Amen Thompson put the world on notice with freakish athleticism and rangy defense last season. There's no surprise he's the betting favorite to capture the 2026 George Mikan Most Improved award. His brother, Ausar, will be in the mix too after a full, healthy offseason.
So will Portland's Deni Avdija. He averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists over his last 16 regular-season games. That offensive production, paired with his versatile defense, is a recipe for award noise. The Trail Blazers will likely exceed expectations, which will also benefit Avdija's case.
Avdija struck gold with more opportunities, and Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard is in a similar position. With Tyrese Haliburton out for the season, Nembhard will assume more on-ball opportunities. His stats will skyrocket across the board with the ball in his hands. We've seen what he can do as a shot creator in the 2025 NBA Finals.
We won’t forget how Andrew Nembhard was moving in the 2024-25 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/V9i8nzlj3m
— 𝗠𝗔𝗟 (@MindOfBron) September 23, 2025
These are the obvious names. You can throw Chicago Bulls Matas Buzelis in here as well. He had star-studded moments down the stretch and looks to be Chicago's centerpiece.
I, for one, don't like second-year players getting Most Improved buzz (they're naturally supposed to progress in their second year), but Matas will be in the discussion if he emerges as the Bulls' best player.
Picking these players to win MIP doesn't require an Einstein-level of analysis or research. They are surging on paper, and it'd be no surprise if any of them are selected in May.
The next five players listed can snatch the award from the betting favorites due to a mix of potential, opportunities, and contributions to winning. Placing a bet with any of these under-the-radar MIP candidates will surely net a higher return than betting on the former candidates.
Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers
Deni Avdjia is rightfully getting MIP shouts, but his teammate could wiggle into the conversation. No, not Scoot Henderson (Is he a starter? This year may tell us), but the supposed-to-be Tracy McGrady clone, Shaedon Sharpe.
The Tmac comps were always too much, but Tmac did have his breakout Most Improved season in year four, the same year Sharpe is heading into. McGrady did switch teams and get more of a chance to flourish, but Sharpe could be presented with a similar opportunity. On a defensive first team that added Jrue Holiday this offseason, Sharpe will be the number one option.
Sharpe is Portland's most versatile scorer. Per Cleaning The Glass, he shot 71 percent at the rim (92nd percentile amongst combo guards), 47 percent from long mid-range (75th percentile), and a chilling 31 percent from deep.
You want that 3-point number to rise, and the long mid-range attempts turn into more 3s because he's clearly capable of nailing longer shots. However, it is a plus that he has a mid-range game. This aspect is particularly beneficial when considering how his game translates to a postseason environment.
Sharpe uses he gravity-defying bounce to punish rims and rim protectors. His poster catalog is rapidly growing, and if his overall game catches up, the Blazers could be a team to reckon with.
Sharpe's consistency as a scorer and passing chops need a leap to be in the MIP convo. His defensive intensity needs to remain consistent if he wants to be on he floor, best scorer or not. The next sleeper candidate has no issues on the non-glamorous side of the floor.
Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are a rugged defensive unit, and Jalen Suggs leads the pack. He's one of the standout point of attack defenders in the world, and he's returning with a vengeance.
Suggs was limited to 35 games last year due to a cartilage fracture in his left knee. He was producing at a career rate, scoring-wise. Suggs averaged 16 points in limited action. Taking that next step offensively could change the trajectory of the Magic.
Suggs won't be ready to go by the end of October, but when he returns, he'll be perfectly set up to contribute to the Magic's winning ways.
Jalen Suggs and new backcourt mate Desmond Bane are glove fits on paper. Suggs can continue taking on the difficult matchups (A matchup difficulty grade per Bball-Index) while Bane can take the ball handling and creation duties Suggs had.
That type of freedom can unlock Suggs even more on both ends. He'll have more energy to be a hound defensively, and he can lean into more secondary ball-handling duties and focus on off-ball cutting. Suggs already played off the ball a ton, being teammates with Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, but playing with a real creator like Bane only makes his life easier.
