Sports
Predicting Next Season's Most Improved NBA Players – Bleacher Report
Watching the next wave of NBA stars progress year after year is one of the best parts of being a fan, and the 2023-24 season brings us another crop of young talent looking to make a jump.
For this exercise we’re looking for players who could soon cement themselves as “stars,” with the only criteria being that they haven’t yet made an All-Star game in their careers.
Trying to predict a Most Improved Player award will also involve studying their career arc to this point and their projected role for the 2023-24 season, including any changes to the team around them that would point toward an increased workload or responsibility. Think last year’s winner Lauri Markkanen or Jalen Brunson.
These 10 players should all make a leap toward star status this season, with an MIP award in sight.
Mikal Bridges is the current betting favorite to win Most Improved Player, thanks to his new full-time role as the offensive alpha on the Nets.
His play following a February trade to Brooklyn was good enough to finish fourth in the 2022-23 voting, as his scoring jumped 9.1 points to 26.1 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and a 37.6 percent mark from three.
The 27-year-old has been one of the better wing defenders for years now and finally has a role where he can showcase his offensive talents without any other Devin Booker-esque talent around him. If Brooklyn stays in the playoff hunt, Bridges will almost certainly be a first-time All-Star.
With the new CBA stating that players must play in at least 65 games to be eligible for major awards and All-NBA teams, no player should have an easier time clearing this hurdle than Bridges.
The league’s most durable player has yet to miss a game in his five-year career, even suiting up in 83 contests between the Phoenix Suns and Nets last season.
Shin surgery ended Cade Cunningham’s highly anticipated sophomore season after just 12 games, but the No. 1 overall pick of 2021 is now healthy and ready to attack Year 3.
The 6’6″ point guard spent part of his summer at Team USA training camp as part of the select team, drawing praise from head coach Steve Kerr.
“Cade looked great,” Kerr told reporters. “The injury is clearly behind him. It’s just great to see him healthy, and he’s a guy who can really control a game from that point guard spot with his size and physicality, and it’s good to see him looking so healthy.”
Detroit has since added James Wiseman, Ausar Thompson, Joe Harris and others to the roster since Cunningham last played, although the franchise still revolves around its future All-Star guard.
If Cunningham can improve his shot efficiency while finding the balance between attacking and distributing, the Pistons will turn a lot of heads this season.
A third-place finish for Rookie of the Year has been followed up by a spot on Team USA this summer, setting Walker Kessler up for a big sophomore season.
After he joined Utah’s starting lineup on a full-time basis on Jan. 10, he proceeded to average 11.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and shoot 71.7 percent overall over his final 34 games.
From this date on, no player challenged more shots at the rim per game than Kessler (8.5), all while holding opponents to a stingier field-goal percentage (49.5 percent) than even eventual Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.
His role should only grow from the end of last season, as he’s now become the second-biggest building block on the roster after Lauri Markkanen.
Look for Kessler to make his first All-Defensive team while challenging for Most Improved Player in the process, an award that would give the Jazz back-to-back winners.
Tyrese Maxey has already taken a leap in both of his offseasons and should be in line for his biggest year yet with a max contract on the line next summer.
The amount of offensive responsibility he’s asked to carry will be affected by how the James Harden saga ultimately ends.
Assuming Harden is eventually traded, it’s hard to imagine Philly would be getting a bigger star back in return, or someone who spends as much time handling the ball as the 34-year-old.
This, of course, would be huge for Maxey, who would immediately see an uptick in scoring and playmaking duties. He came off the bench for 19 games a season ago and averaged 22.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and shot 45.5 percent from three in his 41 games as a starter.
If/when Harden is traded, the 22-year-old could cement himself as an All-Star.
Expectations were high for Evan Mobley coming off a second-place finish for Rookie of the Year, with his sophomore season producing some mixed results.
Defensively, Mobley is a monster already. He protects the rim, switches with ease on the perimeter and is athletic enough to stick with guards as they attempt to drive on him.
A third-place finish for Defensive Player of the Year last season was just the start, as the 22-year-old has the potential to be even better as he adds muscle to his frame and can take on more center minutes when Jarrett Allen sits.
