NBA
Is Cade Cunningham a lock for most improved player in 2025?
Olly Taliku has worked with highly respected sports and gambling websites such as The Sports Daily, Basketball Insiders, Augusta Free Press and Business2Community where he has produced hundreds of articles alongside being published with Burton Albion and Chesterfield FC. At Burton Olly worked closely alongside the women's team, producing mainly matchday content including reports and interviews, while at Chesterfield he worked in a similar role but with the academy side, as well as some first team content. He also has experience as an accredited Premier League and EFL writer for Prost International where he worked during the 2021/22 season to produce matchday content as an on location reporter. Olly specialises in football as well as long form SEO content plus news, tips and betting but also produces content on basketball, baseball and American football. Some of his sports betting work can be found on www.sportslens.com and www.thesportsdaily.com.
All posts by Oliver TalikuUpdated20 Mar 2025
Cade Cunningham has had a standout year for the Detroit Pistons, and with just 12 games year he could be a lock for the most improved player this season.
A special year for Cade Cunningham
There is no doubt about it, Cade Cunningham has improved ten fold this year and his own personal performances have played a huge part in Detroit’s success.
The 23-year-old has averaged 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists this season which is a vast improvement on all of the rest of his three years in the league.
Cunningham has already hit the 65-game mark this year which is the most he has ever played in the NBA and his consistency throughout this year is a huge factor as to why he is up for the most improved award.
With 12 games left to play, Cunningham could feature in as many as 77 games this year, having missed just 5 so far.
On Wednesday night Cunningham gave another bold performance to boost his chances for the most improved award, with a triple double against the Miami Heat as well as a game-winning three at the buzzer.
With Cunningham playing his best basketball to date in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons are headed to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Just to put into context how much the Pistons have improved this year, this will be the first time they have finished outside the bottom three in the Eastern Conference since 2018-19. They are currently sixth in the East.
Cade Cunningham remains the short favorite to be crowned the most improved player this season, priced at -275 to win the award with the best online sportsbooks.
NBA most improved player odds
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons | -275 |
| Dyson Daniels | Atlanta Hawks | +200 |
| Tyler Herro | Miami Heat | +3000 |
| Christian Braun | Denver Nuggets | +4000 |
| Evan Mobley | Cleveland Cavaliers | +10000 |
Does Dyson Daniels have a shot at Most Improved Player?
While Cunningham has been in exceptional form this season, the jump for Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels this year has been extraordinary and he still has to be in with a chance for most improved player.
Daniels has made huge progress from his previous two years with the Pelicans, with 14.1 points (+8.3), 5.6 rebounds (+1.7) and 4.3 assists (+1.6) compared to last year.
It is Daniels’ steals that has turned heads this year though and with an average of 3.0 per game, the Hawks guard is simply in a league of his own.
NBA Steals Leaders:
187 – Dyson Daniels
[gap]117- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The gap between Dyson and 2nd place is bigger than the gap between 2nd and 139th 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sC1JCzzVDu
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 16, 2025
Daniels leads the NBA this season in steals (by some way) as well as blocks and deflections, making him a solid contender for not only most improved but also defensive player of the year.
