Isaac Austin of the Miami Heat, who came back from a season in Turkey, was voted the NBA's most improved player on Saturday.
Austin, a 6-foot-10 center, averaged 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds and shot 50% as the backup to Alonzo Mourning. When Mourning was injured late in the season, Austin started and averaged 15.1 points and 8.1 rebounds.
He received 41 votes of a possible 115 from a panel of media members, 24 more than Toronto's Doug Christie. Portland's Rasheed Wallace was third with 13 votes and Austin's teammate, Voshon Lenard, was fourth with nine votes.
Austin played for Tuborg Izmir in Turkey in the 1995-96 season after spending parts of three seasons with Utah and Philadelphia.
