Top 5 contenders for NBA Most Improved Player in 2023-24 season ft. Tyrese Maxey, Austin Reaves
The NBA's Most Improved Player award is underrated. Most players do not enter the league as superstars. It takes time for them to cement themselves as a primary choice for their coaches and organizations. The rise of an average player to the status of a star is one of the best parts of watching the NBA.
Lauri Markkanen won the award last season. Now, it’s time to make predictions for all the players who could win the award in the 2023-24 season. The prediction list considers their chances of increased workload and how they fare on that chance.
Most of the players included in the list are set to have a notable season with their teams, considering their performances last season. Depending on their usage and performances this season, the list will continue to change. For now, here is the list of the top five players with the highest odds to win the Most Improved Player award.
Top five contenders for NBA Most Improved Player this season
#1, Mikal Bridges (+1000)
Mikal Bridges is the most obvious choice for the Most Improved Player award. Bridges has not one or two but multiple reasons for taking home the MIP award this season.
He has not missed a single game in his five-season career as the “Iron Man” of the NBA.
However, the most pressing reason for his MIP consideration is his leap with the Brooklyn Nets. Since he was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Nets in February, his scoring average jumped from 17.2 to 26.1 points per game, and there was no dip in efficiency (shooting 46.3% with Phoenix and 47.5% with Brooklyn).
He has established himself as the Nets' primary offensive choice. There is little to no doubt that his numbers are going to remain intact in the upcoming season. Additionally, Bridges' defensive presence is only going to add to his case for the award.
#2, Cade Cunningham (+1200)
The Detroit Pistons have added promising names in the past few seasons, and there is hope that Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, might win the award this season. Detroit acquired Ausar Thompson with the No. 5 pick in the first round of the 2023 draft. The team also added big man James Wiseman and Joe Harris, one of the league's best 3-point shooters.
Cunningham has a unique ability to find a balance between scoring and distributing the ball. In his rookie season, he averaged 17.4 ppg. After playing just 12 games last season due to injury, he is again set to spearhead the offense under Monty Williams. If he improves his scoring average to 25-27 points, he will be a serious contender for the award.
#3, Tyrese Maxey (+1300)
There was news circulating that the Philadelphia 76ers consider Tyrese Maxey as important to their team as Michael Jordan and LeBron James were to their teams. As James Harden and Daryl Morey's saga plays out, the chances of Maxey winning the MIP award have skyrocketed. If Harden is eventually traded, Maxey is going to take his position as Embiid’s sidekick.
Even if the 76ers do not trade Harden, they are going to put a lot of offensive responsibility on Maxey for several reasons. One, to save Embiid for the postseason, they will expect Maxey to share the offensive load. Two, they view him as their future and improve him to make a better asset, their focus would lie on him.
Last season he averaged 20.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. This season, it is expected that his numbers are going to increase. Additionally, his usage rate improved in the absence of Harden last season as he improved his numbers as well.
#4, Austin Reaves (+1300)
Austin Reaves gave a peek into his potential in his first season with the LA Lakers. The team trusted him on offense, and he averaged 13.0 ppg, 3.4 apg and 3.0 rpg in 64 games.
But perhaps, Reaves' real potential was on display in the postseason, when he averaged 16.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 4.6 apg. Reaves also shot an astounding 46.4% from the 3-point line.
Coach Darvin Ham has shown his trust in his young players. There is no reason to doubt Reaves will have increased minutes this season.
Perhaps one of the factors that could hurt or improve his chances of winning the award is the presence of LeBron James. The media hype is so much around the King that either the popularity could hurt Reaves’ chances or genuinely make him one of the frontrunners.
#5, Jordan Poole (+1400)
Jordan Poole is no longer the third or fourth wheel in the Golden State Warriors. After being dealt in a trade to the Washington Wizards, Poole has the ultimate green light to showcase his multilayered offense. One could argue that Poole has more of an offensive arsenal in his bag than Kyle Kuzma, who is his only competition in being Washington's leading scorer.
Poole started 43 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 24.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 4.6 apg. He has all the abilities to become one of the league’s top scorers with the Wizards. If he does, he has a good chance to win the award this season.