NBA Voters Eye First-Time All-Stars in 2025-26 Most Improved Player Race
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The NBA’s 2025-26 Most Improved Player discussion is centering on three newcomers to the All-Star Game—Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija—while two breakout guards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Atlanta and Ryan Rollins of Milwaukee, are pushing to keep the spotlight away from established rising stars.
The frontrunners
Duren, 22, has started at center for Detroit since midway through his rookie season in 2022-23. This year, the anchor of one of the league’s top clubs has raised his scoring average from 11.8 points to 19.0 points per game and earned his first All-Star selection, making him the current betting favorite for the award.
Johnson and Avdija joined Duren in Indianapolis for All-Star Weekend and own similarly dramatic statistical jumps. Johnson is contributing 22.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists per contest for Atlanta, while Avdija is at 24.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists for Portland. Both forwards showed flashes of this production last season—Johnson before a shoulder injury ended his 2024-25 campaign, Avdija during a strong post-All-Star stretch—but had never sustained it across a full schedule.
Challengers without All-Star nods
Some observers believe voters might favor candidates who were not selected for the mid-season classic. Hawks guard Alexander-Walker, 27, is averaging 20.3 points, nearly doubling his previous career best of 11.0, while maintaining a personal-high 59.4 percent true shooting and hitting 39.0 percent of his 8.1 three-point attempts per game. His expanded offensive role has not compromised his well-regarded perimeter defense.
Rollins, a former second-round pick, has seized a starting job in Milwaukee, moving from 11.9 to 32.3 minutes per night. The 23-year-old has lifted his numbers to 16.8 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds and is shooting a career-best 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Bucks are plus-6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, one of the club’s strongest on-court impact figures.
Recent voting trends
From 2020 to 2024, media voters consistently rewarded players who leapt from solid starters to All-Stars, honoring Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Ja Morant, Lauri Markkanen and Tyrese Maxey in successive seasons. The pattern briefly shifted in 2025, when Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels won the trophy after improving from a reserve role in New Orleans to a key starter with the Hawks, despite not making the All-Star team.
Whether the electorate returns to its usual preference for budding stars or recognizes production spikes from non-All-Stars such as Alexander-Walker and Rollins remains the central question as ballots take shape.
Source: HoopsRumors
