Three former Kentucky players who could win NBA's Most Improved Player award

Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Davis reign supreme as the cream of the Kentucky crop when it comes to NBA stardom. If NBA players were Lexington restaurants, they’d be Jeff Ruby’s, Tony’s, and Malone’s. Reasonable pallets could squabble over preferential nuances between them, but most everyone would agree with this top tier.

Jamal Murray is not too far behind that group (call him Carson’s to put an end to this vapid restaurant analogy), but he is coming off major knee surgery and it may take him a while to get back to his peak.

The next slot down of former Wildcats, however, are young and in a position to catapult to household names this season. If you’re looking for Kentucky players to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player (MIP) award, lock in on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Keldon Johnson, and Tyrese Maxey.

Don’t just take my word for it, the smart people in Sin City agree. Vegas Insider gives these three players equally good preseason odds to win the MIP award at +2800. For comparison, this ranks them tied for 8th place in this category behind favorites Tyrese Halliburton, Anthony Edwards, and Zion Williamson.

The last two MIP award recipients have had a Kentucky connection, with Ja Morant (Murray State) winning it last year and Julius Randle taking home the hardware in 2021. Can we make it three in a row?

Winning the MIP does not necessarily mean automatic stardom, but with legacy winners Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Love, it’s a good sign.

Shai-Gilgous Alexander is OKC’s unquestioned frontman

On top of being the newfound chief Mountie for Canada’s national team, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enters the 2022-23 season as the clearcut leader of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He may get off to a slow start, as he will miss training camp and most if not all of the preseason with a sprained knee, but the team expects Gilgeous-Alexander to be ready to go once the regular season begins.

The former Kentucky standout already secured a bag in the form of a 5-year, $179 million contract and the Thunder have high expectations for their most valuable asset. That is if they don’t trade him first.

SGA has been the subject of trade rumors this summer, as the Thunder seem to have no intent on winning basketball games in the near future. With their second overall pick of the draft, Chet Holmgren, out for the year with a foot injury suffered at a Pro-Am tourney, the team may be preparing for a season-long tankathon to put their name among the top candidates in next year’s Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.

In that context, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t have much competition on his team to score points. He already averaged a career-high 24.5 points per game last season to go along with 5.9 assists. If he can parlay what is likely to be an even more impressive stat line with some wins, the MIP award is within reach.

Even without the MIP award, SGA can solidify himself as a franchise player this season, making his trade value (if the Thunder choose to pursue that route) incredibly high, especially if he keeps making clutch shots like this highlight from last year.

SHAI CALLED GAME 😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/1bRbqxrzdJ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 19, 2021

Keldon Johnson is ready to take over as the San Antonio Spurs’ leader

Another former Kentucky player who will be the most prolific scorer on a crappy team is Keldon Johnson. After the San Antonio Spurs traded Dejounte Murray, Johnson looked around and realized he is now the team’s top dog.

Johnson is going into the last year of his rookie contract, but the Spurs have already extended him for four years and $74 million, a bargain when you consider he is set up to be the face of their team this season.

Not that NBA2K is exactly a scientific prognosticator, but their ratings have Keldon Johnson as the only Spur in the 80s (he’s an 82 overall) with the next closest teammate being Jakob Poeltl at 78. If we take that as somewhat accurate, Johnson is in line to lead his team in scoring nearly every night, even if he might not be the go-to guy if he were on another team.

Johnson averaged 17 points per game last season, but with such a dearth of talent around him, that number could trend closer to the mid-to-high 20s this year. There is even a chance he could flirt with an All-Star bid if he maximizes his opportunity and puts a few more defenders on posters.

KELDON JOHNSON POSTER. 🤯😱 pic.twitter.com/ZmMpNKen6V

— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) November 27, 2021

Tyrese Maxey gives the Philadelphia 76ers a legit ‘Big-3’

The term ‘Big-3’ is overused, outdated, and a host of other negative adjectives, but Tyrese Maxey’s rapid ascent has made him the third piece of an arguable ‘Big-3’ for the Philadelphia 76ers alongside James Harden and MVP runner-up, Joel Embiid. It is not often you would give a third-year player such a high-class distinction, but Maxey is well on his way to being a superstar in the NBA.

In just 14 minutes of action during his first preseason game on Monday, he put up a game-high 20 points and was clearly the best player on the court. Of course, naysayers will call out the fact Harden and Embiid did not play. That’s fair. But those same pessimists will have to explain how on Wednesday night Maxey posted a game-high 21 points in just 15 minutes with both Harden (nine points in 19 minutes) and Embiid (12 points in 18 minutes) in the game.

Sure, these are exhibition games, but it goes to show what the former Kentucky guard is capable of doing when given the opportunity.

Maxey has been on a tour of endearment with the city of Brotherly Love this summer, and his confidence has never been higher. His biggest challenge will be getting touches, as he’ll have to share shot attempts with one of the best players in the league in Embiid, and James Harden, who is not where he is today because of his willingness to pass the ball.

You are now watching Tyrese Maxey's Game 1 #NBAPreseason first quarter mixtape:

14 PTS
3 AST
1 STL

What a start. 🎬 pic.twitter.com/GGC5jsJHV7

— NBA (@NBA) October 4, 2022

The best of the rest

Other Kentucky players to make Vegas Insider’s list of preseason MIP hopefuls include Immanuel Quickley (+5000), Julius Randle (+6000), Bam Adebayo (+8000), De’Aaron Fox (+8000), Tyler Herro (+12500), and PJ Washington (+25000).

I really like Quickley, but he will have a hard time making that big of a jump if he continues to come off the bench for the New York Knicks. No player has ever won the award twice, so I would be down on Julius Randle. Bam and Fox are great but may have already hit their ceiling. Herro could emerge, but like Quickley, will have a hard time if he doesn’t start. And PJ Washington is a quality role player, but it would take a different version of him to excel to the point of a legit MIP candidate.

While all of those guys are decent long shots, I really like the chances of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Keldon Johnson, and Tyrese Maxey. And even if those guys don’t win MIP, look for them to take the next step amongst Kentucky basketball representatives to be on their way to NBA stardom.