Only one player gets celebrated as the Most Improved from each NBA season, but that's a category that has tons of worthy candidates every year.

So, instead of just waiting on the individual Most Improved Player of the Year winner, we're going to give the honor to a player from every team in the league.

Whether the players below made the leap from bad to good, good to great or some other variation of change, everyone here took huge strides in their careers.

Atlanta Hawks: Jalen Johnson

Jalen Johnson isn't just in the mix for the most improved Atlanta Hawk. He should very much be in the running for the leaguewide award.

After averaging 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists as a sophomore last season, the Hawks front office had the foresight to salary dump John Collins and open up a significantly bigger role for Johnson.

And his production didn't just balloon as a result of more minutes. Beyond posting career highs in points (16.1), rebounds (8.7), assists (3.6), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.9), Johnson's advanced and efficiency metrics took off too.

His true shooting percentage has jumped nearly three points to an above-average 58.1, and catch-all metrics view him as around a top-100 player this season.

All of that from a 22-year-old, 6'9" forward has to have Hawks fans more than intrigued by his future.

Boston Celtics: Derrick White

Derrick White was already a very good, bordering on great, player last season. And there are solid cases to be made for Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser in this spot, but White's leap into borderline All-Star territory gets him the nod.

When Jrue Holiday was first acquired this offseason, it felt like he was sort of the natural Marcus Smart replacement; a physical combo guard who could defend multiple positions and carry a playmaking burden.

And while he's done a lot of that, White has more fully assumed the role and has arguably been the Boston Celtics' second-best player in doing so.

Beyond posting career highs in points per game (15.4), assists per game (5.2), rebounds per game (4.3), threes per game and blocks per game (1.2), White is shooting 55.7 percent on two-point attempts, 40.0 percent on threes and 90.1 percent from the line.

He's second on the team to Jayson Tatum in pick-and-roll possessions used per game and first in points per pick-and-roll possession used.

He's still known mostly for his suffocating defense, and understandably so, but White has become a dangerous on- or off-ball weapon who fits perfectly alongside three higher-usage players in Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porziņģis.

Brooklyn Nets: Cam Thomas

One of the more obvious picks in this exercise, Cam Thomas has more than doubled his scoring average from 10.6 in 2022-23 to 22.2 this season.

And while there's still plenty of criticism about his shoot-first approach to the game, he's at least shown hints of playmaking upside too.

On the season, Thomas is averaging a career-high 2.9 assists, but even that number has creeped up to 3.8 since the calendar flipped to February.

He's still just 22 years old, so there's plenty of time for his creation, distribution and defense to come along. If he ever makes a leap in those areas like he did as a scorer this season, he could be a borderline All-Star talent.

Charlotte Hornets: Tre Mann

This one's tricky, since the Charlotte Hornets unloaded multiple veterans at the deadline this season, two of their primary young guys (LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams) missed most of the year with injuries, and Brandon Miller is sort of out of the running by virtue of the fact that he's a rookie.

That left a pretty small collection of players, and we ultimately settled on one who's only been with the team since February and has only appeared in 37 games all season.

There's no doubt Tre Mann improved dramatically over his second year, though.

After posting a well-below-replacement level box plus/minus over the course of his first two seasons, Mann was within striking distance of average in 2023-24.

And though the sample size is admittedly small, he's started every game since joining the Hornets and is averaging 11.5 points, 4.9 assists and 1.3 threes.

Not bad for a just-turned-23-year-old guard who still has room to improve.

Chicago Bulls: Coby White

Like Jalen Johnson with the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls guard Coby White is very much in the hunt for the leaguewide honor of Most Improved Player.

Over his first four seasons, he looked like he'd develop into, at best, a sort of heat-check-off-the-bench scorer who'd struggle to defend or get teammates involved.

That outlook has changed dramatically this season. In part because of injuries to Zach LaVine, White has assumed a bigger offensive role as both a scorer and playmaker. After averaging 12.6 points and 3.3 assists across his first four seasons, White is at 18.9 points, 5.1 assists and 2.7 threes in 2023-24.

He's not there yet, but it's now within the realm of possibility that White can make All-Star teams.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Max Strus

He hasn't been the three-point sharpshooter the Cleveland Cavaliers maybe expected when they signed him, but Max Strus checked some other boxes in a way he never has before this season.

