NBA Most Improved Player Odds 2025: Favorites & Predictions

The NBA’s Most Improved Player has become an interesting race in recent seasons.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award in 2023-24 after entering the year with +1200 odds. There was an argument that he might have already been too good to win MIP, but his selection followed a familiar formula of recent winners: a good player establishes himself as an All-Star.

Maxey was the fifth consecutive MIP to earn his first All-Star selection in the same season he won the award. Seven of the past eight winners have been first-time All-Stars, with the lone exception being Pascal Siakam, who earned an All-Star nod the year after he won MIP.

With that in mind, here is a look at who might win this year’s Most Improved Player award based on the latest NBA odds:

Odds to Win 2025 NBA Most Improved Player

NBA Most Improved Player Odds: Cade Cunningham is Still Favored

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham remains the betting favorite (-250) to win NBA’s Most Improved Player award, giving him an implied probability of 71.43% based on his current price. Cunningham’s odds to win MIP have gone from -400 to -250 within the last week.

Cunningham has put together a strong MIP campaign. He’s averaging a career-best 25.6 points per game, ranking 10th in the league in scoring. He’s third in assists with 9.3 per contest. Cunningham has established himself as a star, earning the first All-Star nod of his career.

Most of all, Cunningham has outlasted many of the top contenders in a MIP market that has featured plenty of volatility this season. There have been eight different favorites since Victor Wembanyama started atop this board in the offseason.

• Victor Wembanyama
• Jalen Green
• LaMelo Ball
• Jalen Johnson
• Franz Wagner
• Jalen Williams
• Tyler Herro
• Cade Cunningham

Within the last 20 days, Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has gone from +5000 to his current value of +125. Daniels would break the trend of recent MIP winners being first-time All-Stars, something I’m skeptical that voters will do for a player averaging 14.1 points per game.

There will certainly be outcry when a former No. 1 overall pick wins MIP, but Cunningham’s leap into stardom is worthy of recognition. It’s the hardest leap to make in the NBA.

Prediction: Cade Cunningham (-250)

NBA Most Improved Player Best Bets for 2025

• Jonathan Kuminga +1600 (0.25 units)
• Jalen Williams +2000 (0.25 units)
• Cade Cunningham +4000 (0.1 units)

I’ll update this page with my best bets in the Most Improved Player market throughout the season.

NBA Most Improved Player Betting Splits

Here are the latest betting insights for the Most Improved Player of the Year market at the online sportsbook:

• Most tickets: Cade Cunningham 9.9%
• Highest handle: Cade Cunningham 18.2%
• Biggest liability: Cade Cunningham
• Odds leader: Cade Cunningham

2023-24 NBA Most Improved Player Voting

List of NBA Most Improved Player Winners

Who Was the Last Pistons Player to Win Most Improved Player?

The Detroit Pistons have never had a player win Most Improved Player in the history of their franchise. They are one of eight teams to never have a player win MIP:

• Brooklyn Nets
• Boston Celtics
• Charlotte Hornets
• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Dallas Mavericks
• Detroit Pistons
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Sacramento Kings

Who Was the Last Hawks Player to Win Most Improved Player?

Alan Henderson is the only Atlanta Hawks player to win Most Improved Player, securing the trophy in 1997-98 by averaging 14.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.