Zion Is +1000 To Win Most Improved Player, But Don't Bet On It

Most Improved Player Award

Picking the Most Improved Player can be tricky in the NBA. A player needs to show enough promise to project as a future star, without having already made good on that potential

Recent MIP winners:

• 2016-17: Giannis Antetokounmpo

• 2017-18: Victor Oladipo

• 2018-19: Pascal Siakam

• 2019-20: Brandon Ingram

• 2020-21: Julius Randle

Each of the last five winners made their first All-Star appearance in the year they won the award, and four of the five made their first appearance on one of the three All-NBA teams that same season

• Brandon Ingram is the only player above who didn’t

Vegas has already tapped a few promising players as the most likely to take that next step into the league’s inner circle of superstars. Check out the most recent MIP odds 👇

• Michael Porter Jr.: +850

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: +850

• Zion Williamson: +1000

• Kevin Porter Jr.: +1200

• Jaylen Brown/Jaren Jackson Jr.: +1400

• Christian Wood/Darius Garland: +1600

Air Williamson

Zion Williamson and Jaylen Brown each had incredible seasons last year, and both have Top-5 best odds to win MIP. If either of them were to bring it home, they’d become the first MIP winner ever to have already been named an NBA All-Star

• Maybe that means we shouldn’t be putting our money on them 🤔

But, it’s so tempting…Zion’s second season in NOLA was even better than we expected, specifically after Ingram went down and he started running the point. He put up ridiculous stats for a (then) 20-year-old, and should only improve

• 27 points per game

• 7.2 rebounds per game

• 4.2 assists per game

• 61.1% shooting from the field

If Zion can start to protect the rim on defense with the same force he uses on offense, he could be one of the favorites to win MVP in addition to Most Improved

Winged Favorites

Coming off of a Met Gala glow-up and a $200M extension, everyone expects big things out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Michael Porter Jr. Each 23-year-old from the 2018 Draft balled out last season

On one hand, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, and Collin Sexton were the only players younger than Shai to average more PPG. Peep SGA’s 2021 stats

• 24 PPG

• 5 RPG and 6 APG

• 42% 3-point shooting

On the other hand, MPJ joined Steph Curry and Klay Thompson as the third player to shoot over 40% from distance in each of his first two seasons with at least 100 attempts

• 19 PPG

• 7 RPG

• 45% 3-point shooting

SGA played in just 35 games for the tanking Thunder, while MPJ only became the Nuggets’ second offensive option after Jamal Murray’s ACL tear. With more volume coming their ways, both studs have as clear a path as anyone to win the 2021-22 NBA Most Improved Player award

For My Parlay Gurus

If you want to bet on the NBA’s youth movement across the board, parlay the most-hyped MIP candidates’ teams’ win overs

• Nuggets: Over 48 Wins (-110)

• Pelicans: Over 39.5 Wins (-125)

• Thunder: Over 23.5 Wins (EVEN)

$100 on this trio would net a clean $587. But, if you’re looking for something bigger, try out the all-Zion parlay

• Zion to win MIP: +1000

• Zion to win MVP: +2600

• Pelicans Over 39.5 Wins: -125

On a $100 bet this crazy play would win you $53,360, enough to snag a Metallic Gold LE LeBron Top Shot moment 👑