– Summer League MVP
One of the main reasons that indicate that Hart can win the Most Improved Player Award is because of what we saw in the Las Vegas Summer League. While there was some debate about whether or not Hart would play a lot in the tournament, he asked the coaching staff to play the whole time, and received what he asked for.
On their way to finishing runner-up in the tournament, Hart led the Lakers with 22.4 points per game. That ranked him third among all players in the tournament in points per game, as only John Collins and Malik Monk averaged more per game.
In addition to the impressive scoring stats, Hart also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Hart didn’t get to play much in the Summer League last year due to injury, but he was a man on a mission this season. Hart often looked like the best player on the court, and was well-deserving of being named the MVP. With the confidence gained in the Summer League, Hart could be a great position to take a big step forward in the 2018-19 season.