Congratulations to Pacers baller Paul George! He was just named the NBA’s Most Improved Player!
Via ESPN:
Indiana Pacers forward Paul George spent the past summer turning himself into a better player.
Now he’s planning to dedicate himself to becoming the NBA’s best all-around player.
A few minutes after accepting the league’s Most Improved Player Award, the 6-foot-9 swingman promised to work even harder to attain the biggest rewards of all — an NBA title and perhaps an MVP.
“I think I can play at an MVP level. I think that’s very much within reach,” George said Tuesday. “For me, it’s all about being consistent and having that aggressive mindset.”
George has already emerged as one of the league’s top young players, which explains his runaway victory in the balloting. He received 52 of 120 first-place votes and 311 points, more than double the total of New Orleans’ Greivis Vasquez, who had 13 first-place votes and 146 points. Milwaukee’s Larry Sanders was third with 141 points and was one of three players to receive 10 first-place votes.
As part of the award, a 2012 Kia Sorrento will be donated to the Hawthorne Community Center, George’s hand-picked charity.
George is also expected to be one of the top vote-getters for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, an honor coach Frank Vogel lobbied hard for Tuesday.
The question is whether George has what it takes to challenge for the league’s top individual honor.
“With the physical talent he has, with the drive he has, there’s no ceiling for him,” Vogel said.
George reportedly won’t add top defensive player honors to his most improved award, however. The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, citing sources with knowledge of the voting, reported thatMemphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol will win the award.
If 2012-13 proved anything, it’s that George is a man of his word.
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