NBA Most Improved Player Odds: Dyson Daniels Named MIP in 2025

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2024-25 season.

In his third NBA campaign, Daniels averaged a career-best 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.01 steals per game, shooting 49.3% from the floor and 34% behind the 3-point line. He improved his average marks by +8.3 points per game, +2 rebounds, +1.5 assists, and +1.6 steals compared to his averages with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2023-24.

Daniels became the second Hawks player to win MIP since the award was created in 1985-86.

NBA odds for the 2025-26 Most Improved Player market won’t be available until later in the offseason.

NBA Most Improved Player Odds & Predictions

While NBA betting lines won’t be available until closer to the start of the season, the NBA’s Most Improved Player market can be fun to attack.

Daniels was a +6600 long shot entering the season after being traded from the Pelicans to the Hawks in a deal that involved Dejounte Murray. The move provided a bigger opportunity for Daniels, who had started in 27 of his 120 games with the Pelicans through his first two seasons.

With Atlanta, Daniels started in all 76 of his regular-season games. He averaged 33.8 minutes per contest with the Hawks, using the bigger role to increase his numbers.

He became the fifth player to average at least 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in a season, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Michael Ray Richardson, and Alvin Robertson. Daniels finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year race, establishing himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.

The one thing Daniels didn’t do was secure an All-Star selection. That snapped a streak of five straight MIP winners earning their first All-Star selection in the same season they won the award. Seven of the past nine winners have been first-time All-Stars, as voters have typically rewarded a player making a leap into stardom.

Given this season’s data point, I don’t believe it’s necessary for a player to be an All-Star to win MIP. However, it’s still worth considering the players capable of making those kind of leaps in 2025-26.

While second-year players will likely open as the betting favorites in this market, I’ll have my eyes on some third-year or fourth-year players on the verge of making a leap next season.

Houston Rockets wing Amen Thompson is a player worth monitoring when this market opens, especially if he can increase his offensive production in his third season to establish himself as an All-Star. I could also be intrigued by Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, especially if he’s traded in the summer.

NBA Most Improved Player Voting, 2024-25

Past NBA Most Improved Player Winners