Israeli basketball star Deni Avdija finishes third in the vote for the NBA’s Most Improved Player.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 27, became the second straight Atlanta Hawks player to be named the NBA’s Most Improved Player when he was announced as the winner yesterday.
Alexander-Walker is just the third player in league history to win the award in his seventh season or later, joining Julius Randle (seventh season in 2020-21) and Hedo Turkoglu (eighth season in 2007-08).
A 100-member global panel selected Alexander-Walker, who received 66 first-place votes, 19 for second and nine for third for a total of 396 points. Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons was second with 254 points (23 first-place votes), followed by Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers with 135 (seven).
Boston’s Neemias Queta was fourth with 41 points (zero), Milwaukee’s Ryan Rollins was fifth with 33 (three) and the Hawks’ Jalen Johnson was sixth with 21 points, including the other first-place vote.
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Saturday, April 25, 2026
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