoff contender this year, and Thompson likely to receive a lot more playing time in the bargain, I expect him to become a more prominent name in the national discussion. Whether that’s enough to get him an award like this remains to be seen — usually it’s an out-of-left-field, never-saw-it-coming-type season that wins this honor. But if there’s a Maxey-ish-type year out there that maybe we could see coming, I think Thompson has the best chance of delivering it.
I would just settle for best wing defender on the planet awards and maybe a few DPOY votes since we already know the media is giving Wemby the DPOY award for the next several years. Once they tighten up some of those communication gaps we saw in the OKC game, Tari and Amen sharing the court together with the rest of our roster is pure defensive chaos.
Sengun should have won it last year. But they knew he was good the year before already, just held down by Silas.
MIP probably won't happen for Amen because he's not a gifted scorer and isn't flashy enough. He's the kind of player Rockets fans will fully enjoy and appreciate but the rest of the league won't recognize him to the same degree. Too much of what he does is on the defensive end.
Eh it always goes to shooters who really improve their PPG. Amen is not that, though the threes he took in pre-season somehow went in at a high rate. He did open some eyes at Team USA exhibition/ practice I heard on Rockets feed from the Spurs game, so he definitely won’t fly under the radar.
MIP doesn't go to 2nd (or 3rd) year players usually. And I don't think it should. 2nd and 3rd year players are supposed to improve a ton, so it's not impressive if/when they do.
They should not even be eligible, that goes completely against the spirit of the award. Koby white should have been unanimous last season, he is exactly what the award should be
I don't think so but he will certainly be much better than what people think of him right now and he's on a path to being one of the highest impact players in the league. I just think historically his archetype at guys experience level doesn't win this award.
I think Amen has a legitimate shot at this award. The supposed knock on Thompson was that he didn't have much of an offensive game, and the preseason has shown that he can be a force, creating at will. If he flashes any FT line jumper (or 3-point mechanics!), he'll be a media darling with all the easy transition baskets.
That’s a VERY interesting thought. If he turns the corner, he does have the “Maxey” factor going from a dude to a legit all star.
Yep. The league like to crown perimter guys too, especially with Steph and Lebron leaving the game soon and the America public ain’t messing with Luka like the international fans. but in reality, if Jalen plays like he did during the preseason and average 23 on good efficiency with the defense he’s been playing, he’ll get it. Role players off the bench don’t typically win MIP, and based off the hierarchy of this team that’s what Amen will be for this squad this season.
Amen's ceiling is just as high as Green or Sengun imo. I am higher on Amen and Tari over Green and Sengun, simply because of their two way abilities.
