Giannis gets more separation in latest NBA MVP updated odds

Week 14 Update

We didn’t get much movement on the NBA MVP race front. Giannis Antetokounmpo improved his odds slightly and is looking like he’ll run away with the award for a second straight season. James Harden and Anthony Davis saw their odds drops. Harden hasn’t been playing well and the Rockets are underperforming, while AD has dealt with injuries the past couple weeks. Luka Doncic remains in the same spot, though the Mavericks are on a four-game winning streak entering Tuesday vs. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. A win over L.A. and another high-profile player could boost his odds heading into next week.

Week 13 Update

So we don’t generally see too much movement in the NBA MVP race on a week-to-week basis, but we have a few spots to cover at the mid-way point of the season.

Both Giannis and Luka Doncic saw their odds improve. The Greek Freak is now pulling away even more from the pack with the Bucks up 6.5 games on the Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference. I imagine that the bump Doncic saw was mostly because he’s been carrying the team without Kristaps Porzingis. Luka’s stats haven’t faltered, though the team hasn’t been nearly as good without Porzingis at 3-4 in the past seven games.

James Harden’s odds didn’t move at all, but the other four “contenders” for the award saw theirs drop off a bit. The Lakers have been great and so has LeBron and AD, but with both on the same team it’s hard to justify one or the other winning MVP. Kawhi has the PG-13 situation, but George has been out and the Clippers haven’t been the dominant team we thought they’d be heading into the season. Embiid is hurt and the Sixers — like the Clippers — haven’t been as good as advertised.

The odds to win NBA MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook have not changed since last week’s post, and Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the favorite to win NBA MVP at -125 odds. Antetokounmpo is having the best season of his career by multiple metrics, including a league-best player efficiency rating of 33.9. Antetokounmpo’s points per game (30.4), usage rate (37.6%), field goals made per game (11.2) and 3-pointers made per game (1.7) are also all the best of his career. Antetokounmpo has done most of his damage near the basket, making a league-high eight field goals per game within five feet of the basket on a ridiculous 72.3% field goal percentage in that zone. The Bucks have been the league’s best team by winning percentage and have posted by far the best point differential, which could help Antetkounmpo’s MVP case if the Bucks clinch the top seed for the playoffs.

Luka Doncic, who remains second in MVP odds at +425, has also been ridiculously efficient for the Mavericks, posting a player efficiency rating of 31.4, third best among all players. Doncic has been extremely valuable with his facilitating, creating about 17 potential assists per game, third best among all players. LeBron James (+700), who remains fourth in MVP odds, has been the league’s top facilitator, creating 19 potential assists per game after moving to a full-time point guard role for the Lakers. James seems focused on not taking any “load management” rest days, which could help boost his volume numbers in chase of the MVP award.

James Harden (+500) being third in MVP odds feels a little light considering his historic scoring performance. Harden is averaging 38.4 points per game, which trails only Wilt Chamberlain’s numbers from the early 1960s. Harden has also been extremely efficient due to his ability to draw free throws and hit 3-pointers, as his 5.2 made 3s per game and 10.6 made free throws per game both lead all players. His 32.4 player efficiency rating is second only to Antetokounmpo.

Here’s the rest of the players with the best odds to win NBA MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook:

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