The NBA MVP Race Has Two Clear Favorites: Curry (+140) And KD (+350)

Steph was clowning with Charles Barkley last night after breaking Ray Allen’s 3-point record. Let’s talk MVP odds 👇

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MVPreview

Charging towards the new year, we’ve already made it through more than a third of the 2021-22 NBA season. With almost 30 games for every team in the bag, the MVP race is beginning to round into shape 🏆

2021-22 NBA MVP Odds

1. Steph Curry: +140 (bet $100, win $140)

2. Kevin Durant: +350

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo: +700

4. Nikola Jokic: +1200

5. Luka Doncic: +3200

Trivia question: Who are the youngest and oldest NBA players to ever win MVP? (answer below)

Former Teammates

So far, the two former teammates in Golden State are running away as the most likely to take home the NBA’s most prestigious individual award

Stephen Curry is tied for the league’s second leading scorer at 27 PPG, and the slight favorite as the obvious top dog on the NBA’s best team (23-5). The Warriors are killing teams right now 💧

• Second-ranked point differential

• Fourth-ranked offense

• Top-ranked defense

On the other hand, Kevin Durant’s Nets (20-8) haven’t been as good as Steph’s Warriors. But, they’re still the top-seed in the East, even with a slow start from James Harden and Kyrie Irving’s absence. After hanging 51 on the Pistons on Sunday, KD has emerged as the NBA’s clear No. 1 scorer

• 29.4 points per game

• 7.6 rebounds per game

• 5.6 assists per game

KD’s also been better than advertised on defense, helping carry the Nets to a top-10 rating on both sides of the ball. If both these stars stay healthy, it’ll definitely be a close race down to the wire 😬

A Pair of Sleepers

NBA stats junkies tend to think Nikola Jokic deserves to be the overwhelming favorite at this point in the season. He’s carried a depleted Denver roster (no MPJ or Murray) to a 14-13 record, and has the largest point differential in the NBA

• The Nuggets are 33 points per 100 possessions better with Jokic on the floor compared to when he’s off

The reigning MVP has been as good as he was last year, despite lacking the supporting cast to help his performances translate into victories. Right now, Jokic is averaging 26-13-7, something no one has ever done before. At +1200, the Serbian could be a solid value play at this point in the season

Then, we have King James all the way down at +5000. Before his ankle injury last season, LeBron was in line to win the MVP award. And despite the Lakers’ slow start, they’ve come on strong as of late on the back of a few outstanding performances from LeBron. He has three triple-doubles in his last five games

• LeBron has scored at least 30 points in six of his last eight games

• The Lakers are 4th in point differential, 9th in offensive rating and 6th in defensive rating

If LeBron continues at his current pace and can lead the Lakers to home court advantage by the time the playoffs come around, voters may want to reward his winning play for the fifth time in his career. At +5000, there might not be a better value on the board

For My Parlay Gurus

With 22 teams in action tonight, a few of the biggest names in basketball will see the floor, including both of the aforementioned sleepers. Our parlay focuses on the surging Lakers taking on the Luka-less Mavs, and Embiid and the Sixers vs. an injured Heat squad

• Sixers -5.5 vs. the Heat: -110

• Lakers +1 @ the Mavs: -110

If this hits you’ll win $264, enough to buy these LeBron 19s about to drop on Saturday. Follow along and if we win email [email protected] for $100 🤑

Trivia answer: At 22-years-old during the 2010-11 season, Derrick Rose became the youngest player to ever win the NBA MVP. A 35-year-old Karl Malone won the 1998-99 NBA MVP before turning 36 that July