Insider Special: Most Improved Player...

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NBA Most Improved Player: Larry Hughes the sharpshooter?

By Terry Brown

Thursday, January 9 Updated 11:29 AM EST

Larry Hughes has found religion.

After five seasons of shooting 40 percent from the field and 20 percent from long range split between two teams, two positions and three coaches, the player once thought too erratic for even the likes of Allen Iverson has become as gentle as the morning breeze.

Before coming to the Washington Wizards off the Golden State waiver wire, Hughes had shot the ball every 2.2 minutes that he was one the court, one year shooting every 114 seconds and once hoisting up 32 shots in a single game.

This year, he's been shooting the ball every 3 minutes, has taken more than 16 shots in a single game only four times all year and has a high of 19 shots in a game, doing it thrice and going 29-for-57 from the field in those games, including Wednesday night's team-high 22 points as the Wizards won their fifth game in a row to go to 18-17 on the year. And the five games that came directly before and after those outbursts saw him shoot the ball an average of only 10 times.

For goodness sakes, he started the season by taking only three three-point attempts in the first 16 games. Only once all season has he shot more than three three-pointers in any game and that was just last week when he went 2-for-5 in an upset win over the Indiana Pacers in which he scored 23 points, one short of his season high.

The game before that, he shot a single three-pointer. The game after, he shot only two.

On the season, Hughes is shooting a career-best 48.6 percent from the field, up from his 41.1 percent career average and 42.3 percent of a year ago and low of 38.3 percent only two seasons ago.

He's also shooting 39 percent from long range after shooting 19 percent last year and 18 percent the year before that.

So far this season, Hughes is shooting better than Ray Allen, Allan Houston, Brent Barry and Peja Stojakovic and is three consecutive makes away of surpassing even Eric Piatkowksi, a player who's entire existence in the NBA rests solely on his ability to shoot a very high percentage. An anti-Larry Hughes, so to speak. Well, former anti-Larry Hughes.

Our hero has absolutely no chance of winning the league's Most Improved Player Award this season or next. Let's face it, he's averaging only 13.1 points per game after putting up 22.7 in 2000. At various points in his career, he's averaged more rebounds, assists, steals and blocks than he is this season. He's even shot a higher percentage from the free throw line before.

But for all he cares, the guys below can have their trophy, their boosted scoring averages and headlines and pats on the back. Hughes just saved his soul and perhaps even his career in the process.

Ricky Davis

Cleveland Cavaliers

Current Stats: 23 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.3 bpg, 42% shooting in 39.7 mpg

Career Stats: 10.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.2 bpg, 45% shooting in 20.7 mpg

Michael Jordan may have won six championships to go with his five MVP trophies to go with his 10 scoring titles, but he never shot better than 43 percent from three-point range for any season lasting longer than 17 games. Davis is at 45.2 percent entering game No. 34 with only one player in the entire NBA shooting any better from long range. So what do you think about that, Mr. No. 23, huh?

Ron Artest

Indiana Pacers

Current Stats:15.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.2 spg, 0.7 bpg, 46% shooting in 33.9 mpg

Career Stats: 12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2 spg, 0.6 bpg, 41% shooting in 31.2 mpg

Now that you've seen the guy stretched horizontal on a leather couch and suspended for three games with more anger management courses in his immediate future, do you think that makes him any less dangerous on the basketball court or more?

Matt Harpring

Utah Jazz

Current Stats: 17.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 spg, 0.3 bpg, 49% shooting in 32.5 mpg

Career Stats: 11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.1 bpg, 46% shooting in 28.6 mpg

It isn't every day that one gets to kick a Hall of Famer out of his boxscore seat, but in 34 games so far this season Harpring has led the Jazz in scoring 11 times. For the past 17 seasons spanning some 1,350 or so games, that would have been tantamount to heresy along the Wasatch Front except that this year, not only is the infidel clean cut and well mannered, he's also sixth in the NBA in three-point shooting, 11th in field goal shooting and 10th in offensive rebounding.

Bobby Jackson

Sacramento Kings

Current Stats: 19.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.04 bpg, 49% shooting in 33.6 mpg

Career Stats: 9.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1 spg, 0.1 bpg, 42% shooting in 22.1 mpg

Injured, benched — or was it the other way around — but not forgotten.

Alvin Williams

Toronto Raptors

Current Stats: 15.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.3 bpg, 45% shooting in 35.9 mpg

Career Stats: 8.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 42% shooting in 26.4 mpg

Pin a Purple Heart on the guy and let's be done with it. He continues to play hurt for a team that has lost 11 games in a row by an average of 12 points a blowout. Antonio Davis is back, Vince Carter should soon follow and eventually we'll all forget about the point guard who is posting career numbers in points, rebounds, blocks and minutes and maybe even assists if his team wasn't shooting a dismal 41 percent from the field.