The Most Improved Player Award, established in 1984, is an annual award for an NBA player who has improved the most in the current season from previous seasons. The inaugural winner was Alvin Robertson, who won the award in the 1985-1986 season. The most recent winner is Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
It is still very early, with each NBA team having played less than ten games. However, there are five strong candidates worthy of this award.
5. Jordan Poole
Jordan Poole, by many, was seen as a potential candidate for Most Improved Player ever since he was traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Washington Wizards. Poole is the best player on an awful team, which allows him to show off his potential and “stat-pad.” He is averaging 17.6 points per game, and he’s also doing exceptionally well on the defensive end so far, averaging a career-high two steals per game.
However, he has had some abysmal plays to start the season. One was against the Atlanta Hawks, where he showed off and threw a lob to Kyle Kuzma to cut the lead down to 19.
The other one is where he tries to play iso ball and tries to create separation from Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics for a three; however, it just ends up getting blocked.
Jordan Poole tries playing ISO ball and instead has a three blocked by Kristaps Porzingis pic.twitter.com/NQn2E6ngwP
— Brian Ramos (@Brianramos0219) November 6, 2023
Despite those plays, he is still having a solid season and deserves to be in the conversation.