Four Weeks into NBA Season, Former 'Cats in Thick of MIP Race
As KSR’s resident Nostradamus Adam Stratton predicted back in early October, three former Kentucky Wildcats are right in the thick of this season’s Most Improved Player race.
Tyrese Maxey, Keldon Johnson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have turned heads around the league so far in this short season, all making legitimate cases for the award.
Coming into this season, these three were all given +2800 odds to win the award, tied for 8th place in the category. One of them is looking to become the second ‘Cat to win this award, joining Julius Randle, who took home the award in 2021.
Lauri Markkanen (Jazz), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), and Bol Bol (Magic) have also emerged as candidates for this season’s award.
SGA Blossoming into an Absolute Star in Fifth Season
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t just been a Most Improved Player candidate so far, he’s been a Most Valuable Player candidate. In his fourth season in OKC, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.8 PPG on 53.9% shooting with 5.8 assists and 2.1 steals.
SGA has been a beam of light for a Thunder franchise that has been in the dark since the departures of Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook a few years ago. He leads a young team that is missing 2022 2nd overall pick Chet Holmgren due to an injury he sustained before the season began. Because of this, Gilgeous-Alexander is often left to carry the Thunder on his back night after night. For example, SGA scored 33 points and recorded seven rebounds, five assists, four blocks and one steal in a loss to the Detroit Pistons earlier this week. No other Thunder player scored more than 11 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points on 14/26 shooting and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer Wednesday night against the league-best 9-1 Milwaukee Bucks. Although the Thunder fell in 2OT, SGA has been nothing short of clutch all season.
If he continues to put up these numbers, he would finish third in Thunder history in points per game averaged during a single season. To think, SGA played second fiddle to Quade Green for half a season.
Maxey Emerging as one of the League’s Brightest Young Stars
In his third season in Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey has emerged as one of the best young guards in the entire NBA.
Sharing the backcourt with former MVP James Harden, Maxey is averaging more PPG than the former Rocket and has been putting numbers up in droves so far.
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Maxey opened a lot of eyes two weeks ago when he dropped 44 points on 15/20 shooting in a win over the Toronto Raptors. At this point in the season, Maxey is averaging six more points a game than he did last year. In only two short seasons, he has boosted his scoring output from eight a game to 23 a game.
There are only two players in Philadelphia 76ers history who have 10+ 30-point games before turning 22 years old: Tyrese Maxey and Allen Iverson. Elite company for the former ‘Cat.
Maxey has been extremely impressive so far this season. If he and Harden can gel together once the former MVP returns from injury, the 76ers may be sporting the most impressive backcourt in the entire NBA.
Keldon Johnson Has Arrived
Keldon Johnson was drafted into the NBA in 2019 alongside Kentucky teammates PJ Washington and Tyler Herro. Johnson was merely an afterthought, falling all the way to the San Antonio Spurs at pick 29. In his first two seasons, Johnson averaged only a mere 9.1 and 12.8 points per game and stayed completely out of the spotlight in the ghost town that is San Antonio.
Since, Johnson has been the leader of a rebuilding Spurs team, devoid of an identity they had thanks to the Tim Duncan/Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili era. After a solid season last year, Johnson has emerged as one of the most underrated players in the league in 2022-23.
Johnson is averaging 23.1 PPG, nearly six points higher than 2021-22. He has emerged as one of the best defensive wings in the NBA and is anchoring a young defense consisting of former Baylor standout Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell, and Jakob Poeltl. The Spurs sport the fifth-highest defensive rating in the entire league.
Kentucky runs the NBA, and this is no different this year. Anthony Davis, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins were the first crop of NBA superstars. If these three guys continue their impressive play, they may be the next crop of former ‘Cats to blossom into NBA stardom.
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