Latest NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Betting Picks and Odds - 2021/22

The NBA Most Improved Player award is looking like coming down to a pair of point guards from the 2019 draft, with Ja Morant the odds on favorite to claim the award ahead of Darius Garland.

These NBA best bets and odds for the NBA Most Improved are proudly brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, where you can use a risk-free bet on any of the NBA player awards!

NBA Most Improved Player Odds

• -420: Ja Morant
• +1000: Darius Garland, Miles Bridges
• +1400: Dejounte Murray
• +3000: Anfernee Simons
• +6500: Desmond Bane

NBA Most Improved Player Picks

Most Improved Player favorite - Ja Morant

Why he will win it:

Ja Morant is a bonafide NBA superstar. It's not often that players making the leap from star to superstar win the Most Improved award, but Ja is looking more and more likely to go against the grain with that trend this season.

The former no. 2 draft pick has increased his points per game from 19.1 to 26.8, seeing him rank 7th in the league and 3rd amongst (behind two more young stars in Trae Young and Luka Doncic).

The Grizzlies currently sit 3rd in the East, with a four game buffer between them and the Jazz in 4th. If Morant keeps his personal stats up and leads them to a Top-Four seed, it's hard to see anyone beating him.

What might stop him:

In saying that, it is very rare for a player making that star to superstar leap to win the award. Even when Giannis won it in 2016-17, he "only" averaged 22.9 points per game (good for 21st in the league) and was still a full 24 months away from winning his first MVP.

By being the second pick in the draft and improving year-on-year, voters may seen Ja's improvement as expected. This could result in them leaning towards guys like Miles Bridges and Darius Garland, who have both had more surprising breakout years, at least externally.

Suggestion: Odds are too short to bet. If you're liking Ja, then suss his odds for the MVP.

Most Improved Player threat - Darius Garland

Another guard from the same draft as Ja that has made a significant leap this season is Cavs' leading scorer, Darius Garland.

Garland was the 5th pick in the 2019 draft, and has averaged 12.3, 17.4 and now 20.3 points per game. Importantly though, he has also upped his FG% from 45.1% to 47.57%, rebounds from 2.4 to 3.3, and assists from 6.1 to 8.0, leading to him being selected to the All-Star game for the first time in his career.

Overall, both Morant and Garland have led their teams to Top-Four positions in their respective conferences, with each making clutch plays multiple times this season.

With Garland's rise less expected, and arguably coming under more pressure with both Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio getting injured for the season, we could see his odds come close to Morant's as we approach the end of the season.

Suggestion: A bet on Garland looks like the play at this point of the season.

Looking for bets that will cash sooner? Find out who we're betting on for every basketball game each night via our NBA Bet Hub, where we deliver you NBA predictions and suggested bets, or check out the NBA Betting News section.

🏆 NBA Player Awards Hub 🏆

NBA Most Valuable Player Picks

NBA Rookie of the Year Picks

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Picks

NBA Most Improved Player Picks

NBA Sixth Man of the Year Picks

Best NBA Sportsbook Promos and Boosts