Strus did far more off the dribble, particularly as a distributor than he ever did with the Miami Heat. And that ability to create took some pressure off both Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.

He was also seen as a plus defender by Dunks and Threes' estimated plus-minus (one of the most trusted catch-all metrics in NBA front offices) for the first time in his career.

All of that on top of the improvements in basic production (he posted career highs in points, rebounds, assists, twos, steals and blocks per game this season) made Strus a pretty easy pick here.

Dallas Mavericks: Dante Exum

There's a temptation (and a real argument) to go with Luka Dončić, who's posting the first double-digit box plus/minus of his career and hitting threes at a career-best rate, but it's impossible to look past what Dante Exum has done in his return to the league.

Injuries and a short leash from coach Quin Snyder marked Exum's time with the Jazz. And after a couple quick stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets, he ended his first NBA stint with seven seasons, an average of 5.7 points and a well-below-replacement level minus-3.3 box plus/minus.

But after two seasons in Spain and Serbia and some coaching from the legendary Željko Obradović of Partizan Belgrade, Exum came back to the NBA and has been a near ideal fit as a third ball-handler and catch-and-shoot outlet alongside Dončić and Kyrie Irving.

On the season, Exum is averaging 8.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.0 threes, while shooting 50.0 percent from deep.

On the season, the Dallas Mavericks are plus-15.7 points per 100 possessions when Luka shares the floor with Exum and plus-2.5 when he plays without him.

Denver Nuggets: Peyton Watson

There's long been an idea that a second-year player shouldn't be in the running for Most Improved honors because everyone expects improvement from Year 1 to 2.

Well, first of all, that improvement doesn't always happen. And second, plenty of players outpace whatever natural improvement might be baked in there.

Such is the case with Peyton Watson, who went from averaging 3.3 points as a freshman at UCLA in 2021-22, to appearing in just 23 games for the Denver Nuggets as a rookie last year to being a key cog of the second unit and one of the league's best wing defenders in his second NBA season.

Watson is tied with Aaron Gordon for the Nuggets lead in defensive estimated plus-minus and ranks in the 94th percentile league-wide. He averages 2.2 blocks per 75 possessions and has earned the trust of his coach and teammate to take on some of the league's most challenging defensive assignments.

This season, he's spent more time defending Kevin Durant than he has on anyone else.

He's already a game-changer on that end of the floor, and he's shown hints of upside on the other as a mid-range shooter, passer and stalker from the dunker's spot.

And he hasn't even turned 22 yet.

Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham

There weren't many bright spots from this Detroit Pistons season, but Cade Cunningham was one of them.

There's still a long way to go in terms of his scoring efficiency (he was below average from both two and three-point range), but Cunningham posted career highs in points per game (22.7), assists per game (7.5) and three-point percentage (35.5).

And though his team did plenty of losing, its point differential was slightly better when Cunningham played, and he showed glimpses of the combination of size, patience and playmaking that made him the No. 1 pick in 2021.

Ideally, Detroit will be able to surround him with more consistent finishers in coming years, and his numbers will continue to creep up.

Golden State Warriors: Jonathan Kuminga

After spending most of his first two seasons as a reserve and averaging 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists, Jonathan Kuminga put a little pressure on the organization, pushed his way into a bigger role and then rewarded the team for giving it to him.

Kuminga is posting career highs in points (16.4), rebounds (4.8) and assists (2.1), while comfortably pushing the team's net rating when he's on the floor. Golden State is plus-3.3 points per 100 possessions when Kuminga is on the floor and plus-0.6 when he's off.

And beyond the improvements in his raw production, Kuminga seems better aware of how to operate within the Warriors' ball- and player-movement heavy scheme. His cuts are better timed. He's making more reads as a passer.

And for one of the older teams in the league, his athleticism has been key on both ends of the floor.

Houston Rockets: Alperen Şengün

His season was cut short by a nasty knee and ankle injury, but Alperen Şengün had established himself as one of the league's premier point centers and even had a fringe All-Star case earlier in the season.

