Ryan Rollins (right) and Reed Sheppard are among the top Kia Most Improved Player award contenders this season.
There’s always some debate about what kind of player should or shouldn’t be considered for the Kia Most Improved Player award. Some voters may not consider second-year players, while some might not consider high-lottery picks.
Some players go from bad to good. Some good players become All-Stars. Some All-Stars turn into MVP candidates. Ultimately, some voters will value one of those transitions over the others. Last season, 10 different players received first-place votes.
For this exercise, we’re keeping it simple: this season’s numbers vs. last season’s numbers.
Reminder: The Most Improved Player award is one of the NBA’s awards that requires a player to have played at least 63 games of 20 minutes or more and two more games of at least 15 minutes.
That means the following candidates are disqualified:
– Dillon Brooks, Phoenix: Thanks to a huge jump in usage rate, he’s averaging 24.4 points per 36 minutes, up from 15.9 last season. But he’s played in only 51 games. – Keyonte George, Utah: He’s averaged 23.6 points on a true shooting percentage of 60.9%, up from 16.8 on 53.9% last season. But he’s played in just 54 games. – Kyshawn George, Washington: He’s made a huge jump in per-minute numbers and ranks as one of the league’s most-improved 3-point shooters, but has played in only 48 games. – Daniss Jenkins, Detroit: He’s seen huge jumps in per-game and per-minute numbers from last season (when he only played 23 total minutes) and has played in 66 games, but he’s played at least 20 minutes in only 30 of them. – Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City: He’s become an important part of the Thunder’s rotation, but has played in only 53 games.
Some other candidates haven’t qualified yet but can get there in the final 11 days of the season.
Here’s a look at the biggest improvements from 2024-25 to ’25-26 among players who qualify or could qualify for the Most Improved award by the season’s end:
1. Per-game numbers Here are the qualified (or potentially qualified) players who’ve seen the biggest jumps in points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per game:
– Ryan Rollins: +18.2 – Jaylon Tyson*: +14.8 – Reed Sheppard: +13.9 – Nickeil Alexander-Walker: +13.2 – Matas Buzelis: +12.1 – Collin Gillespie: +12.0 – Neemias Queta: +11.6 – Donovan Clingan: +10.4 – Deni Avdija*: +9.4 – Jaime Jaquez Jr.: +9.1
(Note: * Not yet qualified)
2. Per-36 numbers Per-game numbers can obviously be affected by minutes. It means something that a player has earned more minutes, but per-minute numbers can tell us more about his impact.
Here are the qualified (or potentially qualified) players who’ve seen the biggest jumps in points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per 36 minutes:
– Nickeil Alexander-Walker: +8.7 – Jaylen Brown: +8.7 – Kawhi Leonard*: +8.5 – Deni Avdija*: +6.9 – Jalen Johnson: +6.9 – Reed Sheppard: +6.4 – Jalen Duren*: +6.3 – Jamal Murray: +6.2 – Victor Wembanyama*: +5.8 – Ryan Rollins: +5.6
(Note: * Not yet qualified)
3. Efficiency Per-minute numbers can be affected by usage, but every player is looking to be more efficient with their touches.
Here are the qualified (or potentially qualified) players who’ve seen the biggest jumps in true shooting percentage, which measures scoring efficiency:
– Reed Sheppard: +10% – Jaylon Tyson*: +9% – Wendell Carter Jr.: +7.4% – Tim Hardaway Jr.: +6.1% – Bruce Brown*: +5.7% – Jaden McDaniels: +5.6% – Kris Dunn: +5.6% – Stephon Castle*: +5.3% – Scottie Barnes: +5.1% – Keldon Johnson*: +4.9%
(Note: * Not yet qualified)
4. Candidate comparisons Sheppard and Tyson are the only players in the top 10 in improved true shooting percentage who also appeared in either the per-game or per-36 lists. But Tyson isn’t going to qualify, while Sheppard is also a second-year player.
Here are some of the leading candidates for the Most Improved award, with their per-36 numbers and true shooting percentage compared to last season:
– Nickeil Alexander-Walker: PRASB/36 +2.6%, TS% +2.6% – Deni Avdija*: PRASB/36 -0.7%, TS% -0.7% – Jalen Duren*: PRASB/36 -1.8%, TS% -1.8% – Collin Gillespie: PRASB/36 +0.3%, TS% +0.3% – Jalen Johnson: PRASB/36 +1.5%, TS% +1.5% – Neemias Queta: PRASB/36 -1.3%, TS% -1.3% – Ryan Rollins: PRASB/36 -1.9%, TS% -1.9% – Reed Sheppard: PRASB/36 +10%, TS% +10%
John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years.
