As the NFL playoffs take the weekend off, sports bettors will need other markets to scour. Look no further than the NBA, where records are on the verge of being broken, players are complaining about refs, epic stat lines are becoming the norm and the conference standings and end-of-season awards races are ever-changing.
Much like the crowded Western Conference standings, a week’s worth of basketball games can cause all sorts of movement at sportsbooks. Such has been the case throughout the season, and January’s week-by-week game of musical chairs is a reflection of that,
Today, we focus on the NBA MVP race, which looks a little different today than it did at the beginning of the month.
All odds via BetMGM
Faller: Jayson Tatum - Boston Celtics
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Jan. 4 odds: +400
Jan. 31 odds: +1300
The Boston Celtics entered 2023 with a 26-10 record that left Jayson Tatum on the shortlist of NBA MVP candidates. While not at the very top of BetMGM’s list, his +400 odds were tied for the second-shortest, trailing only Luka Doncic’s +275 odds. Neither Tatum nor the Celtics have necessarily been unimpressive in their 10-5 January throughout this month, but plenty of other teams and players have set the league on fire lately.
Riser: LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Jan. 4 odds: Off the board
Jan. 31 odds: +5000
You’ve got to be some sort of science experiment to be averaging over 30.0 points per game in the NBA at age 38. And in January alone, James has scored 40 or more points while averaging 34.3 points over 12 games played this month. The numbers are freakish, and the fact that the Lakers are above .500 in that stretch has gotten James’ MVP odds to shorten significantly. He’s still got a ways to go to sniff the top of the list.
Faller: Kevin Durant - Brooklyn Nets
(Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
Jan. 4 odds: +700
Jan. 31 odds: +4000
Injuries suck.
Kevin Durant was arguably the league’s MVP in early January before suffering a knee injury at Miami on January 8th that still has him on the sidelines. If it weren’t for Jimmy Butler falling into his knee, KD would probably have top-3 MVP odds today.
Riser: Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
(Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
Jan. 4 odds: +1300
Jan. 31 odds: +260
No rise has been as important as Joel Embiid’s, and he can thank his 47-point, 18-rebound performance over the past weekend against BetMGM’s MVP leader Nikola Jokic for his odds shortening. Not that one game should change the narrative, but it did. And now, Embiid is back where he belongs in MVP conversations.
NBA MVP line movement (Last Week ➡️ Now) at @BetMGM
📈
Joel Embiid +800 to +260📉
Nikola Jokic -105 to +110
Luka Doncic +400 to +550
Jayson Tatum +700 to +1000
Giannis +1000 to +1300 pic.twitter.com/FLgLYiDP1X— John Ewing 🦁 (@johnewing) January 31, 2023
Faller: Giannis Antetokounmpo - Milwaukee Bucks
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan. 4 odds: +400
Jan. 31 odds: +1300
The Bucks were playing some unimpressive basketball for a good chunk of the month, but have gotten healthy and found the winning formula again. And like Tatum, even though Antetokounmpo has looked incredible when healthy and on the floor, the likes of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid (amongst others) have popped more. That’s the way it goes sometimes, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Greek Freak made his way to the top of BetMGM’s MVP list a month from now.
