After LeBron James and Kevin Durant drafted their teams on Thursday night, the NBA All-Star Game is finally ready for Sunday night. It’s the one night each year when the league’s top stars come together to put their skills on display for the basketball world.
Heading into the game, Team LeBron are the favorites to win. As of Friday, BetOnline has their odds of beating Team Durant at -165. They also have Team LeBron covering the -4.5 point spread at -115.
Like most all-star-type games in sports, the NBA All-Star Game can be unpredictable. Some players may coast through the motions, while others may go all out. Below is a quick look at most of the odds heading into this Sunday’s game.
NBA All-Star Game Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Friday, March 5
- Moneyline: Team LeBron (-165), Team Durant (+145)
- Point Spread: Team LeBron -4.5 (-115), Team Durant +4.5 (-105)
- Over/Under: Over 310 (-115), Under 310 (-105)
Team James Looking To Get It Done at All-Star Game
While sportsbooks might be listing Team LeBron as the favorites heading into the NBA All-Star Game, it’s with good reason. The team’s starters include LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Plus, the bench is filled with talents, such as Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Paul George. In total, James has three former NBA MVPs on his team.
Sunday will mark the 17th time that James will be an All-Star. It will also be his fourth time captaining a team. James’ teams are also 3-0 in NBA All-Star competition.
However, that’s not to say that Kevin Durant didn’t put together a good team. Any player who is at the NBA All-Star Game is there for a reason. While Durant won’t play due to a hamstring injury, he has still put together a solid lineup. Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, and NBA MVP-favorite Joel Embiid will start for Team Durant. James Harden, Devin Booker and Zion Williamson are some of the players that will fill out Team Durant.
If anything is evident, it’s how opposite the two teams are from each other. While James’ team consists of experienced veterans and award-winners, Durant leaned closer to a youth movement when drafting his squad. On Sunday, we’ll find out which strategy worked better.
James Leads NBA All-Star Game MVP Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Friday, March 5
- LeBron James +475
- Luka Doncic +750
- Stephen Curry +800
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +900
- James Harden +900
- Nikola Jokic +900
- Damian Lillard +1000
- Kawhi Leonard +1200
- Zion Williamson +1200
- Donovan Mitchell +1400
Just as Team LeBron is expected to win the NBA All-Star Game, BetOnline has James winning the All-Star Game MVP Award at +475. He’s already won the award, which has been renamed to the “NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award,” three times in his career. James last won the award in 2018 when he put up 29-10-8 against Curry’s team.
Luka Doncic made his All-Star debut last season. Unfortunately, he only managed to put up 8-1-4 in 17 minutes for Team LeBron. This season, he rejoins James’ team with +750 odds of winning All-Star MVP. So far this season, Doncic is averaging 28.6-8.4-9.0.
Meanwhile, Stephen Curry has won just about everything there is to win in the league except an NBA All-Star Game MVP Award. Curry has yet to have a standout All-Star Game performance. Out of his six appearances at the game, he's only surpassed 20 points twice. On the other hand, Curry has never gotten to play with James at an All-Star event until this weekend. Perhaps that will spark an MVP-worthy performance.
