The Most Valuable Player is the most prestigious award in the NBA, and not only that, but one of the most prestigious in all of sports. The reason is because this award represents the best player in the league — a league where individual brands are at an all-time high. So when a player wins the MVP in the NBA, it opens up a boatload of new opportunities to that particular player, including endorsements, television appearances and probably the best: Uber-rich max contracts. Needless to say, a player can obtain a lot by winning the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
Last season, it would be Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks who would earn the honor of the best player in the National Basketball Association. This season, oddsmakers and sportsbooks across the country have the “Greek Freak” repeating that feat to accomplish a second-consecutive MVP.
According to the online sportsbook Bovada, Antetokounmpo is the favorite to win the 2019-20 NBA Most Valuable Player Award at +300 odds to achieve the repeat. If he does, he’ll become the fourth player since 2006 to win back-to-back MVP’s, joining LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Steve Nash.
Following Giannis Antetokounmpo in the odds is Steph Curry in second at +550 odds, while LeBron James comes in third place at +650. In the No. 4 position, Anthony Davis claims that spot at +700, while James Harden rounds out the top five at +800 — Harden won the MVP back in 2018. In sixth place, Kawhi Leonard starts out the rest of the top 10 at +900, and afterwards, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic have a tie for seventh at +1200. Coming in ninth, Russell Westbrook’s triple-double magic places at +1400, and Paul George ends the top 10 for us with his +1600 odds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is extraordinarily dominant, and the numbers prove that in flying colors. Last season in the NBA, he was only one of two players to rank in the top five with both scoring and rebounding. On top of that, he’s also projected to lead his Milwaukee Bucks to the Eastern Conference championship and into the NBA Finals. As you see, it’s the perfect storm, and this is why he’s your favorite to win a repeat MVP, and deservingly so.
In the 2018-19 campaign, the Bucks would accomplish the best record in the league under Antetokounmpo’s leadership, and coming into the new season, the vast majority of the team is back from last year. With that being said, Milwaukee is in a beautiful position to win the Eastern Conference crown, and with Antetokounmpo only getting better in the process, it appears that the MVP is his to lose at this point. If the Bucks deliver on their expectations, Antetokounmpo should be your back-to-back MVP who’s taking a trip to the NBA Finals. The new season is set up to be immaculate for the 24-year-old.
I usually hate placing a wager on the favorite and that’s because there’s never any value with them — nothing different here. But seriously, with how dominant Giannis Antetokounmpo was last season and with him appearing to be even better coming into the new campaign, how on earth do you bet against him? We’re literally getting a more improved version of the “Greek Freak” for the new season, and that’s absolutely terrifying. Over the offseason, there were reports coming out about him working on both his jump shot and free throw shooting, two flaws that got massively exposed in the playoffs last campaign. With him fixing up each weakness and durability being on his side, Antetokounmpo is poised to have a power season.
Other than the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s no team that I see even coming close to competing with the Milwaukee Bucks for the Eastern Conference lead at the end of the regular season, and that’s vital to winning the MVP. Out of the past five winners of the award, four of them have been on teams who would lead the league with the most wins. The Bucks can certainly accomplish that feat again this season, and if so, Antetokounmpo should be your MVP for the second straight year — it should also be pointed out that Milwaukee is favored to score the most wins again this season, according to the OVER/UNDER Win Total. You see what I mean? Everything is in line for Giannis Antetokounmpo to win the 2019-20 NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
One player that you may want to look at as a solid long shot option is Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets, currently placed at +1200 odds to win the NBA MVP. Last season, Jokic was an absolute monster, averaging a stat line of 20.1 points-per-game, 10.8 rebounds-per-game and 7.3 assists-per-game — his numbers would make him the top center in both the assist category and also at scoring triple-doubles. Nikola Jokic was a force.
Last season, the Nuggets would use Jokic as their offensive focal point, and that strategy would nearly take Denver to the top of the Western Conference, ultimately finishing in second place. With that being the case, the Nuggets will definitely have Jokic with the ball as much as possible this season, which will produce hefty numbers for his MVP chances.
Over the offseason, Denver would pull a move here and there, and the end result would be an improved roster. On top of that, their progression of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. has been noticeable, and it could potentially take the Nuggets to the top of the West with Jokic’s production — No. 1 seed for the Denver Nuggets? It could happen.
