Best 2024-25 NBA MVP Odds (Feb 18)

• Nikola Jokic is the reigning MVP and has won the award three times in the past four seasons. Does he have the inside track this year as well?
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished runner-up in the MVP race last season and is making a case for serious consideration this season.
• Lastly, Giannis Antetokounmpo is a two-time league MVP and is having a strong 2024-25 campaign in his own right.

We have reached the halfway point of the NBA season. Since there are no games until midweek, it’s a great time to discuss which players have the best MVP odds as we look ahead towards the second half of the 2024-25 campaign.

Best NBA MVP Odds: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-500)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in the 2023-24 MVP race after guiding the Thunder to a 57-25 record, a 17-game improvement from the previous season.

But just when it seemed that both SGA and OKC had reached their ceiling, that narrative is far from being accurate. At the halfway point, the Thunder have already accumulated 44 wins.

Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander is proving that last season was not a fluke, averaging a career-best 32.5 points per contest, along with 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds.

The seventh-year point guard is also shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Given these stats, if he finishes as the top player on the league’s top team, the award should be his to lose.

Second Best NBA MVP Odds: Nikola Jokic +350

Nikola Jokic was last season’s MVP winner on the heels of a campaign in which he compiled averages of 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per outing on 58.3 percent shooting overall and 35.9 percent from 3-point range.

As with Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic’s 2024-25 season production has been just as stellar.

Denver’s big man is averaging 29.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game. The scoring and assists averages are both career-highs for the three-time MVP.

Sure, there is potential for voter fatigue here, given Jokic has won the award three times in four seasons.

However, the numbers stand on their own merit, and he’s been consistently productive in an era in which the traditional big man is considered obsolete.

Third Best NBA MVP Odds: Giannis Antetokounmpo +8000

As the provided odds above suggest, Giannis Antetokounmpo is a longshot to win the MVP trophy this year.

While Antetokounmpo comes in at a distant third in the race, that fact has little to do with the numbers he’s put up this season.

The veteran forward averages 31.8 points, 12.2 boards, and 5.9 dimes per contest. And his 60.8 shooting percentage placed him at No. 8 in this category.

Unfortunately, the Bucks have fallen off a bit after winning it all in 2021. Since that title run, they have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs twice in the previous three seasons.

This season, their 29-24 record puts them at the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference. So while Antetokoumpo deserves consideration based on his numbers, it is very unlikely that he will make up enough ground to emerge as the front-runner in the MVP race.