The Most Improved Player award resembles the Coach of the Year award: Both reward surprises.
This season, our ESPN Forecast panelists found 19 players worthy of mention on their ballots, each and every one a pleasant surprise.
It appears that the one who likely fits the bill this season is a Chicago swingman who made the leap from starter to All-Star.
The voting results:
Jimmy Butler
Chicago Bulls
Should win: 36 percent
Will win: 48 percent
Butler apparently won this award early by becoming Chicago's go-to guy when Derrick Rose had a rocky start to the season. If Butler wins, he'll add to the Bulls' hardware collection -- they have an MVP (Rose), a Rookie of the Year (Rose), Defensive Player of the Year (Joakim Noah), another Most Improved Player (Aaron Brooks, when he played in Houston), a Coach of the Year (Tom Thibodeau) and an Executive of the Year (Gar Forman).
Draymond Green
Golden State Warriors
Should win: 18 percent
Will win: 23 percent
Green has a shot at Most Improved, but to see the award he's more likely to win, check out the Defensive Player of the Year page.
Rudy Gobert
Utah Jazz
Should win: 13 percent
Will win: 6 percent
Another inspirational Rudy story: The rise of the Stifle Tower matches the steady rise of the Jazz. Utah was 5-12 in October and November, 6-9 in both December and January, then 6-5, 10-6 and 5-2 the next three months, with defense at the heart of the team's success.
Hassan Whiteside
Miami Heat
Should win: 11 percent
Will win: 9 percent
Just making an NBA roster again was a sure sign of improvement for Whiteside, but he went far beyond that. In his first few weeks with the Heat, Whiteside put up stats that prompted comparisons to the greatest centers in history -- names like Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem.
Others receiving votes
Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarre Carroll, Anthony Davis, Ed Davis, Andre Drummond, George Hill, Brandon Knight, Kawhi Leonard, Khris Middleton, Donatas Motiejunas, Shabazz Muhammad, Victor Oladipo, Dennis Schröder, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook.