There have been plenty of nice developments through the first half of this NBA season. Jalen Johnson, Jalen Duren, Deni Avdija, Jamal Murray, and Chet Holmgren will probably make their first All-Star team. Plenty will be written about them in the future.
Development happens at all levels though. Sometimes those other improvements from players who are already great or those who fall just below the All-Star level fly more under-the-radar. Here are four examples of surprise players that haven't gotten quite as much attention as they might deserve, ranging from potential MVPs to my Most Improved Player of the first half.
NBA POWER RANKINGS: Thunder's lead shrinks on the field
Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the bench to Most Improved Player
Four years ago, when Alexander-Walker first played for Quin Snyder in Utah, he couldn't get consistent playing time. Even as a quality role player for the Wolves, he started only 30 of his 187 regular season games. In Atlanta, he's become one of Snyder's most reliable starters.
Alexander-Walker carved out a role for himself earlier in his career as a defensive pest who could do a little bit of playmaking and shoot 3's. He averaged a modest 9.4 points per game last season and 8.6 for his career.
NAW's offensive explosion up to 20.6 points per game this season is an 11.2 point increase from last year. That is significantly more than the 8.3 increase of his teammate and last year's Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels. It's somewhat mystifying then that NAW is rarely mentioned in the discussion for that award.
NAW has become a dynamite driver to the left, using his weak hand to excel as one of the Hawks' primary playmakers. When he gets into the paint, his slithery-smooth finishes from everywhere on the floor are reminiscent of his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Beautiful finish by NAW 😍 pic.twitter.com/wpNW4bII1b
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 10, 2026
Nobody could have expected this type of growth from Alexander-Walker. Well, almost nobody. Shai's father Vaughan Alexander trained both boys and always saw the potential in Nickeil, who was the better player growing up.
"Nickeil is going to be a star," Vaughan told me at the beginning of the year. "Remember, I'm going to be the first to tell you that you're going to see that. You're going to say, 'Oh my God, he got so much better! Oh my God, he learned how to play!' No. That's been Nickeil from Day One."
Uncle Vaughan was right on that one.
MORE: Hawks-Wizards Trae Young trade grades
Rudy Gobert still adding in Year 13
Gobert has always had one of the ugliest offensive bags in the league. His lack of skill development on that side of the ball is one of the reasons why many considered him to be overrated during his prime.
Those haters have to give Gobert credit. There are still some rough moments, but he has clearly put in work on that side of the ball. He's had some shocking highlight passes and buckets this season, showing real touch, skill, and shot creation that he didn't have in previous seasons.
RUDY GOBERT ON HIS HEAD
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 5, 2026
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/dwf2Qk39KT
"He's been phenomenal," Anthony Edwards told Wolves reporter Dane Moore. "His catching has gotten tremendous. It's crazy. He's catching everything now... Somebody like that I love to play with because he's willing to grow."
Gobert is an ultra-efficient offensive player. He had a streak earlier in the year of a franchise-record 18 consecutive makes, and he's leading the league with an absurd 71.7 percent field goal percentage. That's in addition to pulling down four offensive rebounds per game and setting great screens for teammates.
Gobert's value still comes primarily from defense, where he has quietly put together a season that should have him in contention for his fifth Defensive Player of the Year trophy. The offense has been a nice bonus, and it seems like everyone is sleeping on both his season and the Wolves as real title contenders.
Jaylen Brown going from All-Star to MVP candidate
Nobody expected Boston to be the No. 3 seed in the East halfway through the season. They've gotten there thanks to the No. 2 offense in the league. Jaylen Brown is the engine that is driving them to that surprising result.
Brown is averaging career-highs in points per game (29.5), field goal percentage (49.5 percent), and assists per game (5.0). He's had some huge scoring outbursts, including a 50-point game against the Clippers. And his nine consecutive 30-point games in December tied Larry Bird's franchise record.
Brown has been able to handle a much larger portion of the offense in large part because of how much more balanced his game has become. His left hand has been a weakness of his for many years. He's clearly worked on it, and coaches around the league are noticing.
"He used to be right-hand dominant. He's now using his left hand equally good as right," Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic told CLNS' Bobby Manning.
The other development that has made Brown harder to stop has been his increased reliance on his midrange shot. His 216 jumpers from between the free throw and 3-point line at the halfway point of the year are already more than the 144 that he took in all 63 of his games last season.
That's a tough shot to make a living on, but he's hitting a very solid 48 percent of them per Cleaning the Glass. That gives the Celtics an option late in the clock, and it also makes Brown a threat from anywhere on the floor.
Brown has played his way into First Team All-NBA discussion. He should get a handful of MVP votes thrown his way at the end of the year.
Michael Porter Jr. Should be a first-time All-Star
Michael Porter Jr. Proved during his time in Denver that he was an elite shooter next to Nikola Jokic. How would that translate on a new team where he would have to create open looks for himself? He's answered that question resoundingly, averaging 26 points per game on great efficiency.
Porter was a one-dimensional scorer in Denver who earned the nickname "never swing the rock" on social media platforms. He would oftentimes miss wide open teammates under the basket as he launched contested jumpers. That has changed too in Brooklyn, where he is shockingly fourth on the team in assists per game.
Porter should be the most sought-after trade acquisition for any contender. He's proven he can play both on and off the ball for a championship-level team.