The general framework for recent Most Improved Player winners is as follows: All-Star for the first time, somewhere close to a five-point increase in scoring average and an increase in team success year over year.
Take the most recent winner, ha morant. the grizzliesThe star guard made his first All-Star team (and an All-NBA team), increased his scoring average by 8.3 points, and Memphis went from a play-in team to having the second-best record in the NBA.
However, the improvement does not always have to be so drastic.
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Brandon Ingram exploded in his first year with the pelicans in 2019-20. He averaged a career-best 23.8 PPG, an increase of 5.5 points from the previous year and made the All-Star team. However, that didn’t necessarily translate to success for the team: New Orleans’ winning percentage improved marginally and they missed the playoffs.
There are two young rising stars tied for the best odds to win the award this season in very different situations and the two players with the next best odds, oddly enough, play for the same team.
So, of the names listed below, the list of players to bet on goes even deeper at SI Sportsbook, which player is the best bet to take the plunge and win the prize?
Bet on NBA Most Improved Player Odds at SI Sportsbook
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Edwards +900
Tyrese Haliburton +900
Zion Williamson +1400
R. J. Barrett +1600
Jalen Brunson +1800
Lick Ball +1800
Cade Cunningham +2000
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +2200
Tyrese Maxey +2500
Anfernee Simons +2500
Jalen Green +2500
Scottie Barnes +2800
Keldon Johnson +3000
Colin Sexton +3300
Deandre Ayton +3300
Jordan Poole +3300
Michael Porter Jr. +3300
Robert Williams +3300
Ben Simmons +4000
Onyeka Okongwu +4000
The co-favorites
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (+900)
Anthony Edwards advanced on both sides of the ball a season ago on a much-improved Timberwolves team. He increased his scoring average from 19.3 points per game to 21.3, improved all of his shooting divisions in higher volume, and his assist and steal numbers increased. Edwards played a bigger role in Year 2 compared to his rookie season, but he was still behind. Karl-Anthony villages in the hierarchical order.
That changed when it came time for the playoffs. Edwards shined in a first round loss against the Grizzlies. He led the team in scoring (25.2), field goal attempts (18.3), and racked up steals and blocks. The series as a whole was a poor showing for Towns, though it also served to show that Edwards, at just 21 years old, is the future of the franchise.
His path to becoming the most improved player could be a lot like Morant’s: averaging 25+ PPG with the most volume in his third season, leading Minnesota to the top six and earning an All-Star nomination. .
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (+900)
Tyrese Haliburton, also entering his third season in the league and his first full year with the pacemakerhe’s in a very different situation than Edwards.
Indiana projects to be one of the worst teams in the NBA and that seems more or less the plan, especially if or when miles turner me friend shield are treated. Haliburton, though, hasn’t had a problem putting up good stats on a bad team, which he showed in 26 games with the Pacers.
He averaged 15.3 PPG and 8.2 assists, seventh-most in the league, in his second season last year. His divisions at Indiana were even better: 17.5 PPG and 9.6 assists per game. Haliburton also shot better than 50/40/80 at Hoosier State with the highest usage percentage of his career.
Statistically, the sky is the limit on the numbers Haliburton can put up for the Pacers this year. This is his gear and his usage numbers after the trade say it all. A good trade-off for Halliburton’s ideal jump to compete for this award is Dejounte Murray, who was runner-up to Morant last season. Murray averaged more than 20 PPG for the first time in his career en route to an All-Star appearance and racked up rebounds and assists on a poor Spurs team that found its way into the play-in tournament. Minus the play-in tournament component, that looks doable for Haliburton in Year 3.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
value bet
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (+2,500)
Tyrese Maxey received the vote award last season after he doubled his scoring average from his rookie year and became a full-time starter for a playoff team. He became one of the best 3-point shooters in the league with decent volume and then elevated his game in the postseason with a pair of 30-point outings over two rounds. The only real barrier for Maxey is that, more than some of the other players at the top of this list, he is definitely third in Philadelphia‘s hierarchical order.
If Maxey increases his 3-point shooting volume, he could easily see a rise in scoring to exceed 20 points per game, which is the average he averaged in the playoffs. That is a minimum requirement for the necessary jump that he would have to take to win the prize. It helps that there is already a proof of concept for Maxey to stand out as a third option, and if james harden Y Joel Embidby choice or injury, clear some extra track for young Maxey, he can surely take off.
The statistical jump for Maxey might not be as drastic as some other contenders, but he can make his case by contributing to winning basketball on a team that could contend for the No. 1 seed in the East.
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long shot
Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Falcons (+4000)
Onyeka Okongwu has played well in limited opportunities in his two NBA seasons, both of which have been hampered by injuries. His minutes per game jumped to 20.7 last season after a promising but generally quiet rookie year and his scoring and rebounding numbers increased accordingly.
At 6-foot-8, Okongwu is certainly small for a center, but he offers defensive versatility and showed more of his shot-blocking skills last season, hitting 1.3 shots per game. In a season in USC, Okongwu averaged 16.2 PPG and shot well from the free throw line. In addition to gobbling up more rebounds, he needs to show more of the offensive touch that made him the No. 6 pick in the first place.
Okongwu’s path to a chance to prove he’s even the best player is marred by what Atlanta has in front of him: john collinswhose name has occasionally appeared in trade rumours, and Clint Capela, whose minutes per game fell last season. If you squint, you can see Okongwu eating up more of Capela’s time on the floor and becoming part of a small, dangerous Hawks lineup alongside Collins and flirting with double-doubles every night.
BET: Tyrese Maxey, 76ers (+2,500)
Maxey is the best value at these odds. Philadelphia is hoping for a deep playoff run this season and part of that requires pacing Harden, who has plenty of miles on him, and Embiid, who has a checkered injury history, long-term. Leaning more on Maxey, who hasn’t missed many games in his career, for the grind of an 82-game season is a good way to go, and what he showed in the first round while Harden was underperforming felt like a sight. preview of what is to come
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