Will the NBA MVP Award be decided in February or April?
As the NBA MVP race heats up between Luka Doncic and heavy favorite Nikola Jokic, expect a lot of discussion in the final few games of the season.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who voted for the NBA Awards, said: tweeted“I strongly consider Luka Doncic to be MVP,” while Mavericks players wearing a t-shirt The words “Pravi MVP” (which translates to “Real MVP”) were inscribed during warmups before Wednesday night’s game against the Heat.
Although he’s still a huge underdog, interest in betting on Doncic seems to be rapidly increasing as the season draws to a close.
As of Thursday morning, Doncic was rated 25/1 at FanDuel Sportsbook before winning MVP, but he has since dropped to 21/1.
O’Connor was just one of 99 voters for last year’s award, but his opinion is worth noting, perhaps indicating voters are reconsidering Jokic’s lock status.
Even if the odds don’t match up, Doncic and Jokic both have incredibly strong cases. Each has scored more than 26 points per game, averaging nearly a triple-double.
Luka Doncic vs. Nikola Jokic: MVP by the numbers
| player | point | pastor | Ast. | true shooting percentage | Internet evaluation | Use rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Doncic | 33.9 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 61.7 | 5.8 | 35.5 |
| Nikola Jokic | 26.6 | 12.4 | 8 | 64.9 | 11.8 | 29.1 |
Jokic has always dominated the top stats, and it looks like that will never change, thanks to his incredible shooting percentage and low turnovers despite his high usage rate.
But Doncic didn’t really emerge until the Mavericks went all-in at the trade deadline, acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in an otherwise quiet trade deadline.
The vote will then come down to team success, with Jokic clearly favored.
The Mavericks have continued their impressive climb since the All-Star break to 18-7, the third-best record in the NBA, while the Nuggets remain in first place with a 20-5 record.
Denver is currently the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
As we’ve seen over the years, voting is ultimately about narrative, and Thursday’s Doncic vs. Jokic debate sparked a lot of discussion.
“It’s unfortunate that so many of my colleagues seem to have decided on this MVP race months ago and it’s not even really a discussion.” Fox Sports Personality (Non-Voter) Nick Wright As mentioned in X’s post.
“Because Jokic vs. Luka right now should be closer than any race I can remember. It’s an incredibly strong argument for both men with five days left.”
Rob Perez, known as @WorldwideWob of X, responded in a tweet: “-3000 didn’t happen by accident.”
That certainly wasn’t the case, as most voters believed that was a foregone conclusion for much of the season after Joel Embiid went down.
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But voters still have five days to change their minds, and Doncic is doing everything he can to make that happen.
As a long-term bet, speculatively buying Doncic at 16/1 at BetMGM isn’t a bad bet, as the odds at other books are already down to +700.
However, the 16/1 number may not last long, at which point more national voter approval will be needed to buy into the Doncic hype at prices below 10/1 odds. right.
Pick: A small bet on Luka Doncic MVP 16/1 (betmgm)
