Vote up who will win NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2023.
Who will win the 2023 NBA Most Improved Player Award ? Like previous winners Brandon Ingram and Ja Morant, the NBA Most Improved Player Award winners have gone on to become all-stars. The 2022-23 NBA Most Improved Player race features rising stars on new teams and young players who put on electrifying playoff performances. Who do you think will win NBA Most Valuable Player of the 2022-23 season?
According to Vegas odds, Most Improved Player favorites include Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, New Orlean Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Edwards, and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
Make your 2023 NBA MIP predictions by voting the player most likely to win the Most Improved award.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the best player in the league who is having his talents completely wasted. The Oklahoma City Thunder have been very obviously taking throughout his 3 years playing with the team, but that didn't stop Shai from putting up an average of 22 points per game and 5 assists during that time, that is of course when OKC wasn't “resting” him. Many assumed this would be the year OKC actually tries to win games, with the addition of Chet Holmgren making them look respectable, but after he went down with injury, another taking season is surely in the stars. If the team actually allows Shai to play and be his silky smooth-scoring self, he might just get the recognition he truly deserves from not just NBA nerds, but the NBA world at large.
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton seemed to be on his way to becoming one of the best young stars in the NBA when he was on the Sacramento Kings, but in a move that baffled the basketball community, the then 21-year-old who was averaging 14.3 points, 7.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds was shipped off to the Indiana Pacers. During his brief 26-game stint with the Pacers, Haliburton managed to up his already respectable numbers to 17.5 points, a stunning 9.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. With the assumption being that Haliburton will be the star and focal point on a tanking Indian team, his stats have the possibility of exploding and he should be a shoe-in for the most improved player of the year!
In just his sophomore season for the Philadelphia 76ers, Tyrese Maxey went from respectable bench scorer, to arguably the second-best and most important player on a team with James Harden and Joel Embiid. Maxey made one heck of a jump, and many expect the young man out of Dallas, Texas's star to shine even brighter this season! With Harden seemingly taking a backseat in terms of offense, Maxey can very well see himself becoming the second scoring option, and first when Embiid is out. Maxey's quickness, ball handling, and basketball IQ already make him one of the most special players in the league, but with a team of veterans encouraging him to do more, the sky is the limit for Maxey.
Cade Cunningham had a wonderful rookie season, the only problem was that he was playing for an abysmal and tanking Detroit Pistons team that no one, other than the hardcore fans of the franchise, wanted to watch. With a slew of wonderful draft moves and offseason acquisitions, the Pistons have become a sleeper pick to sneak into the playoffs, and all those expectations fall on one man, Cade Cunningham. Cunningham averaged a terrific 17, 5, and 5 during his rookie year after starting out the gate a bit rocky, and if he can take the jump many expect, and lead the Pistons to becoming at the very least respectable again, all eyes will be on him for most improved player.
Darius Garland reached his first All-Star game in 2021-22 and helped lead the Cleveland Cavaliers back to the postseason after what felt like a never-ending drought. Averaging 21.7 points per game with 8.6 assists and 1.3 steals, Garland smashed his way into the conversations of best point guards in the NBA. While it would take one massive leap for him to even get consideration for most improved player, Garland has already showed the NBA world once that he will put in the time and work to become great, so there is no doubt that he could very well do it again.
Jalen Brunson spent his first 4 years in the NBA working his way from solid bench player to potential 6th man of the year to bonafide starter and key piece for the Dallas Mavericks. Brunson showed in the 2022 playoffs that he has the talent to be a star in the league, and during the 2022 off-season, Brunson made the decision to head to New York to play for the Knicks, where he would be able to shine and leave the shadow of superstar Luka Doncic. The Knicks have been in desperate need of a solid point guard for decades now, and Brunson is looking to fill those shoes. With an increased role on offense, Brunson should be expected to put up career numbers, and if he is able to lead the Knicks to simply a playoff birth, he would undoubtedly become the savior of New York hoops.
