Here Are The NBA’s All-Most-Improved Teams In 2024-25

The Most Improved Player Award always creates the most heated debate: how does one define most improved? Which leap is more significant: a player who turns into an All-Star or a player who goes from the fringes of the NBA to a legitimate rotation player? Does it matter if we award Most Improved to a highly touted prospect or high lottery pick? Or does it have to be a surprise candidate who blows us away?

If you ask 20 NBA fans, you’ll get a variety of answers. Defining ”improvement” is largely ambiguous and highly subjective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in basketball, so is development.

That’s why I’ve always been in favor of All-Most-Improved teams — just like All-NBA, All-Rookie or All-Defense — with three teams that reward the NBA’s 15 ‘Most Improved’ players every season. 

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is the odds-on favorite to win Most Improved this season. The former No. 1 pick has turned himself into an All-Star and likely an All-NBA member, propelling Detroit to its first playoff berth since 2019.

For that reason, we are excluding Cunningham from our list. He’ll receive the main prize. We’re highlighting the “other” guys here.

These teams are ordered by the size of the leap, not by caliber of player. You’ll notice some players on the second and third teams who are clearly better than players on the first team. But they didn’t make as sizeable of a leap as players on the first team, so they rank further down. (Hint: That’s the point.)

First Team:

Ty Jerome 

Season Averages: 12.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 51-43-86 shooting splits

Through the first four seasons and 159 games of his NBA career, Jerome scored 1,108 points. In 67 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, he has 816 points. 

Jerome has become an essential bench option for the best team in the Eastern Conference, all while putting up career numbers across the board. He’s been surgical in pick-and-rolls, ranking in the 88th percentile in efficiency. He’s shooting 43 percent on pull-up threes and 62 percent on floaters, making it a lose-lose situation for defenses trying to guard him in ball-screen actions. He’s become one of the very best bench players in the NBA. How many teams could he start for right now?

Norman Powell 

Season Averages: 22.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 48-42-82 shooting splits

It’s been a beautiful thing watching a player operate at their highest level 11 years into their career. Powell has been a tactical scorer for the majority of his career — a player who scores on all three levels and thrives as a complementary off-ball weapon next to other stars. He’s now become a star for the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging career-highs in scoring and efficiency while shooting a whopping 42.4 percent from three on over seven attempts a night.

Dyson Daniels 

Season Averages: 13.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.3 APG, 3.1 SPG, 48-34-59 shooting splits

Daniels has arguably been the best on-ball defender in the NBA this season. He’s averaging 3.1 steals per game, nearly one steal more than the second-place Dejounte Murray, whom he was traded for last summer. He has 208 steals. Second-place Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 123. He is one deflection away from 400 on the season. Kelly Oubre is in second with 248. He is lapping the competition as a defender, and it’s important to note he’s made tangible strides offensively, too. 

Daniels is shooting 36 percent on catch-and-shoot threes this season, five percent higher than his first two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s paired well next to Trae Young as a cutter, screener and short-roll playmaker, which has allowed him to be a much more useful offensive player. He’s found his niche, and the Great Barrier Thief is living up to his name.

Amen Thompson 

Season Averages: 14 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 55-26-68 shooting splits

The only reason Daniels is ”arguably” the best on-ball defender this season is because of this guy. Thompson is one of 12 players averaging more than one block and one steal a night. He’s been the lynchpin to the Houston Rockets’ fourth-ranked defense. He’s worked his way to being impactful offensively as well, dominating in transition, using his athleticism to become one of the league’s best, and finding other ways to leverage his speed and basketball acumen to stay on the floor, despite being a non-shooter. 

The sky is the roof for Thompson. He’s on a star trajectory.

Evan Mobley

Season Averages: 18.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.6 BPG, 56-37-72 shooting splits 

Mobley has put it all together this season. With the arrival of head coach Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers have put the ball in Mobley’s hands more often, utilizing him as an initiator in various ways (transition, inverted actions) to weaponize his playmaking and size. 

He’s made opposing defenses pay with his heightened aggression offensively, finishing at a career-best clip of 63 percent on two-pointers this season. The 3-point improvement has also been a significant area of growth and his All-Star campaign has turned him into one of the league’s best bigs.

Second Team:

Christian Braun 

Season Averages: 15.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 57-40-82 shooting splits

Entering the season, there were many questions about Braun stepping into a starting role and replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s production for the Denver Nuggets. He’s answered every single one of them. He’s been a perfect release valve in transition, acting like a wide receiver to Nikola Jokic’s full-court passes. Braun has been a more than capable outsider shooter and an elite finisher around the basket, living up to and exceeding the expectations set out before him this season.

Tyler Herro

Season Averages: 23.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.2 APG, 47-37-87 shooting splits

Herro has been this Miami Heat team’s only consistent offensive engine. He’s been his typically dominant self in handoffs, generating 1.179 points per possession and ranking in the 88th percentile. But he’s improved markedly as a pick-and-roll ball-handler this season. His playmaking has popped, averaging a career-high in assist percentage, and he’s just become a more well-rounded player who’s enjoying an All-Star season.

