Most Improved

Most Improved (foaled 3 May 2009) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2012 St. James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. He was owned by Iraj Parvizi and trained by Brian Meehan, before being purchased by Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor and transferred to Aidan O'Brien.

Background

Most Improved is a bay horse bred by Skymarc Farm Inc and foaled on 3 May 2009. He was sired by Prix du Jockey Club winner Lawman. Most Improved's dam is Tonnara, a daughter of Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Linamix.

Racing career

2011: Two-year-old season

In early August 2011 Most Improved made his first racecourse appearance and finished second in a Newmarket maiden, failing to win by a short head. Three weeks later he raced in another Newmarket maiden, this time winning by five lengths. He then started in one of the top two-year-old races, the Dewhurst Stakes. He finished third in the race, which ended in a bunch finish with only 1½ lengths separating first from fifth. Most Improved was ¾ length behind winner Parish Hall.

Most Improved Player

In some sports, a Most Improved Player award is given to players who have improved the most over the year.

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 franchised member clubs (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), and is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.

The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with its rival National Basketball League (NBL). The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.

NBA Most Improved Player Award

The NBA's Most Improved Player Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the most improved player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 30 different players. No player has ever won the award twice. The most recent winner was Jimmy Butler. Boris Diaw is the first and only award winner to date to win an NBA Championship as a player. Hedo Türkoğlu, Rony Seikaly,Gheorghe Mureșan, Boris Diaw, and Goran Dragić are the only award winners not born in the United States; all but Seikaly were also trained completely outside the U.S. (Seikaly played college basketball at Syracuse).

Trailblazer

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