NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- Golden State Warriors guard Gilbert Arenas, who went from a rookie benchwarmer to an explosive scoring point guard in little more than a year, was named the NBA's Most Improved Player on Thursday.
Arenas received 41 first-place votes and 288 points from a panel of 118 writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA. He is the first Warrior to win any league postseason award since Chris Webber was the top rookie in 1994.
In his second season, the 21-year-old Arenas averaged 18.3 points per game, second on the team behind Antawn Jamison. He helped the Warriors improve 17 games to a 38-44 record in the rugged Western Conference. It was the best one-season turnaround of any team this year.
Arenas was not the only Warrior responsible for the team's improvement. Forward Troy Murphy finished third and forward Antawn Jamison and guard Earl Boykins also received votes.
One of the quicker players in the NBA, Arenas showed he is more than a scorer. He was 11th in the league at 6.3 assists per game and also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 1.51 steals while playing in all 82 games.
On March 23 against Washington, Arenas upstaged superstar Michael Jordan with a career-high 41 points in a 113-107 victory.
In the Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend, Arenas scored 23 of his 30 points in the second half to give the Sophomores a 132-112 victory over the Rookies and claim MVP honors.
Arenas did not participate in the showcase event during his 2001-02 rookie season. The second-round pick began the season on the bench but showed potential over the final two months, starting Golden State's last 27 games and winning Rookie of the Month for April.
As a rookie, Arenas averaged 10.9 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds.
Arenas becomes a free agent July 1 and can only be offered $4.5 million by Golden State, which is over the salary cap. With his youth and skill, he will be one of the most coveted players on the market.
Utah Jazz forward Matt Harpring finished second with 29 first-place votes and 234 points. In his first season with the Jazz, Harpring averaged a career-high 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.
