Indiana's Granger named Most Improved Player

Sports Network | May 12, 2009

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger has been named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2008-09 season.

Granger received 48 first-place votes and a total of 364 points from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, edging New Jersey guard Devin Harris for the honor. Harris garnered 43 first- place votes and 339 total points. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant finished a distant third with 83 points.

Players were awarded five points for a first-place vote, three points for second and one point for third.

In his fourth season, Granger finished as the league's fifth-leading scorer with an average of 25.8 points per game. It was 6.2 points higher than his 2007-08 average of 19.6 ppg, and 9.4 points above his previous career average of 16.4 ppg.

Granger, who also averaged 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists, became the first player in NBA history to increase his scoring average by at least five points in three consecutive seasons. He was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the first time this season and led Indiana in scoring in 49 of the 67 games he played.

Previous Indiana players to capture the honor were Jermaine O'Neal in 2001-02 and Jalen Rose in 1999-2000.