Since 2000, Five Players Have Won Back-To-Back MVPs

The NBA Season Is Here

The 2021-22 NBA season kicks off in thrilling fashion tonight with a pair of star-studded matchups

• The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks host the Brooklyn Nets. Milwaukee is a 1 pt favorite at home

• The Golden State Warriors visit the new-look Los Angeles Lakers, with LAL favored by 3.5 pts at home

These four teams feature five of the league’s top-ten MVP favorites, along with nine of the last ten MVP winners, with Jokic being the only outlier

NBA MVP Odds

• Luka Doncic: +400

• Giannis Antetokounmpo: +650

• Joel Embiid: +700

• Kevin Durant: +700

• Stephen Curry: +700

• Damian Lillard: +1200

• Nikola Jokic: +1500

• LeBron James: +1600

• James Harden: +1800

• Devin Booker: +2000

There’s not an underserving name on this list, but I feel as if Jokic is being slightly disrespected, considering he is the raining MVP…

MVP Season In Review 

Newsflash: if you didn’t know, the Joker is pretty good at this whole basketball thing. The Serbian center continued his evolution from a fan-favorite second round pick to a bonafide superstar

Jokic Last Season:

• Nearly averaged a triple-double with 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game

• Advanced metrics more your thing? Jokic lead the league in PER, win shares, and box plus/minus

• Became the first center since Shaq in 2000 to claim the league’s top honor

Trivia: Jokic is one of four All-Stars from the 2014 draft. Can you name the other three? (answer below)

Going Back-To-Back

At +1500 odds to make it two in a row, the value is certainly there. But does Jokic have a realistic shot at going back-to-back like he’s on the cover of Lethal Weapon? Believe it or not, taking home MVP in consecutive seasons is not as rare as you might think. Since 2000, five players have accomplished the feat: 

• Tim Duncan: 2002 & 2003

• Steve Nash: 2005 & 2006

• LeBron James: 2009 & 2010, 2012 & 2013

• Steph Curry: 2015 & 2016

• Giannis Antetokounmpo: 2019 & 2020

So while voter fatigue is real, don’t expect it to hurt Jokic too much this year. The bigger concern might be his supporting cast in Denver

• After finishing third in the Western Conference last season, the Nuggets are expected to at least take a small step back this year, with just the ninth-best odds to bring home a title at +2000

• A big reason why? The health of star guard Jamal Murray, who is coming off a torn ACL in last year’s playoffs and may miss the whole season

Being forced to shoulder a heavier burden with Murray out should result in more gaudy counting stats for Jokic, but it could hurt his case if the Nuggets find themselves in the middle of the pack out west

On the flip side, there are few, if any, players in the league who elevate the talent around them quite like the Joker. It’s certainly plausible that under his leadership, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon have their most complete seasons to date and the Nuggets find themselves a contender once again

For My Parlay Gurus

Jokic will have to wait for a Wednesday night matchup against the Suns to start defending his MVP crown. But, since NBA action starts in style tonight, it’s only right we give you a parlay to act on now. Try this one out 👇

• Giannis over 48.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists: -114

• Durant over 30.5 points: -156

• Steph over 5.5 threes: -111

• LeBron over 37.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists: -108

Nothing says “basketball is back” like getting to root for the best of the best and shot at turning $100 into $1028 😎

Previous Parlay:

• Dallas -3 @ New England: HIT

• Dak Prescott over 274.5 passing yards: HIT

• Ezekiel Elliot over 79.5 rushing yards: MISS

Trivia answer: Joel Embiid (4x), Julius Randle (1x), Zach LaVine (1x)