Tyrese Maxey, a guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2023-24 season. Maxey received a total of 319 points in the voting, including 51 first-place votes. He beat out Chicago Bulls guard Coby White and Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun for the award.
Maxey had a breakthrough season with career highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7), assists (6.2), steals (1.0) and 3-pointers made (212). He also became an All-Star for the first time as he transitioned into playing point guard full-time following James Harden being traded to the LA Clippers.
Maxey's growth was evident in his statistics, but it was also noticed by his teammates and coaches. Joel Embiid, the 76ers' center and a perennial All-Star, constantly referred to Maxey as the team's best player.
Despite Maxey's impressive season, there were some controversies surrounding his performance in the playoffs. In Game 2 of Philadelphia's first-round series against the New York Knicks, Maxey had a key turnover in the final seconds that led to what turned out to be the winning 3-pointer for the Knicks. The league's Last Two Minute report later determined that Maxey had been fouled twice on that play.
Maxey was not the only player who had an impressive season. Jonathan Kuminga, a forward for the Golden State Warriors, also took a major leap forward in Year 3 but was not eligible for the Most Improved Player Award due to playing less than 20 minutes in two games. Kuminga played 74 regular-season games and started 46 of them, making him the Warriors' second-leading scorer with an average of 16.1 points per game.
Despite not winning the award, Kuminga set single-season career highs in rebounding (4.8), field-goal percentage (52.9%), free-throw percentage (74.6%), total steals (55), and total blocks (36). Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. assessed Kuminga's growth as 'really good' and saw potential for him to be a go-to scorer and secondary option for the Warriors behind Steph Curry.
