Miles Bridges Stock Rising in Most Improved Player Odds

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges has picked up right where he left off at the end of the 2020-21 season, and it has shot him up the odds list at WynnBET to win the league’s Most Improved Player Award. 

Bridges is averaging 22.3 points per game this season while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. Last season, Bridges averaged just 12.7 points per game, but he was more efficient, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3. 

Now a full-time starter for the Hornets, Bridges is playing 7.3 more minutes per game this season, and he’s shown that he can take the next step as a player with the increased playing time. 

This isn’t a fluke, either. Bridges thrived when Gordon Hayward went down at the end of the 2020-21 season. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game over his final 18 games of the season (17 starts) and was playing over 36.0 minutes per game. 

The Hornets have given Bridges more responsibility in the offense, and his usage rate has risen from 17.3 percent last year to 24.4 percent through the first 12 games of the 2021-22 season. The signs of the leap are there, and the window may have closed on taking Bridges as a value pick to win the Most Improved Player award. 

Latest Odds to Win NBA’s Most Improved Player Award

• Ja Morant: +400
• Miles Bridges: +400 
• Tyler Herro: +1200
• OG Anunoby: +1500
• Jordan Poole: +1600
• Dejounte Murray: +2000
• Anthony Edwards: +2500
• LaMelo Ball: +3000
• Michael Porter Jr.: +3000
• Kevin Porter Jr.: +3000
• Lonzo Ball: +4000
• Keldon Johnson: +4000
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: +4000
• Jaylen Brown: +4000
• Darius Garland: +4000

Personally, I love Bridges as an option to win this award. He has the role change that has benefited him, as well as the increase in numbers to back it up. Morant’s Achilles heel in this race may be that he has to make the leap from star to superstar, while Bridges is simply going from role player to one of the team’s top options. 

The Hornets will also need to improve on their record (5-7) for Bridges to win this award. Since the 2012-13 season, all but one player who has won the Most Improved Player award has done it on a playoff team. 

The path is there, especially in Charlotte gets back on track, but there is no longer sneaky value on Bridges at this number.