Kansas basketball alum Devonte’ Graham should have been an MIP finalist

Former Kansas basketball star and All-American Devonte’ Graham deserved to be a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, but he got robbed.

Kansas basketball alum Devonte’ Graham is easily one of the better point guards in the NBA right now. He averaged 18.2 points and 7.5 assists per game during the 2019-20 season while shooting 37 percent from behind the three-point line. He’s made major strides since his rookie year, where he averaged just 4.7 points and 2.6 assists per game.

Despite the significant uptick in production, Graham was not a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, which is ridiculous. The three finalists, Bam Adebayo, Luka Doncic, and Brandon Ingram all had admittedly great seasons, but Graham was incredible.

He had the largest point increase from last season to this season out of the finalists, and his increase from 2.6 assists per game to 7.5 assists per game speaks for itself. He definitely deserved to be a finalist, and Luka Doncic thinks so too.

Doncic, who had a legit chance to be a finalist for the MVP award, was quoted as saying “take me off the list and put Devonte’ Graham on there. I don’t deserve to be on there.” That’s quite the statement from Doncic, who’s become a superstar in the league since his rookie season last year. While it may not be much consolation, an endorsement like that from a respected peer says a lot about Graham and how much better he’s gotten.

He’s become a true leader on the Charlotte Hornets, starting 53 out of their 63 games and playing around 35 minutes per game. He’s been one of the bright spots on the team, considering they finished the season with a 23-42 record.

Even though Graham got robbed, there’s no denying his success. He’s 100 percent proven that he deserves to be in the NBA after being taken in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, and hopefully, Graham will continue to improve to an all-star caliber level.