Trey Murphy

Season Averages: 21.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 45-36-88 shooting splits 

Murphy’s season was cut short, but the way he was performing should make New Orleans Pelicans fans excited for the 24-year-old wing. Not only did he show he could score at all three levels, but with Brandon Ingram sidelined (and eventually traded), he was given more opportunity with the ball in his hands and flourished. 

While he scored just 0.764 PPP in pick-and-rolls, the 154 possessions he recorded were a career-high and he showed genuine flashes of creation juice. Add to the fact he’s already one of the league’s most versatile and prolific shooters, and you have a very lethal offensive weapon entering his prime. Don’t be surprised if he’s on here again next season with an All-Star nod, too.

Aaron Wiggins

Season Averages: 11.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49-39-82 shooting splits

Wiggins turned into a critical bench piece for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, but he’s shown he can be even more than that this year. He’s started 23 of his 70 games and since the beginning of 2025, he’s averaging 14 points and shooting 40 percent from three. 

He’s had multiple nights with 20 or more points and has proven to be a versatile wing defender who can plug into Oklahoma City’s chaotic scheme. Something tells me this is only the beginning for Wiggins and there’s even more untapped potential to explore. 

Austin Reaves

Season Averages: 20.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 45-36-88 shooting splits 

Reaves has made a leap every season of his career. While some may say he stagnated last year, the playmaking growth he showed has helped him buoy the Los Angeles Lakers whenever Luka Doncic or LeBron James are resting or sidelined this year. 

Reaves has logged 99 isolation possessions and generated 0.95 PPP, which ranks in the 70th percentile this year. Of course, part of his versatility is he’s also great at working off of advantages others create. That makes him a seamless third fiddle next to James and Doncic. Over his last 10 games, Reaves is averaging 27.3 points and 6.1 assists, often working against and exploiting tilted defenses. He’s become one of the very best third options in the NBA.

Third Team:

Jalen Johnson

Season Averages: 18.9 PPG, 10 RPG, 5 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1 BPG, 50-31-74 shooting splits 

Johnson’s season was cut short due to injury, but he was thrusting himself into the All-Star conversation before he got hurt. His combination of playmaking, athleticism and transition dominance makes him an elite player to pair alongside Trae Young. He’s only started to scratch the surface of what he could do as a secondary hub offensively  and defensive playmaker. He isn’t higher on this list because he only played 36 games. 

Josh Giddey

Season Averages: 14.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 6.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 46-38-77 shooting splits

Giddey’s had a rollercoaster ride of a season. A rough to start the year made it feel like he was a step slow defensively and not ready for the uptick in offensive usage. 

Since the start of 2025, that’s changed. Through 35 games in the new year, Giddey is averaging 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on 48-43-80 shooting splits. The improvement in 3-point shooting this season is a positive sign for a player who got played off the court during the 2024 playoffs because of an inability to punish defenses when they ignored him beyond the arc. 

He’s benefited from the Chicago Bulls’ fast-paced, run-and-gun style, but he’s also helped them lean on that characteristic with how good he is in the open court.

Payton Pritchard

Season Averages: 14.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 46-41-84 shooting splits

To many, Pritchard is the favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year, and rightfully so. He is enjoying an absurd shooting season. Among those attempting at least eight threes per game, Pritchard is second only to Malik Beasley in efficiency, hitting 41 percent of his long balls. 

What makes his production even more impressive is while he’s shooting 45 percent on catch-and-shoot looks, he’s knocking down 35 percent of his pull-up threes on nearly 60 more attempts than Beasley’s taken. Pritchard has also been an excellent pick-and-roll ball-handler, generating 1.136 PPP in thar action. Pair that with how lethal he is on spot-up jumpers and you have one of the league’s best bench scorers.

Guerschon Yabusele

Season Averages: 10.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 49-38-72 shooting splits

What a year for Yabusele: from dunking on LeBron James at the Paris Olympics to ending up on one of our Most Improved teams. In all seriousness, Yabusele has been one of the sole bright spots for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. After being out of the league for five seasons, he’s become a handy backup big. He stretches the floor (38 percent from deep) and uses his size and width to punish mismatches inside, knocking down 61 percent of his twos. 

Going from out of the league to this is a huge improvement and should be rewarded in free agency this summer. 

Quentin Grimes

Season Averages: 13.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1 SPG, 47-40-75 shooting splits

There might not be a player on the list who has earned more money than Grimes has this season. In 22 games since being traded to Philadelphia, Grimes is averaging 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and 1.5 steals with a true shooting percentage of 61. 

Those are All-Star-caliber numbers from the fourth-year guard, who is now on his fourth team. We’ll see how much of this sticks, but Grimes has shown when given an opportunity, he can score and shoot with the best of them. He will be handsomely rewarded for it this summer when he’s a restricted free agent.

Honorable Mentions: Deni Avdija, Luke Kornet, Scoot Henderson, Malik Beasley, Gradey Dick, Jordan Poole, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Scotty Pippen Jr, Santi Aldama, Ivica Zubac, Toumani Camara, Caleb Houstan

All stats are accurate prior to games played on March 30.