The NBA's Most Improved Player Award (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points, and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award. The criteria for selecting the most improved player was initially open-ended, but the NBA clarified in later years that it was intended for an up-and-coming player who improved dramatically and not a player who made a comeback, distinguishing it from the defunct NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award. Since the 2022–23 NBA season, winners receive the George Mikan Trophy, named after the five-time NBA champion.

The NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award was an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award presented to a player who recovered from a subpar season after achieving success in the past. It was awarded from 1981 though 1986. Along with several other awards, it was created to increase interest in the league, whose championship series in 1980 was televised live in the markets of the participants, the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, but shown on tape delay in the rest of the United States, typically after the late-night news. The Comeback Player of the Year was selected from a panel of 78 media members, three from each NBA city and another nine national media members. Three of the six winners were returning from drug or alcohol dependency issues: inaugural winner Bernard King in 1980–81 and the final two winners, Micheal Ray Richardson (1984–85) and Marques Johnson (1985–86). Two winners missed time the season prior due to a holdout: Gus Williams (1981–82) and Paul Westphal (1982–83). Westphal was also coming back from an injury, as was 1983–84 winner Adrian Dantley.