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Suns' Dragic voted league's most improved player

Apr 12, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) drives to the basket past Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion (0) and forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic, whose breakout campaign helped his team to a 23-win improvement, was named the National Basketball Association's most improved player, the league said on Wednesday. Dragic received 408 of a possible 1,134 points, including 65 first-place votes, from a panel of 126 sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada. Lance Stephenson of the Indiana Pacers (158 points, 13 first-place votes) finished second while Anthony Davis (155 points, 16 first-place votes) of the New Orleans Pelicans was third. Dragic, who entered the 2013-14 campaign with a career scoring average of 9.5 points, averaged a career-best 20.3 points to go with 5.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds. The 27-year-old Slovenian was the only player in the NBA to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range, both career highs. Dragic's performance keyed a Suns' turnaround on the way to a 48-34 record that left them one game out of the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)