2025-26 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Picks, Odds, Trends & Sleeper Candidates

NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Odds and Betting Advice For The 2025-26 Season!

Sportsmemo’s Steve Seagrave gives 2025 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year odds, picks and predictions including sleepers on who will lift the hardware come the end of the season! Which players have the best odds to win?

What are some key NBA Most Improved Player of the Year betting trends to keep an eye on? Get Steve’s NBA Most Improved Player of the Year picks below!

2025-26 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Odds (DraftKings)

Past NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Winners

NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Betting Trends

*Since its inception in the 85-86 season, 37 players have won the Most Improved Player Award, and no player has won the award twice.

Pascal Siakam (2018-19) is the only player to win a championship in the same season as winning a MIP and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2016-17) is the only player to win and NBA Finals MVP.

Like most NBA awards, a player must play 65 games to win the MIP, and a player must play 20+ minutes to be credited with a game played. 

2025-26 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Prediction: Amen Thompson, Rockets (+900)

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels won the MIP award last season despiteentering the campaign as a +6600 longshot after being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal involving Dejounte Murray.

In his 3rd NBA season, Daniels averaged a career best 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.01 steals per game.

Daniels is our selection for defensive player of the year at +2200 if you would like to check out that article but we’ll look in a different direction for the MIP. 

After taking a major jump in Year 2, Amen Thompson was already slated to play a significant role with the Houston Rockets but the season ending ACL injury that Fred VanVleet suffered will clear the way for even more playing time.

It will be interesting to see how Thompson handles the floor general responsibilities and works Kevin Durant into the mix.

Durant will give the Rockets additional floor spacing and that could open up driving lanes for Thompson who is already an elite finisher.

Thompson has already established himself as an elite defensive player and he made the All-Defensive team last season after proving himself to be one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA.

If Thompson improves his long-distance shooting and stays healthy, he will be a shoe in for this award. Thompson is the favorite, but we still get +900 odds, and we have an extreme longshot that’s paying 100-1.

2025-26 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Prediction (Long Shot): Davion Mitchell, Heat (+10000)

Davion Mitchell caught my attention last season during his postseason run and the Miami Heat also took notice as they signed the 27-year-old guard to a two-year, $24 million dollar contract.

Mitchell is known as “Off Night” for giving opponents offensive off nights and he improved his offense by averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game across 30 games with the Heat.

Now Mitchell will have a bigger role in Miami as Tyler Herro is set to miss the first two months of the season after undergoing ankle surgery in September.

There is no guarantee that Mitchell starts but he fits into the faster pace that Erik Spoelstra and the Heat players say they want to play. It’s obviously an extreme longshot but Dyson Daniels proved it’s possible during the 2024-25 campaign.

Other 2025-26 NBA Futures Picks Below

2025-26 NBA Win Totals Over/Under

2025-26 NBA MVP Award

2025-26 NBA Defensive Player of the Year

2025-26 NBA Coach of the Year

2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year

2025-26 NBA Most Improved Player

2025-26 NBA 6th Man of the Year

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