After dabbling with putting the ball in his hands over the first two seasons of his career, new coach Ime Udoka fully embraced Şengün's upside as a playmaker. And the Turkish big man delivered with 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

And with a dizzying array of post moves, flip shots, spins, fakes and his signature "flamingo" fadeaway, Şengün rapidly became one of this season's most entertaining watches.

Indiana Pacers: Aaron Nesmith

Some of the improvements in Aaron Nesmith's basic numbers from last season look marginal. He went from 10.1 points to 12.3. His rebounds held steady at 3.8. And his assists only went from 1.3 to 1.5.

But Nesmith took drastic steps forward defensively, to the point that he may now be the Indiana Pacers' most reliable wing stopper.

And his scoring efficiency on the other end has skyrocketed. After posting below-average effective field-goal percentages in each of the seasons prior to this one, Nesmith's 60.6 mark there is top 20 among players with at least 100 three-point attempts.

After posting a well-below-replacement level box plus/minus over his first three seasons, all of the above has come together to make Nesmith a very real three-and-D weapon.

Los Angeles Clippers: Amir Coffey

There aren't many traditional "Most Improved" candidates on the Los Angeles Clippers roster, but 26-year-old wing Amir Coffey has done enough to earn the spotlight.

After averaging fewer than four points in three of his first four seasons, Coffey is putting up 6.1 points and shooting 40.3 percent from deep.

And while that may not sound like much, Coffey merely forcing his way into a consistent role on a team with as much starpower as the Clippers is notable.

Los Angeles Lakers: Rui Hachimura

This one's sort of a toss-up. It wouldn't be hard to make the case for Austin Reaves, whose numbers have certainly improved over 2022-23. But we've seen a version of Reaves over the last month or so of last season and through the playoffs that's actually better than what we've seen from him in 2023-24.

So, that brings us to Rui Hachimura, who authored marginal improvements in his scoring and assist averages, while providing plus defense having his scoring efficiency skyrocket.

Going from 11.2 points to 13.5 may not scream "Most Improved," but going from a below-average 55.6 true shooting percentage to a way-above-average 63.1 does.

Memphis Grizzlies: Vince Williams Jr.

This Memphis Grizzlies season has been completely obliterated by injuries and a suspension for Ja Morant, but it has given opportunities to players all over the roster to expand their games a bit.

Desmond Bane got a chance to do a little more playmaking. Ditto for Jaren Jackson Jr., who also spent more time as a No. 1 option than he ever has before.

But both of those players actually took slight steps back in various parts of their games. Bane's scoring efficiency dipped, while JJJ didn't have quite the same impact on defense.

Vince Williams Jr., meanwhile, went from making just 15 appearances and averaging 2.0 points last season to starting 33 games and averaging 10.0 in 2023-24. He also shot 37.8 percent from deep and handed out 3.4 assists per game.

Now, when the Grizzlies are presumably a little more healthy in 2024-25, they'll have a Swiss Army knife forward to provide a little playmaking and defense off the bench.

Miami Heat: Duncan Robinson

This may not be the best Duncan Robinson has ever looked, but he's a heck of a lot better than he was last season. And he's expanded his game in 2023-24 to include a lot more off-the-dribble pop and general work inside the arc.

After plummeting to 6.4 points and 1.5 threes, with a 32.8 three-point percentage last season, Robinson has rebounded to 12.9 points and 2.8 threes, with a 39.5 three-point percentage. And he's also posting career highs in twos (1.7) and assists (2.8) per game.

He'll always be more of a three-point specialist than anything else, but this season, he's proven to be a little more dynamic offensively.

Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Alright, hear me out on this one. Giannis Antetokounmpo is hardly your typical "Most Improved" type player. He's in his prime and has already won two MVP awards. But there aren't a lot of good candidates on the Milwaukee Bucks roster, and there are some pretty clear ways in which Giannis has been better than he was last season.

For one thing, he's averaging a career-high 6.5 assists. And that number has climbed despite his turnover rate falling from where it was last season.

But the bigger difference may be Antetokounmpo's streamlined shot diet and the efficiency boost that's come from it.

After going through a down year (relative to his absurd standards) in 2022-23, Giannis took a smaller percentage of his attempts from three and the mid-range and redirected a lot of those looks to the rim. As a result, Giannis is posting a career-high 64.9 true shooting percentage and is leading the league in points added from all shooting attempts (he was 42nd in that category last season).