And hypothetically speaking, if the Nuggets do accomplish the best record in the Western Conference and Jokic puts up similar numbers to last season, he’ll put himself in a pretty position to have a strong opportunity to win the NBA MVP. If things go their way, it could be a magical season for Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. (Like Colorado needs another reason to smoke pot.)
Simply put: If they’re in Los Angeles, keep your money away from them. This includes all four players of LeBron James and Anthony Davis from the Lakers, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George from the Clippers. Even though both teams come with elite talent, there’s too many unknowns to be able to have enough faith to place a bet on any of these players, especially considering all three of Davis, Leonard, and George are in the first year with their new teams and James is aging at 34 years old.
With both the Lakers and Clippers, we don’t know which superstars are going to be forced to give up some of their numbers for the better of the team. With this unknown alone, it would be foolish to place a wager with any of these players. If I did have to choose out of the four, however, I would ride with Anthony Davis at +700 odds. LeBron was already willing to take a step back for Kawhi Leonard if he would’ve came to the Lakers, so I’m sure he’ll be willing to do it for Davis. He knows he’s aging, and if he wants to win more championships, he knows he needs to play a smaller role. LBJ will still get his, yes, but there will most likely be a little decline with Davis now in the picture, especially considering Davis is expected to be the focal point of the Lakers offense this season.
Another problem with placing your bet on one of these four is the simple fact of how the MVP award is given out.
In NBA history when we’ve seen superstars team up, voters are less likely to choose one of those players because they don’t know who to give the majority of the glory to for the team’s success. With that being said, they split their vote and it loses value, ultimately giving the MVP to another player on a less-quality team. It’s just how the system works, and with it being that way, you should stay away from these Hollywood options.
Let’s go over some of the other top betting options to win the 2019-20 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, and then afterwards, I’ll be giving you my prediction (and long shot pick) for who I have as the MVP at the end of the season. Who do you have as your Most Valuable Player? After you read and get your advice from me, you can then place your bets over at one of the top NBA betting sites for who you think will win the award.
As I mentioned in my Western Conference preview, Stephen Curry is due for an explosive season on the offensive side of things. Not just because of Kevin Durant now on the east coast with the Brooklyn Nets, but also because of Klay Thompson being out until All-Star break with an injury. With both Durant and Thompson involved last season, Curry was still lights out with a stat line of 27.3 points-per-game and 5.2 assists-per-game, so with Durant and Thompson now being out of the rotation, the sky is the limit for Curry this season. After all, who else are you going to give the ball to for points? You give it to Steph. Expect a massively potent season for the point guard, potentially hitting over 30.0 PPG this season — sounds like MVP numbers to me. I wouldn’t blame you for putting your money here, a great option as usual.
Similar to all of the players now in Los Angeles, I’m a bit hesitant to take James Harden to win the MVP, for the simple fact that Harden’s numbers may dip this season with Russell Westbrook now on the roster. Last year, Harden would have a historic season putting up numbers of 36.1 PPG, 7.5 APG and 6.6 RPG. Here’s the thing though, and I don’t want to take anything away from Harden, but the main reason why he was able to put up such video game numbers was because of all of the injuries that the Houston Rockets had — and this includes Chris Paul. With Westbrook being a bit more durable and being a triple-double legend, Harden may not have the ball as much, and his numbers may go down a little bit. And just like the Lakers and Clippers, we still aren’t sure how everything is going to go with these two paired up. With that being said, I’d personally keep my money away from James Harden.
Joel Embiid was a monster last season, and I only expect him to get better from here. In the 2018-19 campaign, he would nearly put up 30 points-per-game putting up an average of 27.5 PPG, and would also be a double-double force with his additional numbers of 13.6 rebounds-per-game. With this particular bet, I find Embiid to be quite profitable, especially at +1200 odds. Not only is he the leader of the Philadelphia 76ers, but with Jimmy Butler now with the Miami Heat, Embiid is sure to receive the ball a little more this season. So logically, what does that mean? Well, if you get the ball more, you score more, and that’s exactly the position that Embiid is in right now. Like Curry, the potential is high for Embiid to hit over 30.0 PPG as well, and also maintaining his double-double status. I would definitely take advantage of his +1200 figure. Those are long shot odds, and Joel Embiid is no long shot. Place your money now, because you may not get lower odds than this.
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