The NBA’s Most Improved Player Award is presented to the player who shows the most improvement from the previous season. It is an award selected by a panel of Canadian and United States sportswriters every year. Each sportswriter casts a vote for the selection of first, second and third place.
The first, second and third place votes are worth five points, three points and one point respectively. The player with the highest points is announced as the winner, irrespective of the number of first place votes one gets. It was an open-ended process to select the most improved player, but the NBA later elucidated that it was a conscious effort to reward an up and coming player who has improved enormously.
It should be noted that this award is not for a player who has made a strong comeback. A separate award is named NBA Comeback Player of the Year for that. The trophy is named after five-time NBA Champion George Mikan. A player needs to play atleast 65 games to be eligible for most of the awards in the NBA, including the Most Improved Player award.
The award has been presented to 36 players till now. Players from the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic have won the award five times, which is the most for any team.
Below mentioned is a list of players who won Most Improved Player since 1985.
| Season | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | ||
| 1985–86 | Alvin Robertson | Guard | United States | San Antonio Spurs | ||
| 1986–87 | Dale Ellis | Guard/forward | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | ||
| 1987–88 | Kevin Duckworth | Center | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | ||
| 1988–89 | Kevin Johnson | Guard | United States | Phoenix Suns | ||
| 1989–90 | Rony Seikaly | Center | United States | Miami Heat | ||
| 1990–91 | Scott Skiles | Guard | United States | Orlando Magic | ||
| 1991–92 | Pervis Ellison | Center/forward | United States | Washington Bullets | ||
| 1992–93 | Chris Jackson | Guard | United States | Denver Nuggets | ||
| 1993–94 | Don MacLean | Forward | United States | Washington Bullets | ||
| 1994–95 | Dana Barros | Guard | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | ||
| 1995–96 | Gheorghe Mureșan | Center | Romania | Washington Bullets | ||
| 1996–97 | Isaac Austin | Center | United States | Miami Heat | ||
| 1997–98 | Alan Henderson | Forward | United States | Atlanta Hawks | ||
| 1998–99 | Darrell Armstrong | Guard | United States | Orlando Magic | ||
| 1999–00 | Jalen Rose | Guard/forward | United States | Indiana Pacers | ||
| 2000–01 | Tracy McGrady | Guard/forward | United States | Orlando Magic | ||
| 2001–02 | Jermaine O'Neal | Forward/center | United States | Indiana Pacers | ||
| 2002–03 | Gilbert Arenas | Guard | United States | Golden State Warriors | ||
| 2003–04 | Zach Randolph | Forward | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | ||
| 2004–05 | Bobby Simmons | Guard/forward | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | ||
| 2005–06 | Boris Diaw | Forward | France | Phoenix Suns | ||
| 2006–07 | Monta Ellis | Guard | United States | Golden State Warriors | ||
| 2007–08 | Hedo Türkoğlu | Forward | Turkey | Orlando Magic | ||
| 2008–09 | Danny Granger | Forward | United States | Indiana Pacers | ||
| 2009–10 | Aaron Brooks | Guard | United States | Houston Rockets | ||
| 2010–11 | Kevin Love | Forward/center | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | ||
| 2011–12 | Ryan Anderson | Forward | United States | Orlando Magic | ||
| 2012–13 | Paul George | Forward | United States | Indiana Pacers | ||
| 2013–14 | Goran Dragić | Guard | Slovenia | Phoenix Suns | ||
| 2014–15 | Jimmy Butler | Guard/forward | United States | Chicago Bulls | ||
| 2015–16 | CJ McCollum | Guard | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | ||
| 2016–17 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Forward | Greece | Milwaukee Bucks | ||
| 2017–18 | Victor Oladipo | Guard | United States | Indiana Pacers | ||
| 2018–19 | Pascal Siakam | Forward | Cameroon | Toronto Raptors | ||
| 2019–20 | Brandon Ingram | Forward | United States | New Orleans Pelicans | ||
| 2020–21 | Julius Randle | Forward | United States | New York Knicks | ||
| 2021–22 | Ja Morant | Guard | United States | Memphis Grizzlies | ||
| 2022–23 | Lauri Markkanen | Forward | Finland | Utah Jazz |
The below table lists the teams with the most number of Most Improved Player awards:
| Awards | Teams | Years |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2018 |
| Orlando Magic | 1991, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2012 | |
| 3 | Washington Bullets | 1992, 1994, 1996 |
| Phoenix Suns | 1989, 2006, 2014 | |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 1988, 2004, 2016 | |
| 2 | Miami Heat | 1990, 1997 |
| Golden State Warriors | 2003, 2007 | |
| 1 | San Antonio Spurs | 1986 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 1987 | |
| Denver Nuggets | 1993 | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 1995 | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 1998 | |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 2005 | |
| Houston Rockets | 2010 | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 2011 | |
| Chicago Bulls | 2015 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 2017 | |
| Toronto Raptors | 2019 | |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 2020 | |
| New York Knicks | 2021 | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 2022 | |
| Utah Jazz | 2023 | |
| 0 | Brooklyn Nets | None |
| Los Angeles Lakers | ||
| Boston Celtics | ||
| Dallas Mavericks | ||
| Charlotte Hornets | ||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | ||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | ||
| Detroit Pistons | ||
| Sacramento Kings |
FAQs
A. Mikal Bridges is a strong candidate to win NBA Most Improved Player in the 2023-24 NBA season.
A. The NBA Comeback Player of the Year was awarded between 1981 to 1986. It is no longer active.
A. LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,652 points.
A. Boban Marjanovic is 7 feet 4 inches tall and plays for the Houston Rockets. He is the tallest player in the NBA as of 2023.
