The NBA announced Thursday that Chicago Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler has been named the league’s Most Improved Player.
Butler was the runaway winner in the voting process, garnering 92 of a possible 129 first-place votes from a panel of media members. He earned 535 points total, with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green finishing as runner-up with 200 points, including 11 first-place votes. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert came in third, with 189 points and 12 first-place votes.
The NBA will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon to give Butler the award. Butler will also be honored Friday with an on-court presentation at the United Center before Chicago’s home matchup against Cleveland in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Butler said after the Bulls’ 106-91 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday night that he’s focused on winning games rather than the award.
“I want to win this series, I want to win the championship, and at the end of the season, maybe that Most Improved award will mean a lot more,” he said.
Despite losing 17 games to injury, Butler hiked his scoring average this season from 13.1 points per game to 20.0 and became an Eastern Conference All-Star for the first time. He also raised his shooting percentage from 39.7 percent from the floor last season to 46.2 percent.