Dwyane Wade says Stephon Castle should be up for MIP, cites his own snub

There’s been a lot of debate on social media in recent years among NBA fans surrounding what the criteria should be for the league’s Most Improved Player Award. Some believe lottery picks, especially top picks, should not be eligible for the award. Others, such as former NBA star Dwyane Wade, believe that shouldn’t matter. Which is why Wade recently made the case for San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle for MIP.

During a recent episode of ‘The Timeout with Dwyane Wade,’ Wade argued that Stephon Castle definitely has a legitimate argument for MIP, and he cited his own perceived snub back when he was still playing with the Miami Heat.

“So Castle should be up for Most Improved. Improvement from one year to the next,” Wade said. “A lot of things you’ve got to look at. Some guys are going to improve if they play five minutes the first year, then they’re playing 35 the next year, you can’t give them Most Improved. My improvement was, maybe my minutes went up 2-3.”

Wade felt like he should have been MIP during his second season in the league, which coincidently was the year the Heat traded for Shaquille O’Neal. The eventual MIP winner that season was Bobby Simmons of the Los Angeles Clippers.

“How many mothef**kers are going up eight points? The way I went up eight points. The improvement. I thought I should have,” Wade said. “Now obviously I think Bobby Simmons won it. And shout out to Bobby Simmons, but I remember going through that year like, ‘Why am I not getting more consideration for Most Improved Player.”

“That year I went from 16 points a game to 24 a night. And assists and rebounds, everything went up,” Wade continued. “And our team record went from a 40-win team, 42 wins I think my first year. . .to 50-something. I’m sure we won high-50s or mid-50s.”

As far as Castle’s case for MIP, he’s averaging 17.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists while playing a little over 30 minutes per game. He’s up four minutes from last season and having a strong season, but his numbers aren’t as big a jump as Wade’s from year one to year two. He’s also quite far down the list of odds for MIP, as per DraftKings.

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