C.J. McCollum is officially big time.
According to Cleveland.com’s Chris Haynes, the Portland Trail Blazers combo guard has a received an invitation to join the USA Select Team:
#Blazers C.J. McCollum to be invited to USA Select Team, league source tells @clevelanddotcom. Canton native won Most Improved Player honor.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 10, 2016
McCollum continues to make a name for himself after spending most of his first two season in the NBA chained to the Blazers’ bench. He led Portland in total minutes played this season and was named the Association’s Most Improved Player, beating out a ton of other worthy candidates.
Many would have rather seen that distinction go elsewhere—even to MVP Stephen Curry. But there’s no ignoring the leap that McCollum made.
His per-game stats were bound to improve with more playing time, but he emerged as one of Portland’s most important offensive players and didn’t see his efficiency crumble under the weight of increased volume.
Consider this: He joined Curry as the only two players to average at least 20 points and four assists per game while putting down 40 percent or more of their three-point attempts, according to Basketball-Reference. That’s a legitimate feat, and it helps explain why McCollum is now getting the USA Select Team nod.
