Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Improved Player, the NBA announced today.

A three-year NBA veteran, Morant becomes the first player to win the Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award with Memphis.  The annual award, which was first presented in the 1985-86 season, is designed to honor an up-and-coming player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons.

Morant received 221 points (38 first-place votes) from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.  San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray finished in second place with 183 points (20 first-place votes).  Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland finished in third place with 178 points (11 first-place votes).  Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

A first-time NBA All-Star selection this season, Morant averaged a career-high 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 33.1 minutes in 57 games.  He also shot a career-best 49.3 percent from the field.  Morant, 22, is the third player in NBA history to reach his 2021-22 numbers in points, assists, rebounds and field goal percentage within his first three seasons, joining NBA 75th Anniversary Team members Oscar Robertson and Dwyane Wade.