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There have been countless exciting memories for the NBA season this year and there’s still some time for more great stuff to be posted before the regular season closes. With that said, we have seen some guys elevate their level of play, especially after rough showings in 2022-23. To no one’s surprise, as things stand, Tyrese Maxey is the favorite to win 2024 Comeback Player of the Year.
Maxey has been on a total tear for the 76ers and he has delivered. When it was announced that James Harden would not be back with the team, plenty of people all over Philly panicked. Harden is one of the best shooters out there, but he’s now playing for the Clippers. Maxey was then called on to step up his game and he’s done that. This season, he’s averaging an impressive 25.8 points per game. He’s going to play a big role for this team in the postseason too.
| Comeback Player of the Year odds |  |  |  |
| Maxey to win | -280 | -280 | -280 |
| White to win | +150 | +150 | +150 |
| Kuminga to win | +850 | +850 | +850 |
| Williams to win | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
“Man, he’s a problem. I’m very, very proud of him,” Harden said of Maxey after a recent game between the 76ers and Clippers. “He’s very, very confident. He has an opportunity to make the mistakes and grow. Obviously, he’s a first-time All-Star but he works his butt off. He puts the work in, so the results are gonna show.”
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, Maxey holds -280 NBA betting odds of winning Comeback Player of the Year. He’s the favorite for a reason. People all over Philly love his game. He’s strong on both offense and defense. As great as Maxey has been, we’re actually going to go in a different direction for our pick on who we think will be taking home this honor.
Tyrese Maxey beats the 1Q buzzer!
2Q underway on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ePTfmbWna1
— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2024
Coby White is our pick for Comeback Player of the Year
Believe it or not, Coby White is our pick for Comeback Player of the Year. What White has been able to get done this season has been tremendous for the Chicago Bulls. White, a former standout for the University of North Carolina, is one of the best point guards out there. The start of his NBA career didn’t go as planned for him, especially the disappointing season he recorded for the Bulls last year, which had people thinking he was a bust.
Last season for Chicago, White averaged only nine points per game. That was simply unreal. Not only that, but he didn’t make a ton of starts. When he was drafted by the Bulls out of UNC, the hope was that he would be an everyday starter for Chicago. That wasn’t the case early, but he’s been spectacular this season and he’s averaging almost 20 points per game. He’s been much better and Bulls fans could not be happier with what they’ve seen.
MEET ME AT THE RIM.@NBCSChicago | @CobyWhite pic.twitter.com/vRbbxbppUZ
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 28, 2024
“Earlier on in his career, there are times he just does not do a great job setting up pick-and-roll,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said in a recent interview about White. “It was all straight speed. He’s getting better now at coming off with some force and being a threat to not use the screen and reject it.”
With the way White has been playing, Chicago is 35-38 and the team will likely be in the play-in tournament for the postseason. This is still a very young and raw Bulls team, but White’s development has people excited about the future. We’ve loved what Maxey has been able to do this season and his game should also be recognized. However, White has totally turned his career around. Because of that, he’s our 2024 NBA Comeback Player of the Year.
There are other contenders in the mix for Comeback Player of the Year
While we’re high on both White and Maxey, keep in mind that there are other contenders in the mix for Comeback Player of the Year. Both Jalen Williams and Jonathan Kuminga have been fantastic this year for their respective teams. With Kuminga, he’s not a big-time scorer, but he’s known across the league for being a strong defender.
Despite that, Kuminga is still averaging more than 16 points a game for the Golden State Warriors. It’s been a bit of a down year for the Warriors, but they’re still in a position to sneak into the postseason. In order for them to get in and potentially record an upset or two, they’ll need Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Cuminga to be at their best. If Kuminga keeps playing well, it could boost his NBA betting odds to win Comeback Player of the Year too.
With Williams, he has been a major reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder have turned things around. In previous years, OKC has looked rough on the hardwood, but now they’re one of the best three teams in the Western Conference. We’ll have to wait and see how the season closes out for Williams, but he’s most definitely in the conversation here too. It could come down to how the Thunder perform in the postseason for him in this case.
