The NBA season is nearing its end, and with that comes one of the most fun aspects of the year – debating NBA awards. Throughout the years, the Most Improved Player is usually one of the least contested and/or debated awards. Usually, one player clearly separates himself from the rest of the pack.
Top 5 NBA Most Improved Player candidates this season
Over the last five years, only the 2020 season featured a slightly-contested award, with the race coming down to Bam Adebayo and Brandon Ingram. Adebayo received a total of 38 first-place votes, while Ingram got 42. Aside from that season, the most first-place votes the runner-up garnered in the last 5 seasons was 17 (Nikola Jokic, 2017 season).
However, it seems as though this trend will be balked this year. With no clear-cut winner separating himself from the rest, the 2022 Most Improved Player Award is shaping up to be the most highly-contested MIP in recent memory.
The criteria used for the construction of this list are the following – players with at least three years of experience in the league (sorry Desmond Bane), earning a more prominent role in the team than in the previous year, improvements from a statistical standpoint, and overall team success.
Based on our criteria, these are the five players that should be in contention for the 2021-2022 Most Improved Player Award.