Can Pascal Siakam win the NBA's Most Improved Player award once again?

Ever since the NBA Most Improved Player award was introduced back in 1985-86, no one has received the honor on two different occasions. But just because it has never happened before doesn't mean it's impossible.

Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam, who won the award last season, has the chance to become the first player in league history to accomplish such a feat. The fourth-year forward is enjoying a phenomenal year thus far, averaging a career-high 25 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.

That's nearly eight points and two rebounds higher than he averaged a season ago. Plus, he's shooting 37.6 percent from three-point land and 82 percent from the foul line after shooting 36.9 from beyond the arc and 78.5 from the charity stripe last year.

Siakam has reached the 30-point mark eight times this season, including 44 during Toronto's 18-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans in November.

No Kawhi, no problem

Kawhi Leonard put the Raptors on his back last season and powered the team to a championship, beating the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

With Leonard signing with his hometown Los Angeles Clippers this past summer, the Raptors were expected to crumble into tiny pieces and become a lottery team. However, that has not been the case, as Toronto currently owns the Eastern Conference's fourth-best record at 15-6. Siakam emerging as the go-to scorer is undoubtedly the main reason for the team's success.

This is sort of similar to the Chicago Bulls' situation back in '93-94. Michael Jordan, who had just led the squad to its third consecutive title, retired out of the blue. Yet, Scottie Pippen, possibly the league's greatest sidekick of all time, would step up and put together an MVP-caliber campaign in Jordan's absence.

With Pippen running the show that year, the Bulls won 55 games, which was only two wins less than the previous season when MJ was around.

Siakim is no Scottie Pippen, but he definitely has the skills to keep the Kawhi-less Raptors relevant and finish with one of the East's top records.

League-wide competition

In order for "Spicy P" to make history and capture back-to-back MIP awards, he'll have to beat out several candidates such as the Pelicans' Brandon Ingram and the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic.

Ingram has had plenty of opportunities to score with Zion Williamson sidelined due to injury. And the former No. 2 overall pick has taken advantage, averaging 24.6 points per game and hitting 41.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

He produced 18.3 points a night and shot 33 percent from downtown last season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Doncic, meanwhile, is enjoying a sophomore year for the ages. The 6'7" guard is producing an unbelievable 30.1 points, 10 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game. Those numbers make his great rookie stats (21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game) look not-so-glamorous.

The Slovenian sensation has turned into one of the game's top players and just might take home MVP honors when it's all said and done.

We're only a quarter into the season, meaning there's plenty of basketball to be played. who knows who'll wind up capturing the 2019-20 Most Improved Player award, but don't be shocked if Siakim comes away with it again.