Chicago Bulls guard Coby White. David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Former NBA champion feels Bulls' Coby White was 'robbed' of award

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/24/24

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey winning the NBA's Most Improved Player has sparked quite the debate.

Many have contended that if the criteria for the award is "biggest leap taken" between seasons, Coby White should be the rightful winner for the 2023-24 season. The Bulls guard more than doubled his points production as he went from 9.7 to 19.1 points per game between seasons.

Maxey, meanwhile, improved his points per game tally by 5.6 points from last season. The jump was widely expected, especially after Maxey was handed the reins as the Sixers' starting point guard following James Harden's departure.

Coby White last season ➡️ this season:

9.7 ➡️ 19.1 PPG
2.8 ➡️ 5.1 APG
1.7 ➡️ 2.6 3PM

MIP snub? https://t.co/GuALxCyPYD
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 23, 2024

Maxey last season ➡️ this season:

20.3 ➡️ 25.9 PPG
2.9 ➡️ 3.7 RPG
3.5 ➡️ 6.2 APG

MIP. pic.twitter.com/nCnjvyClZO
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 23, 2024

Former NBA champion Alex Caruso believes his teammate got "robbed" of the award.

Coby robbed #MIP
— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) April 24, 2024

The final voting tally revealed that Maxey received 51 first-place votes, 18 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes to finish with a tally of 319 points. White received 32 first-place votes, 43 second-place votes and 16 third-place votes for a total of 305 points. As such, it was quite a close race.

Others who received first-place votes include the Rockets' Alperen Sengun, Thunder's Jalen Williams, Knicks' Jalen Brunson and Wizards' Deni Avdija.

Did the voters get it right? Besides Caruso, Paul George and Chris Paul also feel White is the rightful winner.

"Coby deserves it," Paul told The Athletic last month. "He's always been a hard worker. But the way he worked this past summer was different. He's getting a chance to see the fruits of his labor."

The NBA will announce the winners of the other regular-season awards in the coming days.

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