We're only a few weeks into the new season, but the end-of-season awards races are already taking shape.
Through the first few weeks of the season, the Most Improved Player of the Year race has seen the most movement, with Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey and Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes emerging as the early favourites to take home the trophy.
Maxey is the heavy favourite at $2.00, while Barnes is right behind him with slightly higher odds at $6.00. With the 76ers looking like one of the best teams in the NBA, thanks largely to Maxey's early-season form, his odds are fitting, but if Barnes can push the Raptors into the playoff picture and maintain his strong early numbers, we'll have a solid race on our hands.
Below, we'll look at the latest odds from TAB and break down the two favourites, along with a sleeper pick.
NBA Most Improved Player of the Year 2024 Odds
All odds courtesy of TAB
| Player | Odds |
| Tyrese Maxey, 76ers | $2.00 |
| Scottie Barnes, Raptors | $6.00 |
| Alperen Sengun, Rockets | $10 |
| Cam Thomas, Nets | $12 |
| Cade Cunningham, Pistons | $15 |
| Evan Mobley, Cavaliers | $21 |
| Austin Reaves, Lakers | $21 |
| Jalen Duren, Pistons | $26 |
| Shaedon Sharpe, Blazers | $26 |
NBA Most Improved Player of the Year 2024 Odds: Favourites
Tyrese Maxey, 76ers ($2.00): Through the first month of the season, the fourth-year guard's odds to win the award have come right in, taking an early lead in the MIP race.
Following James Harden's trade to the LA Clippers, Maxey has more than filled the void at point guard, he's made the position his own, taking his game up a notch across the board, averaging 26.8 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds on .475/.446/.953 shooting splits.
Maxey has the 76ers flying in the standings, sitting at 10-3 in the East and looks on track to make his All-Star debut this season.
Scottie Barnes ($6.00). After struggling in his sophomore season, the 2022 Rookie of the Year is making a strong case to add another individual trophy to his cabinet this season.
Coming into this season, there were question marks surrounding Barnes' development, but he couldn't have started the season better, dominating as the Raptors' swiss-army knife on both sides of the ball, with his scoring, playmaking, and on-ball defence all showing big signs of improvement.
Averaging 20.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.6 steals, the 22-year-old leads his team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks and is the main reason why they're hovering around .500.
2024 Most Improved Player of the Year Sleeper
Right now, it's a two-horse race between Maxey and Barnes, but there's plenty of value in Brooklyn Nets bucket-getter Cam Thomas ($12).
Prior to suffering an ankle injury, Thomas was on an electric scoring tear in the first eight games of the season, putting up 26.9 points on .479/.321/.851 shooting splits — up from his 10.6 points per game last season in double the minutes.
If he can keep putting the ball in the basket the way he started the season, expect his odds to shorten significantly.