Offensively, there was definitely an adjustment period after Donovan Mitchell arrived. While Mobley’s touches weren’t where they needed to be for him to make a true leap, the second half of the season was much better. In 25 games during February and March, his numbers jumped to 18.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 blocks on 56.2 percent shooting.
At some point, the training wheels need to come off and Mobley needs to start letting some threes fly, as his 1.3 attempts per game mirrored his rookie season. If he can add a reliable outside shot to his repertoire, he will quickly become one of the best bigs in the NBA.
Jordan Poole actually finished fourth in Most Improved Player voting two years ago when he filled in for an injured Klay Thompson in the Golden State Warriors’ starting lineup and helped win the team a championship.
Now with the Wizards, the 24-year-old is primed for the biggest role of his career, with Kyle Kuzma as the only teammate who could challenge him for leading-scorer honors.
Poole has never been afraid to shoot, a tendency that didn’t always fit in well with a star-studded roster in Golden State. With the rebuilding Wizards, though, he’ll have the ultimate green light.
In 43 starts with the Warriors last season, he averaged 24.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists, albeit on 43.3 percent shooting overall. His 31.7 percent usage rate as a starter was higher than players like Trae Young, Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell and even Steph Curry.
If Poole ends up as a top-10 scorer in the league next season, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The rise of Austin Reaves has been a fun ride for Lakers fans, as he’s gone from undrafted to being one of the better two-way guards in the West in a matter of just two years.
Los Angeles went 8-2 with him in the starting lineup after the All-Star break, with the 25-year-old averaging 18.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists on 57.1/48.6/89.8 percent shooting splits over this stretch.
He also dropped 20 points or more in seven playoff games for the Lakers, taking over at times as the primary ball-handler, even with LeBron James on the court.
A good athlete, Reaves has become a crucial piece to the Lakers’ title hopes, something that didn’t seem possible even a year ago at this time.
It’s impossible to predict what Josh Giddey’s ceiling actually is, as the 6’8″ guard still hasn’t turned 21 yet headed into Year 3.
His three-point shooting, a major weakness as a rookie, jumped from 26.3 percent to 32.5 percent in Year 2 while he continued to impact the game with his overall scoring, rebounding and passing.
With backcourt teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finishing second in Most Improved Player last season and making his first All-Star game, we could see a big leap from Giddey now.
Over his final 20 games of the 2022-23 season, the Australian put up 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists while bumping his three-point accuracy up to 36.1 percent.
If Giddey can continue to improve as an outside shooter while controlling possessions with his combination of size and passing chops, we could see an OKC guard make the All-Star leap for a second-straight season.
Jabari Smith Jr. was by far the best player in the Las Vegas Summer League and probably should have never been there in the first place. Looking like a varsity starter playing against freshmen, he was just too big and too talented for anyone to guard.
The Rockets have to hope this season brings more of the same for Smith, who’s now grown to just under 7-feet and moves with the fluidity of a guard. He finished his rookie season on a strong note, averaging 16.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and shot 35.6 percent from three over his final 17 games.
There’s a real responsibility for the Rockets to make sure the 20-year-old’s role continues to grow, especially since the team added Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore and Jeff Green this offseason.
Smith still has, arguably, the highest ceiling of anyone on the team, which is saying a lot.
At first glance, Derrick White seems too old to win the Most Improved Player award after turning 29 this summer, although Darrell Armstrong was 30 when he took home the honors with the Orlando Magic in 1998-99.
White is also going to be faced with increased playmaking, scoring and defensive duties now that Marcus Smart has been traded, as he becomes the full-time starting point guard.
In his 70 starts last season, White averaged 12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and shot 39.4 percent from three.
His chances of winning the award could be assisted by the Celtics’ success, especially if Boston leads the NBA in wins and secures the No. 1 seed. Malcolm Brodgon earned his Sixth Man of the Year award last season, but playing for a winner obviously helps.
A part-time starter for the majority of his career, White should have his best year as the starting point guard for a loaded Celtics team with championship aspirations.