Top 3 Odds-On Favorites For Most Improved Player Award for 2022-23

September 27, 2022 , ,


Sometimes the Most Improved Player in the NBA can be a young player of whom big things are expected. But other times the award has gone to a player who's already been at the "star" level, only to take their game to "superstar" status. 

That was the case with Ja Morant last season, and could be the case again this year, with the top 3 odds-on favorites to win the MIP for 2022-23 all falling into that category. According to Caesar's Sportsbook, the betting is with these exciting young players:

1. Anthony Edwards  11-1

The 21-year-old third-year player is already a star in the league, averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists last season, while shooting 35.7% from long distance, and at times being simply unstoppable on offense. 

With Rudy Gobert added to bolster the defense, and Edwards' ascension to the next level, the Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to soar up the ranks in the Western Conference this season.
Ant-Man finished as runner-up to LaMelo Ball in Rookie of the Year voting back in 2021, and the bookies at this point see the 2020 No. 1 overall pick taking home some hardware himself this time around. 

2. Tyrese Haliburton  15-1

The 12th pick in the 2020 Draft, Haliburton spent his first season-and-a-half in the league paired with De'Aaron Fox on the Sacramento Kings. Then came the trade deadline deal this past February that sent him to the Indiana Pacers. He's now the centerpiece in the Hoosier State, as the Pacers have given him the keys to the franchise. 
Haliburton averaged 17.5 points and 9.6 assists—both career highs—in his 26 games starting for Indiana in the 2nd half last season.

He'll also have an exciting piece in the backcourt next to him this season, with the Pacers' No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 Draft, Bennedict Mathurin. 

3. Zion Williamson  17-1

For Zion, it's pretty easy to improve from...well...nothing. The New Orleans Pelicans' dynamic young star sat out the entire season last year as he tried to recover from a stubborn fractured foot injury suffered the previous summer. 

If he was simply able to repeat his second-year All-Star performance from 2020-21 this season, he could be a shoo-in to win this award, depending on how voters decide to treat his candidacy. 
In that '20-'21 season, Williamson averaged a spectacular 27 points in 61 games for the Pels, to go with 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 61% FG. 

Recent winners of the MIP include Ja Morant (2022), Julius Randle (2021), and Zion's teammate, Brandon Ingram (2020). 

Photos: Joe Rondone-USA TODAY Sports, Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports





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