Watch: Ja Morant gifts his Most Improved Player award to Desmond Bane originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Ja Morant recently delivered one of his best assists of the season.
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And it came off of the court.
The Memphis Grizzlies point guard was named the NBA's 2021-22 Most Improved Player on Monday. But, rather than keeping the trophy for himself, he gave it to teammate Desmond Bane, who finished fifth in MIP voting.
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Grind City Media captured how Morant surprised Bane with the award:
Bane did say in the second video to "take this back to 12 [Morant]," so it's unclear if he'll be keeping it. Regardless, it's still an awesome gesture from the face of the Grizzlies franchise.
Bane was certainly a worthy most improved candidate, as he played a key role in Memphis' rise to the NBA's second-best regular-season record.
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The 2020 second-round pick upped his points per game average from 9.2 as a rookie last year to 18.2 this year, one of the largest leaps in the entire league. He did it in an efficient manner too, shooting 46.1% from the field, 43.6% from 3 and 90.3% from the line.
Bane has continued his impressive sophomore campaign in the first round of the playoffs, leading the Grizz in points per game (23.3) while shooting 48.4% from the field and 48.7% from 3.