Minnesota Timberwolves: Naz Reid

Naz Reid has been a solid backup big for the Minnesota Timberwolves throughout his career, but this season, he's showing he can easily slide into a starting role.

Reid is posting career highs in points (13.6), rebounds (5.3) and assists per game (1.3). He's also shooting a career-best 41.8 percent from deep.

And because he's on a team with Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, Reid has had to play a lot of 4 and has proven agile enough to do so this season.

In fact, his mobility there might have made him as good an option as KAT for that role.

On the season, Minnesota is plus-9.6 points per 100 possessions when Gobert is on the floor with Towns and plus-10.7 when Gobert is with Reid.

New Orleans Pelicans: Herbert Jones

For the first two years of his career, Herbert Jones was one of the game's most dynamic wing defenders, wreaking havoc on whoever he was assigned to guard, not to mention passing lanes and those he had to switch onto.

And during those two seasons, some variation of "just imagine if he could shoot" was a common refrain.

Well, this season, Jones made sure we didn't have to imagine that anymore. He hit 1.5 threes per game and hit a career-best 41.9 percent of his three-point attempts. That contributed to his career-high 11.0 points per game.

No longer just a defensive specialist, Jones has become a bona fide, full-fledged three-and-D wing.

New York Knicks: Donte DiVincenzo

There's a legitimate argument to go with Jalen Brunson here. Going from fringe All-Star to an All-NBA lock is not an easy leap to make, and he made it.

But the more traditional "Most Improved" season came from Donte DiVincenzo, who went from 9.4 points and 2.1 threes in 2022-23 to 15.4 points and 3.5 threes, with a career high 40.5 three-point percentage.

Stephen Curry and Luka Dončić are the only players in the league averaging more threes per game than DiVincenzo, and the Knicks guard is also providing at least a little punch defensively.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Jalen Williams

In another case where we have to break the unwritten rule against choosing second-year players, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Jalen Williams' jump from Year 1 to Year 2 warrants it.

Beyond going from 14.1 points, 3.3 assists and 1.0 threes, with a 35.6 three-point percentage to 19.5 points, 4.6 assists and 1.5 threes, with a 43.1 three-point percentage, Williams has rapidly become one of the entire league's most dangerous fourth quarter scorers.

Williams is tied with Kevin Durant for 13th in the NBA in fourth quarter points per game, and he's shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from deep in those frames.

Beyond that, Williams' ascension to bona fide No. 2 scorer on a team in the hunt for the West's top seed is something that rarely (if ever) happens for a second-year player.

Orlando Magic: Jalen Suggs

This case is awfully similar to Herbert Jones'.

Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs was a good, and at times, dominant, defender throughout the first two years of his career. But terrible shooting seriously muted his overall value in those seasons.

In 2023-24, that problem seemed to be more or less solved, as Suggs shot a career-high 39.9 percent from deep.

With the emergence of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner's playmaking, Suggs hasn't had to do as much of that this season, but he can still provide that too.

Ultimately, Suggs' calling card is almost certainly always going to be his defense, but now that he's shown he can be a plus on the other end, his career outlook has improved dramatically.

Philadelphia 76ers: Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey is the overwhelming favorite to win Most Improved Player of the Year, and it's not hard to see why.

After spending most of the two seasons prior to this one as a high-end third option on a roster with Joel Embiid and James Harden, Maxey ably took on significantly more responsibility in 2023-24.

Beyond being Embiid's No. 2 when the reigning MVP was healthy, Maxey also had to be the alpha for much of the season, while the big man recovered from a knee injury.

On the season, Maxey has averaged 28.6 points and 5.6 assists per 75 possessions when Embiid is off the floor.

And that's a big part of why his season-long, per-game averages went from 20.3 points and 3.5 assists to 25.9 points and 6.3 assists in 2023-24.

Phoenix Suns: Grayson Allen

Over the four seasons prior to this one, Grayson Allen was an almost run-of-the-mill floor spacer who averaged 10.4 points, 2.1 threes and 1.9 assists, while shooting 40.1 percent from deep.

