I never thought this would happen, neither would Danny Granger, either. Granger won The Most Improved Player of the Year Award, by averaging 25.8 points per game, a career-best.
Granger accepted the award today at Conseco Fieldhouse, barely beating out New Jersey Nets', Devin Harris, by 364 votes 339. The voting was made from a panel of 121 journalists. While on vacation in Venice, Italy, that is how Granger found out about the award.
"I can honestly say it really did come as a surprise," he said. "I really had it out of my mind for a while. I was on vacation, enjoying Italy, and all of a sudden, I'm winning the award."
Granger was also honored before this award, as he was voted to the All-Star team by improving his scoring average by at least five points in each of his last three seasons. He averaged 7.5 as a rookie, 13.9 in his second year, 19.6 in 2007, and now 25.8 this year.
His 25.8 points was ranked fifth in the NBA.
"I think in my fourth year, I just had the experience of playing a lot of minutes," he said. "I could read defenses a lot better. I could get my shot a lot easier than what I had in the past. I think I just thought my way through the game a little more than I had previously."
Granger has also been asked to participate for the USA Basketball team training camp this summer, the first phase for selecting the squad of the 2012 Olympics team in London. Tuesday, he accepted the offer.
Granger played his best in January. He averaged 34.7 points per game during the six-game span against Western Conference teams. That stretch began on the third and during that time, he made a game-winning three-pointer over two-time MVP, Steve Nash, in a 113-110 win. A week later, he made a game-tying jumper, but later to beat the Pistons in overtime.
He made another exciting shot on the 19th as he made a game-tying three but later to get upped by Chris Paul at the buzzer. Granger missed 11 games this season and improved after his return, averaging 28.4 points per game in his last 15 games.
Now all Granger needs to do is win a MVP award next year!
