ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Making history was the farthest thing from Darrell Armstrong's mind when he launched his comeback from a career-threatening shoulder injury. The Orlando Magic guard added the NBA's Most Improved Player Award to his postseason haul Thursday, making him the first to win both that honor and the Sixth Man Award. Last summer, Armstrong was in so much pain following rotator cuff surgery that he thought the hospital was making a mistake by releasing him. ``I was ready to check back in. It was that much pain ... I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat,'' he recalled. ``Things like that, it makes you appreciate life. It makes you appreciate basketball, and it makes you appreciate anything you do.'' Armstrong averaged career highs of 13.8 points, 6.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.16 steals in 30 minutes a game while coming off the bench in 35 of 50 games this season. He improved on his career averages in scoring by 6.9 points, in assists by 3.5 assists, in rebounds by 1.8 and in steals by 1.2. ``There are very few people in the world of basketball, particularly last summer, that worked harder on their game than he did, and he continues to work on it,'' Magic general manager John Gabriel said. Armstrong received 54 of a possible 118 votes from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Eighteen players received votes. Eric Snow of Philadelphia was second with 15 votes and Gary Trent of Dallas was third with 14 votes. The Most Improved Player Award has been given since the 1985-86 season. The Sixth Man Award began in the 1983-84 season. A native of Gastonia, N.C., Armstrong was not drafted in 1991 after completing his college career at Fayetteville State. He played in the Global Basketball Association, the Continental Basketball Association, the United States Basketball League and in Cyprus and Spain before signing with the Magic on April 8, 1995. ``There are times in our industry, in all sports industry, where evaluators of talent forget some basic principles, like does a guy compete each and every night ... competitiveness,'' Gabriel said. ``We talk about it a lot, but it's probably not on a lot of our evaluation sheets.'' Armstrong, honored last week as the league's top reserve, didn't expect to win both awards. ``Some people had me for most improved, some people had me for sixth man,'' he said. ``I have both of them sitting here in front of me. It's just a blessing.'' -=-=- 