Ryan Anderson Wins The Most Improved Player Award

You can watch the press conference here.

Here is the official word from the Magic:

"— Anderson Becomes Fifth Magic Player to earn Honor Since 1986 —NEW YORK, May 4, 2012 – Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.Anderson received 260 of a possible 605 points, including 33 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks (159 points, 21 first-place votes) and Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves (104 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.Anderson established career highs in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage. He also paced the league and established personal bests in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He increased his scoring from the previous season by 5.5 ppg and his rebounds by 2.2 rpg. Orlando averaged 107.5 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court, compared to 94.1 points with the 6-10 forward on the bench.As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Anderson to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2011-12 year-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 21 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.The 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its fifth season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Defensive Player, Sixth Man, Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards, and this year for the first time, Rookie of the Year. It also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.2011-12 KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD                                                                                                                         1st Place (5 Pts)               2nd Place (3 Pts)              3rd Place (1 pts)      TotalRyan Anderson                                            33                                      27                                    14                           260Ersan Ilyasova                                               21                                      15                                    9                              159Nikola Pekovic                                                10                                      15                                    9                              104Greg Monroe                                                 10                                      9                                       19                           96Andrew Bynum                                              13                                      8                                       7                              96Jeremy Lin                                                      10                                      8                                       17                           91Goran Dragic                                                 4                                        8                                       10                           54Avery Bradley                                                4                                        4                                       4                              36Danny Green                                                  3                                        3                                       3                              27Jeff Teague                                                     1                                        5                                       7                              27Serge Ibaka                                                    2                                        2                                       0                              16Ty Lawson                                                       1                                        3                                       2                              16Paul George                                                   2                                        1                                       0                              13Steve Novak                                                   1                                        2                                       1                              12DeMarcus Cousins                                       0                                        2                                       5                              11Kevin Love                                                       1                                        0                                       3                              8Roy Hibbert                                                    0                                        1                                       4                              7James Harden                                               0                                        2                                       1                              7Gerald Henderson                                        1                                        0                                       1                              6Marcin Gortat                                               1                                        0                                       1                              6Kyle Lowry                                                      1                                        0                                       0                              5Andrew Bogut                                               1                                        0                                       0                              5Marc Gasol                                                     1                                        0                                       0                              5Gordon Hayward                                          0                                        1                                       1                              4Arron Afflalo                                                   0                                        1                                       0                              3C.J. Watson                                                    0                                        1                                       0                              3Brandan Wright                                            0                                        1                                       0                              3Tony Parker                                                    0                                        1                                       0                              3Jarrett Jack                                                    0                                        0                                       1                              1Marreese Speights                                       0                                        0                                       1                              1 Following is the all-time list of winners: ALL-TIME KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD  1985-86                 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio1986-87                 Dale Ellis, Seattle1987-88                 Kevin Duckworth, Portland1988-89                 Kevin Johnson, Phoenix1989-90                                  Rony Seikaly, Miami1990-91                 Scott Skiles, Orlando1991-92                 Pervis Ellison, Washington1992-93                 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver1993-94                 Don MacLean, Washington1994-95                 Dana Barros, Philadelphia1995-96                 Gheorghe Muresan, Washington1996-97                 Isaac Austin, Miami1997-98                 Alan Henderson, Atlanta1998-99                 Darrell Armstrong, Orlando1999-00                 Jalen Rose, Indiana2000-01                 Tracy McGrady, Orlando2001-02                                  Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana2002-03                 Gilbert Arenas, Golden State2003-04                                  Zach Randolph, Portland2004-05                 *Bobby Simmons, L.A. Clippers2005-06                 Boris Diaw, Phoenix2006-07                 Monta Ellis, Golden State2007-08                 Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando2008-09                 Danny Granger, Indiana2009-10                 *Aaron Brooks, Houston2010-11                 Kevin Love, Minnesota2011-12                 Ryan Anderson, Orlando"

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)