CelticsLife Awards 2017: Most Improved Celtic

The seventh edition of the 2017 CelticsLife Awards is finally here, which, for the new jacks out there, is the CelticsLife writer's choices for the best of the best of the 2016-17 Boston Celtics season. We're diving into the best of the best basketball we saw from the Cs across categories like Most Improved Celtic, (which this article covers), Game of the Year, Best performance by a duo and many others, with earlier awards in this series linked at the bottom of the article. We've expanded the award categories to account for the extended postseason run, splitting them into regular season and playoff categories (when relevant) to account for all of the of amazing basketball we've seen this season. So, housekeeping finished, let's jump into the seventh award's nominees:

 CANDIDATES: MOST IMPROVED CELTIC

Avery Bradley: improved field goal percentage from .447 to .463; three-point shooting from .361 to .390; rebounding from 2.9 to 6.1 per game; points per game from 15.2 to 16.3



Isaiah Thomas: improved field goal percentage from .428 to .463;  three-point shooting from .359 to .379; free throw shooting from .871 to .909; points per game from 22.2 to 28.9



Terry Rozier: improved field goal percentage from .274 to .367; three-point shooting from .222 to .318; rebounds per game from 1.6 to 3.1; assists from 0.9 to 1.8; points per game from 1.8 to 5.5



Justin Quinn: You could probably make a convincing argument for Isaiah Thomas to win every award we’ve nominated him for. And it would make sense, given the season that he’s had. But in this one instance, I’m throwing my vote to Avery Bradley, who has added elements like ball handling, passing, and now offense to his game each season he’s been in the league. It’s rare for guys to work as hard and effectively as Avery has, and as much as rumblings to the contrary have me worried he’s an odd man out sooner than later, this is exactly the sort of development that makes me want to keep him in Boston.

Mark Allison: I would love to select somebody not-so-obvious here but I feel like this has to go to Isaiah. Yes, he was an All-Star last season but this year he vaulted into the Most Valuable Player race. You could legitimately make a case for Isaiah being in the top five for the NBA MVP this season and that is incredible. For as good as Paul Pierce was in all his years in green the highest he ever finished in the MVP vote was seventh (2008-09), and there’s a very good chance IT finished ahead of that.

Josh Coyne: I think Avery became much more of an offensive threat this year due to the addition of Al Horford. The pair worked together brilliantly to create space for open shots and Bradley made the most of it. His ball handling improved exponentially and by the time the playoffs came along, he played a gigantic part in Boston’s postseason success.

WINNER: Avery Bradley: improved field goal percentage from .447 to .463; three-point shooting from .361 to .390; rebounding from 2.9 to 6.1 per game; points per game from 15.2 to 16.3



NEXT UP:  Front office move of the year

PREVIOUSLY: Best Individual Performance, Regular Season ; Best Individual Performance, Playoffs ; Game of the Year, Regular Season ; Game of the Year, Playoffs ; Play of the Year, Regular Season

For more stories about the 2016-17 season on CelticsLife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.



Photo via Ken Blaze/USA Today Sports
Follow Justin at @justinquinnn


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