Since 2000/01, 12 of the 22 Most Improved Player award winners have been 23 years old or younger. Only three — Julius Randle (26), Goran Dragic (27) and Hedo Turkoglu — were older than 25, with Turkoglu the oldest winner during that span at 28.
Of the past 22 winners, 17 had played fewer than five seasons. Needless to say, a younger, relatively inexperienced player typically wins the award.
The three frontrunners for the ’22/23 MIP award are slightly different. According to BetOnline.ag, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+140) is neck-and-neck with Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (+145), followed closely by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson at +250 (Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Nets guard Cam Thomas are each viewed as long shots at +4000).
Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, is in his fifth season. Markkanen, 25, is in his sixth. Brunson, 26, is in his fifth. That’s not to take anything away from any of the players whatsoever, I just thought it was interesting that they are slightly more experienced than many of the past winners over the past couple decades.
All three have compelling cases. On top of averaging 30.8 PPG (his previous career-high was 24.5), 4.7 RPG and 5.7 APG on terrific efficiency (.508/.343/.912 shooting line for a .624 true shooting percentage), Gilgeous-Alexander is one of only three qualifying players (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Joel Embiid are the others) averaging at least one steal (1.6) and one block per game (1.1).
He has also led Oklahoma City to a surprising 28-29 record, good for the No. 10 seed in the West at the moment. I don’t think many people would have predicted the Thunder would be in the play-in tournament this late in the ’22/23 season, especially after No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out before the season began with a foot injury.
Markkanen is also averaging a career-high in PPG at 24.9 (previous high was 18.7) on elite efficiency — of players averaging at least 20 PPG, his .657 TS% only trails Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. He’s shooting at career-high levels from all over the court, including twos (.594), threes (.412), FG% (.512) and FT% (.877). The Finnisher is also averaging a solid 8.6 RPG for the resilient 29-31 Jazz, the No. 11 seed in the West.
Brunson has been instrumental in the Knicks’ turnaround this season, with New York currently sitting at 33-27, No. 6 in the East. Like his primary competition for the award, he’s averaging a career-high 23.9 PPG (previous high was 16.3) on top of a career-best 6.2 APG. His shooting slash line of .485/.411/.838 is excellent, and his .592 TS% is well above average for a point guard.
We want to know what you think. Who would you currently select for the Most Improved Player award? Why? Head to the comments to weigh in.
it’s shai or lauri end of discussion
Jayson Tatum is having a heck of a season. If he gets overlooked it’s rigged. End of conversation.
Lauri Markkanen deserves it. No doubt about it. Especially if the Jazz finish with a better record than OKC.
Nah Markannen a bum. That dude avg 19-9 his 2nd year in the league. He should be doing way better now.
He’s getting 6 points and a higher percentage than his second season averages
I think it should be Lauri. The jump for Shai is very similar to the jump of Ja last year, which saw him win it. The problem that I have with guys like Shai and Ja winning it is the fact that they were already good players and All-Stars in the making. Lauri coming out of nowhere to become a true offensive weapon feels like it’s more in line with the spirit of the award.
Agree , like your wording of spirit of the award
I think it should be Lauri.
Shai was a very solid player and we all knew that he would be good coming into the season. No one expected 30 points per game minimum every night but we knew he’d be very good on a bad team.
Lauri on the other hand, seemed like a salary matching king shot from the Donovan Mitchell trade. We saw in euro ball he was solid and then this season he’s been playing at an all star level all year, could be all nba and could be leading the Jazz to the playoffs. This was a guy we thought would be putting up maybe 15-7 on a tanking team trying to get Victor.
I’m not mad if it’s Shai but it should be Lauri
Lauri is most improved ……. Just compare their last yr. To this yr. It’s Markkanen
Yea but compare to his 2nd year. He ain’t doing that much better. It shouldn’t count when a player regresses and that gets back to where he should have been at.
Are you an OKC fan? It’s okay to let someone who deserves it to win the award. I’m sure Shai will win plenty of awards in his future.
Gilgeous-Alexander. End of discussion
Dynamite analysis. Screen name checks out.
Porzingus has reclaimed a form he was close to years back but I think he’s playing at a high level compared to the last few years
Markkanen. Hands down. Shai was already trending that way, becoming a stud. Not one single person would have predicted Markkanen has a season as great as this.
1/ Shai
2/ Lauri
3/ Bol Bol
Shai made a logical jump for a guy who’s been injured a lot and hasn’t had consistent minutes. Looks like the same player but more productive.
Markkanen looks like a totally better player in every respect. He’s really improved everything, including his aggressiveness. It’s much more impressive to see a guy change his identity than merely improve his stats. Markkanen did both!