Who wins what: NBA's 2017-18 Mid-Season Awards

Most Improved Player of the Year: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers

Victor Oladipo

2016-17 stats: 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 44.2% shooting, 36.1% 3-point shooting

2017-18 stats: 24.3 points*, 5.2 rebounds*, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals*, 49% shooting*, 41.6% 3-point shooting*

*career-high

The stats speak for themselves.

More or less, this award is given to those players whose numbers see an appreciable increase across multiple categories and obviously these improved numbers also positively impact the team. And so far this season, Victor Oladipo is the front-runner for this award and by a long margin.

This award had a lot of candidates after the first month of the season - Aaron Gordon, Kristaps Porzingis, and D'Angelo Russell - but only Oladipo has been able to keep his performance and positive impact consistent right up until mid-Jan. The other players either fizzled out (Gordon), were ruled out due to injury (Russell), or simply didn't have the same impact on the team in terms of win-loss as Oladipo did (Porzingis).

Now, some have point fingers at Russell Westbrook. Blaming him for possibly holding back Oladipo last season but in fact, the transformation after the Oklahoma City Thunder was eliminated by the Houston Rockets in the Playoffs. Oladipo worked on his diet and fitness, which is helping him put up the numbers he is right now in Indiana.

Another huge factor is the opportunity. A majority of the players that receive this award are those that didn't completely get the chance they deserved and then grabbed it with both hands when the opportunity was handed to them.