Free agency has just become, which means the NBA offseason is in full swing. However, that hasn’t stopped fans and bettors from looking ahead to the upcoming season. Dozens of future markets are available across most online sportsbooks, including one that looks at who’ll be named the 2021-22 NBA Most Valuable Player. Kevin Durant owned the best odds a few weeks ago, however, that has changed. Now, BetOnline is favoring someone else to be named NBA MVP: Luka Doncic at +450 odds.
When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Luka Doncic for Trae Young and first-round pick back in 2018, they knew they were getting a special player — they just didn’t know how great he’d become. He’s only three seasons into his professional career and Doncic has already become one of the top players in the league. He finished the 2020-21 NBA season averaging 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists. Each of those statistics is a bit lower compared to the previous season, however, you can’t really find many players putting up similar numbers on a nightly basis.
The idea of Doncic being named the 2021-22 NBA MVP isn’t that outlandish at all, especially judging by his recent play. He even finished sixth in voting for the award this season. The only thing standing in his way of eventual MVP honors is the fact that the Mavericks have been one of the lower-seeded playoff teams as of late, having finished 5th in the Western Conference last season. To be the league’s most valuable player, Doncic needs to help Dallas finish as one of the conference’s top teams. Once that happens, people will start considering him being worthy of the NBA MVP trophy.
2021-22 NBA MVP Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Tuesday, August 3
- Luka Doncic (+450)
- Stephen Curry (+650)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (+700)
- Kevin Durant (+750)
- Joel Embiid (+850)
- LeBron James (+900)
- Damian Lillard (+1200)
- James Harden (+1400)
- Nikola Jokic (+1400)
- Jason Tatum (+1600)
- Russell Westbrook (+1600)
- Trae Young (+1600)
Complete odds list available at BetOnline.ag.
Curry Hunting for Third MVP Award
At +650 odds, Stephen Curry has the second-best shot at winning next year’s NBA MVP award. If he’s successful, it’ll be his third time taking him those honors — something only eight other players in NBA history have done. The thing is, Curry is more than talented enough to do it.
After missing most of the 2019-20 campaign with a hand injury, Curry came back and set the basketball world ablaze last season. He averaged a career-high of 32.0 points per game last year, which isn’t something that people expected from a 33-year-old. He also put up a career-high in rebounds (5.0) along the way. Curry’s efforts saw the Warriors nearly sneak into the playoffs with a 39-33 record. However, things should be better next season. Klay Thompson should be back in the lineup, the team brought in some exciting prospects through the draft and the rest of the returning Warriors have had another season to build chemistry. With an improved and healthy team, Golden State should finish much higher up the standings. If they do, you can expect it to be due to an NBA MVP-like performance from Curry.
Antetokounmpo NBA MVP Odds
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo has +700 odds to win his third NBA MVP award next season. Considering how he’s coming off of his first-ever NBA Championship run, you’d have to assume that he wants to continue that momentum into future success.
Fortunately for Milwaukee, the Eastern Conference still isn’t that strong and the Bucks are bringing back most of their key players from last season. In other words, Antetokounmpo should have no issue leading his team to the top of the standings once again. He averaged 28.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in 2020-21, which was good enough to see him finish fourth in NBA MVP voting. The crazy thing is that he received that much respect even though his numbers were well below his career highs. With him only being 26 years old, it’s not impossible to think that Antetokounmpo will get even better next season. If that’s the case, the rest of the league needs to be put on notice.