Suggs should score more with catch-and-shoot triples and off-ball slashing. He only shot 34 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s last year, but he was more consistent in 2024 (40 percent), so there is a viable pathway for Suggs to become a knockdown open shooter. Suggs isn't a pushover finishing at the rim, so the gravity of Bane, Banchero, and Wagner will work in his favor as an off-ball cutter.
There is steep competition, and Suggs will miss a portion of the beginning of the year. That said, his cirumstamce and his contributions to a team that projects to be a top flight East team cannot be ignored.
Santi Aldama, Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies and Magic aren't on the same path after their offseason deal that swapped Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Desmond Bane. The Grizzlies can say they are still in win-now mode, but the roster and early-season injuries suggest otherwise.
Aldama won't be in the MIP race because he's helping Memphis make a playoff push. His name is being considered fully due to the opportunities at hand. With the Bane departure and early-season injuries to Morant and Jackson Jr., Aldama has a chance to be the first option for the foreseeable future.
In the Grizzlies' last game of the year, Aldama did his part to beat the Thunder, splashing five 3s and scoring 23 points. It wasn't enough as the Thunder swept the Grizzlies, but it could lay the foundation for how the 2025-26 season will go.
Minutes played and points is the route for Aldama to achieve this award. That recipe seldomly wins MIP these days (Brandon Ingram 2020), but a major increase in points could work in his favor.
Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
A major points increase is what Chet Holmgren needs to get in this race, and that's it. Holmgren has everything else in the toolbox. Health willing, Holmgren will be a perennial All-Defense member. His block radius and discipline are already otherworldly.
Where Holmgren can improve is taking advantage of smalls guarding him. Opponents see Holmgren's thin frame and lack of shot attempts and put 6-foot-whatever defenders on him. The Thunder offense runs through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, so forcing the ball to Holmgren isn't always in the flow of the offense.
At 7-foot-1, Holmgren should feel disrespected when teams go this route. If he were a more dominant scorer in the paint, forcing the ball to him wouldn't hurt OKC (it doesn't now). With Holmgren's elastic arms, finishing over smalls should have been something emphasized this off-season.
Holmgren has touch on all his shots. He's shot 37 percent on deep in 114 career games. His floater range shots were in the 86th percentile amongst bigs in his rookie season. Even if Chet never reaches the strength threshold that the masses believe he should, there's still an avenue for him to become more of a threat as a paint scorer.
Holmgren showed flashes of elite reads in the playoffs. Playing next to an elite passing big like Isaiah Hartenstein will only shore up his vision. He's already a lethal shooter that teams must respect.
A rim-protecting, play-finishing, sharpshooting player who can play the four or five bigs spot is invaluable in the NBA today. Holmgren is also a major contributor on the defending champs, so he'll get the stats boost and "he's helping them win" narrative if he improves at taking advantage of smalls. That bodes well for a Most Improved case.
Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves
I refuse to ignore Jaden McDaniels shooting 42 percent from 3 in his playoff career. We're past the point of a small sample size. 37 games, shooting the leather off the ball in the most pressurized portion of the year isn't a small feat.
The Timberwolves are hopeful McDaniels can take that shooting into the regular season. His regular and postseason shooting numbers are on opposite sides of the spectrum. McDainels has to knock down some shots. He's virtually wide open.
Per Bball-Index, McDaniels' 3-point quality rating is an A+, meaning teams are daring him to shoot. If he's cash money in the playoffs, this needs to be the year, the same can be said about the regular season.
That type of improvement makes the back-to-back Western Conference Finals Timberwolves even more formidable. Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle need the others to come along for the ride if they plan on getting over the hump. McDaniels already attacks closeouts like a man on a mission. More makes from deep ensures more closeouts (eventually) and helps the spacing for Ant and Randle to operate.
The work McDaniels does as a defender is second to none. There isn't a matchup Minnesota feels uncomfortable with him taking. If the shooting is there, his scoring production will increase.
A lockdown defender, scoring 15ish points per game, and who shoots at least 38 percent from deep on a winning team, is the type of player who'd get consideration for this award. McDaniels only shot 33 percent from deep in last year's regular season. A 5 percent increase from deep on volume is almost enough to warrant MIP consideration alone if his dominant defense stays intact.