Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe has gone from dud to stud, according to a story in The New York Times on the NBA’s most-improved players so far in 2012-13. Bledsoe joined fellow point guard Jrue Holiday of the Philadelphia 76ers, a former UCLA standout, and Larry Sanders of the Milwaukee Bucks on the Times’ list.

Of the hyper-kenetic Bledsoe, the Times wrote:

“In his first two seasons in the NBA, Eric Bledsoe was largely an unproductive bench player for the Los Angeles Clippers. Entering this season, his true shooting percentage — a measure of scoring efficiency that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-pointers and free throws — was .489 for his career.

“To make matters worse, he was turning the ball over on about 26 percent of his plays (a play is defined as an offensive sequence that results in a shot from the floor, three throws or a turnover), one of the worst rates in the league over that time.

“The Clippers were not ready to write off the 22-year-old Bledsoe, and he has rewarded them for their patience: his true shooting percentage this season has improved to .563, and he has reduced his turnover rate to 16.7 percent.

“Bledsoe has managed to become a much more efficent player despite taking on a larger role in the offense, as his usage percentage — the percentage of team plays a player uses while he is on the floor — has improved from a career average of 18.1 percent entering the season to 26.3 percent this season.”

Or as we used to say in my neighborhood, “Dude can play.”