OKC Thunder: Jalen Williams Holds Seventh Best Odds to Win Most Improved Player

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Jalen Williams rank seventh in the odds to win the Most Improved Player Award, lagging behind former teammate and current Chicago Bulls Guard Josh Giddey.

Oct 27, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) celebrates a three point basket in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder are poised for a successful 2024-25 season. Fresh off a 57 win 2023-24 campaign, the Thunder are projected to win the Western Conference and meet the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. On paper, the OKC Thunder seem to be in line to capture the No. 1 overall seed out West for the second straight year in a conference that will be decided by a razor’s edge. 

The Thunder are in large part favorites due to their offseason moves - bringing in Isaiah Hartenstein during free agency luring him away for the bright lights of broadway for Bricktown while pulling off a one-for-one swap of Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso. 

However, Oklahoma City will also lean in internal development still enjoying one of the League’s youngest rosters. 

According to FanDuel, OKC Thunder rising star Jalen Williams has the seventh best odds to win this honor ranking behind Victor Wembanyama, Evan Mobley, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, Jalen Johnson and Paolo Banchero. 

The third year wing from Santa Clara could see a major uptick in production while being tasked with replaying Giddey’s high usage rate. With any leap mixed with the team success, Williams becomes a solid bet for this honor. 

Obviously, this is one of the biggest shot in the dark honors each year as it is tough to predict who will take the largest leap after each offseason.

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