The regular season is over, and the postseason is here, which means it's time for voters and writers to submit their award ballots. The award with the most names considered is Most Improved Player of the Year.
It's an award that is simple in name but complex to quantify. What does it mean to be "most improved"?
Everyone has different ways to answer that question, including at High Post Hoops. However, it's been interesting to see how many names come up compared to the other awards.
Jessica Shepard and Shakira Austin appear to be frontrunners, but Marina Mabrey, Carla Leite, Bridget Carleton, and Dominque Malonga are among other names who have been considered by writers and voters.
This highlights the vagueness of the award, but it also highlights how much incredible talent there is in the WNBA. That's why the league should rename the award to something that best captures its spirit.
"Breathrough" or "Breakout" is a better description of these players
One issue with the idea of "most improved" is the implication that the player was ”bad” and got better a year later. Obviously, this isn't the case for any of the names considered for the award.
For example, Shepard was a great bench player on the Minnesota Lynx. That also is part of the case against her for Most Improved Player of the Year; she didn't suddenly get better a year later. The Dallas Wings obviously signed her to a two-year max deal because she is a fantastic player.
However, her bench role on the Lynx limited her to a certain number of minutes, and her featured role on the Wings allowed her to "break out" and be considered one of the best forwards in the league.
You can make a similar case for all of the candidates. Leite, Carleton, and Mabrey became franchise pillars for their respective expansion teams after showing their skill sets on their previous teams. Austin and Malonga earned consistent star minutes and continued their development.
Calling someone a "breakthrough" or "breakout" player makes much more sense, especially with more expansion teams in the future, so we're more likely to see players like Leite, Carleton, and Mabrey.
Most Improved Player of the Year is a mirror of the awards the NBA has, and they also face a similar issue when it comes to defining the meaning and the spirit of the award.
It would be forward-thinking of the league, specifically a new commissioner, to rename the award to better highlight the talent depth of the WNBA.
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