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Doug KezirianESPN
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is now the NBA MVP betting favorite or number two at most sportsbooks, thanks to an unexpected dedication to the regular season that led the Lakers to the league’s best record.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook was the first operator to make James a favorite, posting 4-1 odds Monday night after the 36-year-old rallied the Lakers for a comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. James finished with 46 points on 19-for-26 shooting, including 7-for-11 from three-point field.
“People should be more in awe of what he does as he gets older. I think that should play in the minds of some voters. I think that could affect some people who didn’t vote for him last year,” SuperBook said. NBA head oddsmaker Jeff Sherman told ESPN.
James started the season with the top six favorites and even reached a chance of 14-1. Despite a brief turnaround from the October NBA Finals to the opening night of this season, James has played every game averaging 25.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists.
“It was expected that he would miss some time and take it slow and get ready for the playoffs. If he didn’t, the complexion of the odds has changed,” said Sherman. “Anthony Davis has missed the time and has just gone through the motions and underperformed. That helped LeBron’s case.”
William Hill currently calls James (3-1) the second favorite behind Luka Doncic (+280).
“He’s on a heater, so people support him, thinking the old body will rise,” William Hill, director of commerce Nick Bogdanovich, told ESPN, who also shares that the house will be losing if James ends up. hoists the trophy.
DraftKings has James and Doncic as 5-1 co-favorites. Sportsbook director John Avello told ESPN that he had lowered the odds due to steady action from gamblers over the past two weeks with a score of 10-1.
“He plays typical LeBron basketball. He does everything,” said Avello. “Even at the end of the season, when he plays a few games, it’s still about who did the most to get his team there.
The four-time MVP has not won the award since 2013. James finished second last year behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden in 2018 and Kevin Durant in 2014. If James wins again, he would become the league’s oldest MVP and join Kareem. Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5) and Bill Russell (5) as the only players in the history of the league to have won at least five MVP trophies.
Doncic started this season as the favorite of betting and has stayed close to the top of all sportsbooks. Durant (7-1), Joel Embiid (8-1) and Nikola Jokic (8-1) have all become a bigger part of the race. Antetokounmpo (9-1) is still one of the leaders, but it will likely be a historic season for the two-time reigning MVP to turn it into a three-peat.
“Giannis almost plays his way out of the conversation. The Bucks are doing less than expected. There is voter fatigue and people can’t help but remember the playoffs,” Sherman said, referring to Milwaukee Bucks’ inability. to reach the NBA Finals, despite being the Eastern Conference’s best seed of the past two seasons.
The voters are media members who are essentially left to their own interpretation of the price. Discussions often include criteria centered around the player with the most impressive season or who is most valuable to their team.
“Obviously if you get LeBron from the Lakers, they are a different team, but they can hold up with some stretches. But if you take Luka from the Mavericks, they would be a really bad team,” said Sherman.
The Lakers are currently 14-4, while the Dallas Mavericks are 8-9. Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers currently hold the East’s top seed with a record of 12-6.