2025 NBA Most Improved Player Award Betting Predictions & Odds

All odds provided by Betway.

Player	Team	Odds
Victor Wembanyama	SAN	+700
Evan Mobley	CLE	+1,000
Jonathan Kuminga	GSW	+1,200
Jalen Johnson	ATL	+1,400
Cade Cunningham	DET	+1,600
Josh Giddey	CHI	+1,600
Jalen Williams	OKC	+1,800
Scottie Barnes	TOR	+1,800
Brandin Podziemski	GSW	+2,500
Immanuel Quickley	TOR	+2,500
R.J. Barrett	TOR	+2,500
Zion Williamson	NOP	+2,500

Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs (+700)

The reigning Rookie of the Year is at the top of the odds table here, and it’s easy to see why: there is perhaps no one in NBA history that has a higher ceiling than Victor Wembanyama. This is a guy that was not named an All-Star last year while averaging 21 and 10, and there’s pretty much no way he doesn’t exceed those by a wide margin in his second season.

Another big reason he’s a good bet here is the fact that with Chris Paul joining the fray, the Spurs might actually be competitive this year. If he raises his numbers to 25-27 points and 12-13 rebounds per game and the Spurs can get to .500, he’ll be a lock for this award. Wembanyama has -200 NBA betting odds to win Defensive Player of the Year too, and if he wins that, it would be hard to argue against him also winning Most Improved Player.

We liken this situation to Ja Morant’s from a few seasons ago. He won ROY, then in his second year, slightly improved, then in his third year, earned his first All-Star honors while boosting his scoring output from 19 to 27 per game by taking a lot more shots and still increasing his efficiency.

Wemby was just getting comfortable with NBA basketball last year and was still dominant, he’s going to be scary in his second year with Paul dishing him the ball and Greg Poppovich shaping him as a ball player. He may have the shortest odds, but Wemby at +700 here is a steal.

Evan Mobley, PF, Cleveland Cavaliers (+1,000)

This one is a bit surprising. The Cavaliers haven’t experienced any major offseason changes that would suggest Evan Mobley is on the cusp of becoming a 25-12 guy, which, after averaging 16 and 9 boards over the last two years, is what he would need to do to win this award, at the least.

Jarrett Allen just signed a massive extension, so he’s going to be crucial, and the back court will always command a high volume of shots. We don’t see it here for Mobley unless the Cavs somehow claim a top two seed in the East and Allen gets hurt again.

Jonathan Kuminga, SF, Golden State Warriors (+1,200)

This one is intriguing, because with Klay Thompson finally out the door, Jonathan Kuminga should finally get a consistent run with the Warriors. He already boosted his scoring from 9.9 as a sophomore to 16.1 last season, doing so in just 26 minutes a night, and he should be able to get up to 20 ppg this year as Golden State’s second option on offense behind Steph Curry.

He’s going to be seeing 30+ minutes and 15+ shots every night this year. We would have had Kuminga as the second favorite just behind Wemby, so these +1,200 odds from Ontario sportsbooks are a welcome sight to us here.

Best of the Rest:

Cade Cunningham (+1,600) → The Pistons’ best player has been slowly improving over each of his three NBA seasons, if he does it again this year, he’ll be nearing 25 points and 10 assists a night territory. If he manages that and Detroit makes the play-in, he could be in with a shout.
Scottie Barnes (+1,800) → There are three Raptors guys in the top 10 here, so oddsmakers clearly believe they’re going to make a big leap up the standings. Scottie Barnes would be the catalyst behind that jump. An improvement for Barnes would be nearing triple double numbers on a nightly basis, and if he accomplishes that, continues to improve his jumper, and the Raptors make the playoffs, this bet has a great chance of cashing.
Zion Williams (+2,500) → It has to happen one of these years, right? He averaged just 23 and 6 last year, and he could easily average a 30-point triple double. The only player with more potential than Zion is Wemby.