It's been almost three months since the 2023-24 NBA season began, and the MVP race is heating up.
Superstar big men Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are currently tied at the top of BetMGM Sportsbook's odds board, each at +250 to win the award.
Embiid, the reigning league MVP, has a slight edge at Caesars Sportsbook at a negligible +210 to Jokic's +230.
The pair have consistently been two of the most popular MVP candidates throughout the season, defying the best odds several times thus far.
But another duo is starting to close the gap.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic are priced at over 5/1 at most major sportsbooks after a strong month in December.
At BetMGM, Gilgeous-Alexander is behind Embiid and Jokic at +400, and Doncic is right behind him at +425.
The race seemed to become a four-man battle as long as we didn't fall behind.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1400) is the only player with odds above 30/1.
But as last year's MVP contest showed, things can change quickly.
In late January of last season, Jokic won his third straight MVP award with a -105 rating by a wide margin over all other players.
Embiid, the eventual winner, appeared to be on the outskirts of the race, sitting fourth on the board at +800 behind Jokic, Doncic (+400) and Jayson Tatum (+700).
Jokic, who won back-to-back MVP awards until last year, entered the season as the favorite to win his third title, and Embiid had the fourth-best odds at +800.
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After his dominant performance of 51 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the No. 1 seed in the West and the top defenseman in the NBA, Joker was the favorite for most of the early games until he was passed by Embiid in December. It continued to exist.
Embiid's 76ers will face Jokic and the Nuggets twice this month, in Philadelphia on January 16th and in Denver on January 27th, but the odds are sure to change depending on the outcome.
