NEW YORK – Indiana’s Paul George, who earned his first All-Star Game berth en route to leading the Pacers to the Central Division crown and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, is the winner of the 2012-13 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.

George received 311 of a possible 1,080 points, including 52 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Greivis Vasquez of the New Orleans (146 points, 13 first-place votes) and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Larry Sanders (141 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.

George, who entered the 2012-13 campaign with career averages of 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals, established career highs in each of those statistics – a team-high 17.4 points, along with 7.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals. George was the only player in the league to record at least 140 steals (143) and 50 blocks (51). He had nineteen games with at least three steals, and 29 games with at least one steal and one block. According to NBA.com/Stats, in the 81 games in which George appeared, the Pacers had a +5.9 score differential when he was on the court compared with -2.0 score differential when he was on the bench.

As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America (KMA) will donate a new 2014 Kia Sorento LX CUV to Hawthorne Community Center, which provides or facilitates services and programs that meet the economic, educational, financial, social, recreational and civic needs of the entire Hawthorne Community. Kia Motors will present a Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2012-13 year-end award winners as part of “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 26 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began in 2008.

The 2012-13 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its sixth season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership between KMA and the NBA, and includes five of the league’s most prestigious year-end honors: Most Valuable Player Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award, Most Improved Player Award, and Rookie of the Year.  For the first time, the series also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month during the regular season.  Kia Motors is the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA and the Kia Optima is the league’s Official Vehicle.  For more information on “The Kia NBA Performance Awards” visit NBA.com/Awards.

Attached are the 2012-13 voting results for the Kia NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award winners. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

2012-13 KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD                                                                                                   

                                                                 1st Place (5 Pts)             2nd Place (3 Pts)            3rd Place (1 pts)    Total

Paul George (Indiana)                                          52                            14                                          9                      311
Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans)                             13                            19                                       24                     146
Larry Sanders (Milwaukee)                                    10                            25                                      16                       141
Nikola Vucevic (Orlando)                                       10                            14                                       17                        109
Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia)                                   10                            13                                       13                        102
Omer Asik (Houston)                                               9                              9                                          14                        86
James Harden (Houston)                                       8                              3                                          4                         53
Stephen Curry (Golden State)                                1                              4                                           1                         18
Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City)                                  1                              3                                          1                         15
Chandler Parsons (Houston)                                  0                              4                                         2                        14
Kemba Walker (Charlotte)                                       0                              2                                         3                        9
J.R. Smith (New York)                                                1                               1                                          0                        8
Klay Thompson (Golden State)                               1                               1                                          0                        8
Jimmy Butler (Chicago)                                               0                              2                                         1                         7
Ryan Anderson (New Orleans)                                1                              0                                         0                        5
Carmelo Anthony (New York)                                  1                               0                                        0                        5
Andray Blatche (Brooklyn)                                         1                              0                                         0                        5
Mike Conley (Memphis)                                                1                              0                                         0                      5
Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio)                                  0                              1                                           2                      5
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)                                 0                              1                                            1                      4
Arron Afflalo (Orlando)                                               0                              1                                            0                      3
Earl Clark (L.A. Lakers)                                                0                              0                                           3                      3
Kenneth Faried (Denver)                                             0                              1                                            0                      3
Greg Monroe (Detroit)                                                   0                              1                                            0                      3
Joakim Noah (Chicago)                                                 0                              1                                             0                      3
Tristan Thompson (Cleveland)                                 0                              0                                             2                      2
Tobias Harris (Orlando)                                               0                              0                                             1                      1
Jarrett Jack (Golden State)                                          0                              0                                             1                      1
Ty Lawson (Denver)                                                        0                              0                                             1                      1
Brook Lopez (Brooklyn)                                                0                              0                                              1                      1
Robin Lopez (New Orleans)                                         0                              0                                              1                      1
Lance Stephenson (Indiana)                                        0                              0                                              1                      1
Jeff Teague (Atlanta)                                                        0                              0                                              1                      1

Following is the all-time list of winners:

ALL-TIME KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD

1985-86                        Alvin Robertson, San Antonio
1986-87                        Dale Ellis, Seattle
1987-88                        Kevin Duckworth, Portland
1988-89                        Kevin Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90                        Rony Seikaly, Miami
1990-91                        Scott Skiles, Orlando
1991-92                        Pervis Ellison, Washington
1992-93                        Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver
1993-94                        Don MacLean, Washington
1994-95                        Dana Barros, Philadelphia
1995-96                        Gheorghe Muresan, Washington
1996-97                        Isaac Austin, Miami
1997-98                        Alan Henderson, Atlanta
1998-99                        Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00                        Jalen Rose, Indiana
2000-01                        Tracy McGrady, Orlando
2001-02                        Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
2002-03                        Gilbert Arenas, Golden State
2003-04                        Zach Randolph, Portland
2004-05                        *Bobby Simmons, L.A. Clippers
2005-06                        Boris Diaw, Phoenix
2006-07                        Monta Ellis, Golden State
2007-08                        Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando
2008-09                        Danny Granger, Indiana
2009-10                        *Aaron Brooks, Houston
2010-11                          Kevin Love, Minnesota
2011-12                          Ryan Anderson, Orlando
2012-13                          Paul George, Indiana

*NBA Development League Experience

About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 730 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the “Official Automotive Partner of the NBA.” In 2010, KMA recorded its best-ever U.S. sales and 16th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share. Kia is poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build the brand through design innovation, quality, value, safety features and new technologies.

Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its Web site – www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.