Early betting odds for the 2025 NBA Most Improved Player award are incredibly tight months before the regular season gets underway, with reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama topping the chart at +800.
Here's a look at where Wembanyama and all other potential candidates for the hardware currently rank in the odds.
2025 NBA Most Improved Player Odds
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | +800 |
| Jonathan Kuminga | Golden State Warriors | +1000 |
| Evan Mobley | Cleveland Cavaliers | +1100 |
| Josh Giddey | Chicago Bulls | +1200 |
| Jalen Johnson | Atlanta Hawks | +1400 |
| Paolo Banchero | Orlando Magic | +1600 |
| Jalen Williams | Oklahoma City Thunder | +2000 |
| Jalen Green | Houston Rockets | +2000 |
| Scottie Barnes | Toronto Raptors | +2500 |
| Immanuel Quickley | Toronto Raptors | +2500 |
| Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons | +2500 |
| Cam Thomas | Brooklyn Nets | +3000 |
| Brandin Podziemski | Golden State Warriors | +3000 |
Odds as of September 10, 2024
NBA Most Improved Player Betting Favorite: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Not only is Wembanyama the early favorite for Most Improved Player, but he's also the leading candidate to take home Defensive Player of the Year while also possessing greater than 20-to-1 odds in the Most Valuable Player race.
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman feels like a surefire lock to be named to the All-Star team barring a physical setback, and after earning a spot on the All-Defensive First Team and leading the league in rejections in his first season alone, the sky is truly the limit for what he could potentially do in his sophomore year.
Would this be a matter of Wembanyama simply improving, or is this the trajectory he's always been on? Monta Ellis was the last player to win Most Improved in just his second season, so it's evident voters are choosing to not lean such a way with their picks because of course players should be building upon their rookie campaigns.
In the case of Wembanyama, though, his contributions and statistical output may be too impressive to ignore.
Past 10 NBA Most Improved Player Winners
| Year | Player | Team | Opening Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tyrese Maxey | Philadelphia 76ers | +1050 |
| 2023 | Lauri Markkanen | Utah Jazz | N/A |
| 2022 | Ja Morant | Memphis Grizzlies | +3000 |
| 2021 | Julius Randle | New York Knicks | +2000 |
| 2020 | Brandon Ingram | New Orleans Pelicans | +4000 |
| 2019 | Pascal Siakam | Toronto Raptors | N/A |
| 2018 | Victor Oladipo | Indiana Pacers | +2500 |
| 2017 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | N/A |
| 2016 | CJ McCollum | Portland Trail Blazers | N/A |
| 2015 | Jimmy Butler | Chicago Bulls | N/A |
Most Improved Player winners tend to come out of nowhere, and the opening odds never lean heavily in favor of one player because it's such a crapshoot in the end.
As seen here with winners from the last decade, Tyrese Maxey in 2024 was the only player to win after opening with odds greater than 11-to-1.
NBA Most Improved Player Winners By Team
| Awards | Team | Years | Most Recent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2018 | Victor Oladipo (2018) |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | 1991, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2012 | Ryan Anderson (2012) |
| 3 | Washington Wizards | 1992, 1994, 1996 | Gheorghe Muresan (1996) |
| 3 | Phoenix Suns | 1989, 2006, 2014 | Goran Dragic (2014) |
| 3 | Portland Trail Blazers | 1988, 2004, 2016 | CJ McCollum (2016) |
| 2 | Miami Heat | 1990, 1997 | Isaac Austin (1997) |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 2003, 2007 | Monta Ellis (2007) |
| 2 | Philadelphia 76ers | 1995, 2024 | Tyrese Maxey (2024) |
The Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic currently share the record for the most winners of this honor at five apiece, although neither franchise has won since 2018.
NBA Most Improved Player Winners By Position
| Position | MIP Wins |
|---|---|
| Power Forward | 10 |
| Point Guard | 9 |
| Shooting Guard | 8 |
| Small Forward | 7 |
| Center | 5 |
There's no massive gap between any two positions as far as which has had more winners of Most Improved Player, with power forward leading the way at 10 players and point guard right behind at nine.
NBA Teams With Zero Most Improved Player Winners
The following teams have never had an NBA Most Improved Player winner: Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings.
How To Read NBA Most Improved Player Odds
When you visit your NBA betting site of choice, you’ll notice 2024-25 NBA Most Improved Player odds laid out like this:
- Jonathan Kuminga +1000
- Evan Mobley +1100
It's like a moneyline bet where favorites are shown by the minus sign (-) and underdogs have a plus sign (+). In this scenario, Jonathan Kuminga is favored despite being at plus money. If you were to bet $100 on Kuminga in the NBA Most Improved Player betting odds and it hits, you would win $1100 – your $100 is returned and you would get $1000 in profit.
If you were to bet on which player will be named Most Improved Player, you would make a futures bet.
What Is A Futures Bet?
This is a bet made on events that will happen in time. In this case, it’s Most Improved Player. To make a futures bet, you would first use the handicapping info on this page to make your decision. Our Odds Calculator can give you an idea of how much you’d win based on the Most Improved Player odds and the amount of money you bet.
