Blazers' McCollum named Most Improved Player

Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard C.J. McCollum has been named the NBA's Most Improved Player for 2015-16, winning the vote in a landslide.

McCollum received 101 of a possible 130 first-place votes. No other player garnered more than seven. Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker finished runner-up, followed by Milwaukee Bucks guard/forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry.

McCollum took a quantum leap in his third season, going from a 15-minute-per-game player to a top-20 scorer ably filling the star vacuum in Portland, created by the offseason departures of LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Welsey Matthews.

While those departures seemed to portend a lost season for the rebuilding Blazers, McCollum's meteoric ascent helped lead the team to a 44-38 record and an unlikely fifth seed in the Western Conference.

The 24-year-old saw his usage rate skyrocket from 20.5 percent to 27.1 percent, but rather than see a corresponding downturn in his efficiency, he produced more effectively across the board.

McCollum's ability to handle the ball, distribute, and shoot off the bounce opened up myriad possibilities for an overachieving offense that was otherwise short on dynamic talent. The threat of McCollum took a ton of pressure and attention off backcourt mate Damian Lillard, paving the way for Lillard's career-best season.

McCollum may not have the build of a lockdown defender, but he works hard and guards with intelligence and balance, and the Blazers were markedly better on both ends of the floor when he played.

This season will be remembered for a good many things in Portland - be it the team's shattering of expectations, the Lillard scoring barrage, the 32-point win over the Warriors, or the fine work of head coach Terry Stotts making it all click throughout. More than anything, though, it'll be remembered as the season McCollum's star was born.