A Beginner’s Guide to NBA MVP Odds

What is an MVP?

MVP is an acronym for Most Valuable Player. Consider it an award for the most indispensable player in the entire league. The player that any NBA team would give their right arm for. 

Between 1956 and 2021, the winner of the NBA MVP for the regular season was presented with the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. This award was named in honour of the inaugural commissioner and president of the NBA. The MVP trophy has since been renamed the Michael Jordan Trophy, with an alternative Maurice Podoloff Trophy given to the team with the best regular season record. 

Voting for the NBA’s MVP used to be made by the players themselves. However, since 1980-81, a cluster of broadcasters and NBA journalists across the US and Canada have cast the deciding vote.

Is there an MVP for the NBA Finals?

Yes, the Bill Russell Trophy is awarded to the NBA Finals MVP. It’s an award that was first presented after the 1969 NBA Finals. The vote for this is decided by a panel of 11 individuals from the basketball media. 

Michael Jordan is a six-time winner of the Bill Russell Trophy, underlining his appetite for performing on the big stage. LeBron James has won this accolade four times, while Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O’Neal have won the NBA Finals MVP award three times.

Recent winners of the NBA MVP regular season award

• 2023 – Joel Embiid
  Embiid reached the pinnacle of the NBA game by being named MVP for the first time in 2022-23. He became the first Philadelphia 76er to win it since Allen Iverson in 2001.
   
• 2022 – Nikola Jokic
  The Denver Nuggets’ Jokic landed his second regular season MVP in succession in 2021-22. In doing so, he became only the 13th player in NBA history to win it back-to-back.
   
• 2021 – Nikola Jokic
  Jokic became the first-ever player representing the Denver Nuggets to be named the NBA’s regular season MVP. He’s also the lowest-drafted player to win the MVP award.
   
• 2020 – Giannis Antetokounmpo
  Antetokounmpo followed up his 2019 MVP award with a second award in 2019-20. He’s the first European player to be named the NBA MVP multiple times.

Recent winners of the NBA Finals MVP award

• 2023 – Nikola Jokic
  After playing an influential role in firing the Nuggets to the 2022-23 NBA title, it was little surprise to see Jokic named the NBA Finals MVP. He’s one of only five overseas-born players to win a Finals MVP.
   
• 2022 – Stephen Curry
  Iconic Golden State Warriors point guard Curry landed the missing trophy from his career collection by landing the 2022 NBA Finals MVP as a unanimous selection.
•  2021 – Giannis Antetokounmpo
  Antetokounmpo only had a 50% chance of making the Milwaukee Bucks’ postseason playoff run due to a troublesome knee injury. Nevertheless, the Greek shrugged off these concerns to turn in some show-stopping performances. He scored 40 points and ten rebounds in half of the six-game series with the Phoenix Suns.
• 2020 – LeBron James
  By leading the LA Lakers to the 2019-20 NBA Championship, LeBron James was an easy decision for the NBA Finals MVP award. He became the first player to win the Bill Russell Trophy with three different NBA teams.

The main contenders for the 2023-24 NBA MVP regular season award

A closer look at the contenders for NBA regular season.

Joel Embiid

In the eyes of many, the Cameroonian baller Embiid is still the number-one performer in the NBA. One of the main reasons he’s so lethal is his accuracy, particularly from free throws. He’s been shooting at an 88% percentage from the charity stripe in 2023-24. Will it be enough to earn him a second MVP and a shot at the NBA Finals with the Philadelphia 76ers?

Nikola Jokic

Jokic may have missed out on making it a hat-trick of successive NBA regular season MVPs, but he’s almost sure to be in the shake-up again in 2024. The towering Serbian centre is simply a freak of nature. He’s one of the most efficient point scorers, coming within a whisker of averaging a triple-double in 2022-23, and he’s heading the same way again this term.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

If you’re looking for someone to seriously compete with Embiid and Jokic for this year’s regular season MVP, look no further than the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 25-year-old Canadian point and shooting guard is evolving into one of the most efficient points scorers in the NBA. He’s capable of bringing the heat defensively, too, as he also leads the way in terms of steals.

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