Joel Embiid for MVP? He’s certainly worthy of being in the conversation.
Yes, the Warriors’ Steph Curry has also entered that conversation after dropping his 11th straight 30-point game Monday night vs. the Sixers.
However, the guy that is drawing the sportsbooks' attention, including NBC Sports betting partner PointsBet, is Denver’s Nikola Jokic. In fact, the Joker is running away from the competition at this point.
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This shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering he’s averaging nearly a triple-double (26.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game). His 47 points Monday night against Memphis have catapulted him as an overwhelming favorite to take home the league’s top honors at -400 ($40 wager to win $10).
Jokic has also recorded three triple-doubles over his last six games. During that time frame dating back to April 9, Jokic’s odds have gone from -169 to the aforementioned -400, while Embiid's odds have only slightly changed from +400 to +320 ($10 wager to win $32). Rounding out the top six are Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1600), Luka Doncic (+1800), and Curry and James Harden both at +2000.
Embiid is averaging more points (29.9) and rebounds (11.2) than the Nuggets' big man, but he hasn't been in the Sixers' lineup consistently. Embiid has missed 18 games, while Jokic has been on the court for all 57 of Denver’s games.
Then there is that Curry guy on the Warriors. He’s averaging over 40 points in the month of April while shooting 50.3 percent from beyond the arc.
NBA
Back on April 10, Curry was +10000 ($10 wager to win $1,000) to win MVP. This torrid stretch has seen his odds dip all the way to +2000 ($10 wager to win $200). Despite being a two-time MVP winner, Curry remains a long shot as his Warriors are ninth in the Western Conference.
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