The 2020-21 NBA Finals are far from over, but that doesn’t mean that sports fans and bettors aren’t already looking towards next season. After all, oddsmakers have already been releasing odds on future markets, which includes projecting who’ll be named the 2021-22 NBA Most Valuable Player.
Only a handful of talented players have earned the right to be named NBA MVP and even less have done it multiple times. However, at +400 odds, BetOnline is favoring Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant to be named next season’s most valuable player. If he’s successful, it would be his second time receiving the honor after winning the award back in 2014 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Considering how only 14 other players have multiple MVP awards, Durant would certainly be part of an elite club.
The truth is that Durant has the perfect situation to win his second NBA MVP award. For starters, the fact that he plays with James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the Nets helps a lot. Brooklyn will surely be one of the top teams in the league next season, especially now that its ‘Big 3’ have gotten some time to create chemistry and familiarity. As long as the Nets succeed, you have to imagine that Durant is a big part of that.
Secondly, there’s the fact that Durant’s Achilles injury has not slowed him down. People wondered if he could be the KD of old upon his return, however, he proved that he was by averaging 26.9 PPG/7.1 RPG/5.6 APG. He then took it to the next level in the playoffs, averaging 34.3 PPG/9.3 RPG/4.4 APG. In other words, if Durant can do that again in 2021-22, it’ll be hard to stop him from becoming NBA MVP again.
2021-22 NBA MVP Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Friday, July 16
- Kevin Durant (+400)
- Luka Doncic (+450)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (+750)
- Stephen Curry (+750)
- Joel Embiid (+800)
- LeBron James (+900)
- Damian Lillard (+1000)
- Nikola Jokic (+1200)
- Trae Young (+1400)
- Devin Booker (+2000)
- James Harden (+2000)
- Jason Tatum (+2500)
- Russell Westbrook (+2500)
Complete odds list available at BetOnline.ag.
Doncic Looking for First MVP Award
Even though Durant is the favorite to win next season’s NBA MVP award, Luka Doncic (+450) isn’t that far behind him on the odds list. The 22-year-old Slovenian has proven to be a generational talent for the Dallas Mavericks, especially as he continues to improve with each passing season. Doncic averaged 27.7 PPG/8.0 RPG/8.6 APG in 2020-21, showing the potential that he could average a triple-double. Very few players have done that in the past and the ones that have done it were MVP-quality players.
If Doncic continues to improve and management in Dallas surrounds him with players that he can win with, the Mavericks could be a top-5 team in the Western Conference next NBA season. If that’s true, even more eyes will be on Doncic which makes his MVP odds even more favorable. With the talent that he has, there’s a good shot that he’ll be the league’s most valuable player one day. It just depends on how soon that day comes.
Antetokounmpo, Curry Trying to Join 3-Timers Club
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry have been two of the NBA’s biggest stars of the last decade. Out of the last seven NBA MVP awards given out, those two have won four of them — each winning two apiece. Now, Antetokounmpo and Curry both have +750 odds to win the award for the third time next season.
For Antetokounmpo, it’s only been a year or so since he won his second of back-to-back MVP awards. Nevertheless, he’s proven in this year’s NBA Finals that he’s still one of the best players in the world, averaging 32.3 PPG/14.0 RPG/5.5 APG in the current series. With him being 26 years old, regression isn’t a concern, so expect Antetokounmpo to be dominant once again next season.
On the other hand, Curry hasn’t won an NBA MVP award since he also did it back-to-back between 2014 and 2016. However, the Golden State Warriors should have a fully healthy lineup next season and getting Klay Thompson back should help them be a better team, which increases Curry’s MVP odds. Without Thompson this season, Curry averaged a career-high 32.0 PPG. If he can do that again on a Warriors team that makes the playoffs, there’s a good chance that Curry could return to the top of the basketball world.
