Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry second in MVP betting odds

With the NBA landscape shaken up and all eyes on Stephen Curry to lead the Golden State Warriors, what do the Vegas odds look like for the MVP award?

The NBA Most Valuable Player award is one of the most decorated accolades in all of sports, and it’s been given two Stephen Curry twice in his ten-year career. As the NBA grows and its viewership expands to more and more countries around the world, the debate of who will be the season’s MVP often plays the role of lead narrative as the season rolls on.

Last year it was the Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. James Harden debate. The year before that it was James Harden vs. Lebron James. The MVP debate might even have more conversation surrounding it than the actual regular season itself.

And while it’s been three seasons since Stephen Curry won the first-ever unanimous MVP, he’s right back in that conversation now that he’s going to be the lone experienced star on this year’s Warriors team.

It’s hardly a surprise that Giannis is the favorite to repeat as MVP this year, but some names further down the list are a bit surprising. Here’re the odds for the top 15 players (via Odds Shark):

Giannis Antetokounmpo +300
Stephen Curry +500
James Harden +700
Kawhi Leonard +800
LeBron James +900
Anthony Davis +1000
Joel Embiid +1200
Luka Doncic +1600
Nikola Jokic +1600
Karl-Anthony Towns +2000
Damian Lillard +2500
Paul George +2500
Russell Westbrook +2500
Donovan Mitchell +3300
Kyrie Irving +3300

(These numbers show how much money you would make on a $100 bet. For example, if you bet on Steph Curry to win MVP, and he did, you would win $600. The $100 you wagered, as well as your $500 winnings.)

The first few players are understandable; guys who are leaders of their team and will have the green light to put up the statistics that catch the eye of MVP voters. Lebron and Anthony Davis being so close together is interesting though, as they’ll be learning to play together and share the ball on that thin Lakers roster.

Another name that pops out is Luka Doncic, who is going on just his second year in the league, but will obviously have a huge role on the Mavericks alongside Kristaps Porzingis. Having him over guys like Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns seems a bit questionable, but there’s no doubt that he’s primed for a very successful season.

Zion Williamson is the first one left off this condensed list at +5000 odds. He’s above guys like Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker, but will he live up to this massive hype train that’s been circulating since his time at Duke? Only time will tell.

Moving on to the Warriors’ odds; I’d argue that Curry is the best bet of the bunch, even with how dominant Giannis was last season. Curry finally has the reigns of the Warriors team to himself once again, and along with D’Angelo Russell, could put up numbers similar to his previous MVP seasons.

Most other players on this list are playing with another bonafide superstar, and while Russell is no slouch, him and Curry aren’t quite on par with a duo like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

That leaves Curry the opportunity to thrust himself into the spotlight as favorite to win his third MVP in six years.