The general framework for recent Most Improved Player winners is as follows: First-time All-Star, somewhere in the neighborhood of a five-point bump in scoring average and an uptick in team success year over year.
Take the most recent winner, Ja Morant. The Grizzlies’ star guard made his first All-Star team (and an All-NBA team), increased his scoring average by 8.3 points and Memphis went from a play-in team to having the NBA’s second-best record.
The improvement doesn’t always have to be so drastic, though.
NBA Eastern Conference Team Over/Under | Western Conference Team O/U
Brandon Ingram exploded in his first year with the Pelicans in 2019-20.