# NBA Most Improved Player

National Basketball Association awards and honors :
Team awards :
Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy
Bob Cousy Trophy
Maurice Podoloff Trophy
Wayne Embry Trophy
Willis Reed Trophy
Chuck Cooper Trophy
Walter A. Brown Trophy (defunct)
Oscar Robertson Trophy
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton Trophy
Earl Lloyd Trophy
Sam Jones Trophy
NBA Cup :
Individual awards :
All-Star Game MVP
Clutch Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Comeback Player of the Year (defunct)
Community Assist Award
Defensive Player of the Year
Sixth Man of the Year
Finals MVP
Hustle Award
J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
IBM Award (defunct)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion
Most Improved Player
Most Valuable Player
Rookie of the Year
Executive of the Year
Conference finals MVP
Sportsmanship Award
Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year
Lifetime Achievement Award :
Honors :
All-NBA Team
All-Rookie Team
All-Defensive Team :
vte :
The NBA's Most Improved Player (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points, and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award. The criteria for selecting the most improved player was initially open-ended, but the NBA clarified in later years that it was intended for an up-and-coming player who improved dramatically and not a player who made a comeback, distinguishing it from the defunct NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award. Since the 2022–23 NBA season, winners receive the George Mikan Trophy, named after the five-time NBA champion.
Effective with the 2023–24 season, when a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and its players' union takes effect, players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most major regular-season awards, including Most Improved Player. To receive credit for a game for purposes of award eligibility, a player must have been credited with at least 20 minutes played. However, two "near misses", in which the player appeared for 15 to 19 minutes, can be included in the 65-game count. Protections also exist for players who suffer season-ending injuries, who are eligible with 62 credited games, and those affected by what the CBA calls "bad faith circumstances".
Since its inception, the award has been given to 37 players. No player has ever won the award twice. Boris Diaw, Kevin Love, Pascal Siakam, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only award winners to win an NBA Championship, Siakam is the only winner to win a championship in the same season as the award, and Antetokounmpo is the only winner to win NBA Finals MVP. Rony Seikaly, Gheorghe Mureșan, Boris Diaw, Hedo Türkoğlu, Goran Dragić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pascal Siakam, and Lauri Markkanen are the only award winners born outside the United States.
Alvin Robertson, Dana Barros, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal, Danny Granger, Kevin Love, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Ja Morant, Lauri Markkanen, and Tyrese Maxey have won the award and been selected as an NBA All-Star in the same season; Dale Ellis, Kevin Duckworth, Kevin Johnson, Gilbert Arenas, Zach Randolph, Goran Dragic, and Pascal Siakam were the other winners who were selected in a later season to play in the All-Star Game. Only McGrady, O'Neal, George, Dragić, Antetokounmpo, Oladipo, Randle and Morant won the award and were named to the All-NBA Team in the same season. Pascal Siakam made the All-NBA Second Team the year after he won the award. The Indiana Pacers have seen six players win the award, the most in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the first recipient of the award to later become an NBA MVP. Tracy McGrady is the only recipient to win a scoring title as well as being the first recipient of the award to be named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