In 2023-24, he put up career highs in points per game (13.5), assists per game (3.1), threes per game (2.8) and three-point percentage (46.6).

And that last number isn't just a personal high for Allen. It also leads the entire league this season.

No longer just a strong catch-and-shoot threat, Allen is now among the most dangerous in the NBA on that front, while also showcasing a little more off-the-dribble ability than he's been able to at previous stops.

Portland Trail Blazers: Dalano Banton

There's a chance this is a "good stats, bad team" situation, but that doesn't eliminate the clear improvement in his individual production.

Over his first two seasons, Dalano Banton averaged 3.7 points while shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 27.5 percent from three. In 2023-24, he's up to 9.8 points with a 41.9 field-goal percentage and a 33.1 three-point percentage.

But even that doesn't quite do his leap justice.

Since he joined the Portland Trail Blazers, Banton is averaging 16.4 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 threes. He's often operating as a nominal point forward on a team that's been without most of its best playmakers over the last several weeks. And he's done a pretty solid job in the role.

Sacramento Kings: Malik Monk

His improvement as a scorer doesn't really leap off the screen, but Malik Monk is putting up a career-high 15.4 points. That at least factors into the decision here.

The biggest reason for his selection, though, is the fact that Monk essentially became the Sacramento Kings' backup point guard this season. And he filled the role more than admirably.

He'd kind of been building to this, but Monk averaged 2.4 assists over his first six seasons before jumping to 5.1 in just 26.0 minutes this season.

And with his improved creation and decision-making, Monk no longer looks like the sort of traditional sixth man guard who's closer to shoot-always than shoot-first.

With his burgeoning passing ability, Monk can thrive in more than one role off the bench.

San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama

OK, if you had a problem with all the second-year guys in this slideshow, you're really going to have to indulge me now.

This was Victor Wembanyama's first NBA season, but it was still pretty easy to observe improvement from him throughout it.

As he adapted to the speed and physicality of the NBA, and seemed to sort of realize how unique he is in a league full of giants, Wembanyama went from an in-game oddity who generated a handful of highlights each week to a genuine All-NBA candidate within a matter of months.

Through his first 26 games of the season, Wembanyama averaged 18.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals.

Those numbers are wild enough, but they pale in comparison to the 23.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals he's averaged since then.

And while a lot of that swing has to do with the San Antonio Spurs finally playing him more with a real point guard and moving him to the 5, Wembanyama of course deserves the bulk of the credit for solving the puzzle before January of his first season.

Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes

It's easy to sort of forget Scottie Barnes' 2023-24 campaign. He hasn't played since early March, and the Toronto Raptors have completely tanked since he left the rotation with an injury.

But for at least the first couple months of the season, it looked like the Raptors were ready to fully commit to point Scottie, and he generally looked up to the task.

Barnes made his first All-Star team this season, and posted career highs in points (19.9), rebounds (8.2), assists (6.1), blocks (1.5) and steals (1.3) per game.

It was still below average, but his three-point percentage improved dramatically too.

If he becomes even a passable shooter while maintaining his value as a playmaker and multipositional defender, Barnes should have more All-Star appearances in his future.

Utah Jazz: Collin Sexton

When you factor in his surge in scoring efficiency and look at his production through a per-possession lens, Collin Sexton had, by far, the best season of his NBA career in 2023-24.

In just 26.6 minutes, Sexton put up 18.7 points, 4.9 assists and 1.6 threes, while shooting 39.4 percent from deep.

Lou Williams, who did it in one of his Sixth Man of the Year-winning seasons, is the only other player in NBA history who averaged at least 18 points, four assists and one three in fewer than 27 minutes per game.

Packing so much of a punch in so little time helped Sexton post a career-high box plus/minus and made him an easy choice for the Utah Jazz.

Washington Wizards: Deni Avdija

Another player who's been a solid defender without providing a ton of offensive value for most of his career, Deni Avdija finally broke out on the more glamorous end in 2023-24.

He's still among the Washington Wizards best defensive forwards, but Avdija took on more responsibility on offense this season.

He put up career highs in points per game (14.6), assists per game (3.8), threes per game (1.2) and three-point percentage (37.6) and finally flashed some of the point forward upside that got him drafted in the top 10 in 2020.