Explainer: Why Jonathan Kuminga isn’t the NBA’s Most Improved Player

On Tuesday, April 23rd, the Philadelphia 76ers’ fourth-year breakout point guard Tyrese Maxey was awarded the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. In the West, a lot of fans were advocating for the Warriors’ third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga to get the award instead.

Kuminga averaged 16 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in an average of 26.3 minutes per game, a massive leap from his sophomore season in every sense. This year, although the Warriors floundered, Kuminga flourished.

Although Kuminga hit the new 65-game threshold to meet eligibility for postseason awards, he missed out due to what Warriors on NBCS refers to as a “caveat” in the NBA’s rules.

The caveat in question?

He only hit 20+ minutes in 61 of his 74 games played.

“For a game to count towards those 65 games, a player must receive 20 minutes or more of action. Kuminga checked that box 61 times, four shy of MIP consideration. He fell 40 seconds short of 20 minutes once, and 27 seconds short another time. Kuminga played eight games where he was within two minutes of the 20-minute mark.”

Something similar happened to the Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo, who also made an impressive leap this season after teaming back up with his college buddies. We’re sure our friends at Posting and Toasting are positively pleased about this.

Hopefully, the NBA tweaks the criteria next year to include more players who aren’t quite stars, but are definitely a far cry from role players. For now, Jonathan Kuminga is the Most Improved Player in our hearts.