## Winners

| ^ | Denotes player who is still active in the NBA |
| * | Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| † | Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration |
| Team (#) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Season | Player | Position | Nationality | Team |
| 1985–86 | Alvin Robertson | Guard | United States | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1986–87 | Dale Ellis | Guard/forward | United States | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1987–88 | Kevin Duckworth | Center | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1988–89 | Kevin Johnson | Guard | United States | Phoenix Suns |
| 1989–90 | Rony Seikaly | Center | United States | Miami Heat |
| 1990–91 | Scott Skiles | Guard | United States | Orlando Magic |
| 1991–92 | Pervis Ellison | Center/forward | United States | Washington Bullets |
| 1992–93 | Chris Jackson | Guard | United States | Denver Nuggets |
| 1993–94 | Don MacLean | Forward | United States | Washington Bullets (2) |
| 1994–95 | Dana Barros | Guard | United States | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1995–96 | Gheorghe Mureșan | Center | Romania | Washington Bullets (3) |
| 1996–97 | Isaac Austin | Center | United States | Miami Heat (2) |
| 1997–98 | Alan Henderson | Forward | United States | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1998–99 | Darrell Armstrong | Guard | United States | Orlando Magic (2) |
| 1999–00 | Jalen Rose | Guard/forward | United States | Indiana Pacers |
| 2000–01 | Tracy McGrady* | Guard/forward | United States | Orlando Magic (3) |
| 2001–02 | Jermaine O'Neal | Forward/center | United States | Indiana Pacers (2) |
| 2002–03 | Gilbert Arenas | Guard | United States | Golden State Warriors |
| 2003–04 | Zach Randolph | Forward | United States | Portland Trail Blazers (2) |
| 2004–05 | Bobby Simmons | Guard/forward | United States | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2005–06 | Boris Diaw | Forward | France | Phoenix Suns (2) |
| 2006–07 | Monta Ellis | Guard | United States | Golden State Warriors (2) |
| 2007–08 | Hedo Türkoğlu | Forward | Turkey | Orlando Magic (4) |
| 2008–09 | Danny Granger | Forward | United States | Indiana Pacers (3) |
| 2009–10 | Aaron Brooks | Guard | United States | Houston Rockets |
| 2010–11 | Kevin Love^ | Forward/center | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2011–12 | Ryan Anderson | Forward | United States | Orlando Magic (5) |
| 2012–13 | Paul George^ | Forward | United States | Indiana Pacers (4) |
| 2013–14 | Goran Dragić$^†$ | Guard | Slovenia | Phoenix Suns (3) |
| 2014–15 | Jimmy Butler^ | Guard/forward | United States | Chicago Bulls |
| 2015–16 | CJ McCollum^ | Guard | United States | Portland Trail Blazers (3) |
| 2016–17 | Giannis Antetokounmpo^ | Forward | Greece | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2017–18 | Victor Oladipo^ | Guard | United States | Indiana Pacers (5) |
| 2018–19 | Pascal Siakam^ | Forward | Cameroon | Toronto Raptors |
| 2019–20 | Brandon Ingram^ | Forward | United States | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 2020–21 | Julius Randle^ | Forward | United States | New York Knicks |
| 2021–22 | Ja Morant^ | Guard | United States | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2022–23 | Lauri Markkanen^ | Forward | Finland | Utah Jazz |
| 2023–24 | Tyrese Maxey^ | Guard | United States | Philadelphia 76ers (2) |

## Teams

| Awards | Teams | Years |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2018 |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | 1991, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2012 |
| 3 | Washington Wizards / Washington Bullets | 1992, 1994, 1996 |
| 3 | Phoenix Suns | 1989, 2006, 2014 |
| 3 | Portland Trail Blazers | 1988, 2004, 2016 |
| 2 | Miami Heat | 1990, 1997 |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 2003, 2007 |
| 2 | Philadelphia 76ers | 1995, 2024 |
| 1 | San Antonio Spurs | 1986 |
| 1 | Oklahoma City Thunder / Seattle SuperSonics | 1987 |
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | 1993 |
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks | 1998 |
| 1 | Los Angeles Clippers | 2005 |
| 1 | Houston Rockets | 2010 |
| 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2011 |
| 1 | Chicago Bulls | 2015 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 2017 |
| 1 | Toronto Raptors | 2019 |
| 1 | New Orleans Pelicans | 2020 |
| 1 | New York Knicks | 2021 |
| 1 | Memphis Grizzlies | 2022 |
| 1 | Utah Jazz | 2023 |
| 0 | Brooklyn Nets | None |
| 0 | Los Angeles Lakers | None |
| 0 | Boston Celtics | None |
| 0 | Dallas Mavericks | None |
| 0 | Charlotte Hornets | None |
| 0 | Cleveland Cavaliers | None |
| 0 | Detroit Pistons | None |
| 0 | Sacramento Kings | None |