NBA MVP Odds: Nikola Jokic Is the Favorite in Tight Five-Man Race

Nikola Jokic left this season's NBA Finals as the unquestioned best player in the league and oddsmakers have him at the top of the board for the league's most coveted regular season award. Jokic is a +430 favorite to win the 2024 NBA MVP award at FanDuel and some books have his odds listed as low as +350.

NBA MVP Odds

Odds updated as of Monday Oct. 9 via FanDuel.

Jokic finished as the league MVP in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022, but finished a distant second last year with 15 first place votes compared to Joel Embiid’s 73. The reigning Finals MVP would become the fifth player in history to win at least three MVPs should he reclaim the mantle.

Embiid took home NBA MVP honors last season, but he’s listed at no better than fifth heading into the 2023-24 season, according to FanDuel (+850). Embiid trails Luka Doncic (+550), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+600) and Jayson Tatum (+750) in his quest to become the 16th player in NBA history to win it multiple times. The 76ers’ superstar led the league a season ago in points per game (33.1), which was nearly three full points more than his previous career-high.

Meanwhile, Doncic’s aiming to be the seventh international player to win the award, joining Embiid, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. He set a career-high with 32.4 ppg last year, which was second-most behind Embiid. FanDuel lists Doncic’s odds at +550.

Like Jokic, Antetokounmpo’s looking to win the award for the third time after capturing it in 2019 and 2020. He was the only other player besides Embiid and Jokic to earn first place votes last season (12). You can grab Antetokounmpo at +600 at FanDuel, which is higher than the consensus +550 odds most sportsbooks are offering it at.

Rounding out the top five is Tatum, who finished fourth in MVP voting last year with 280 total points. He was the only player besides Embiid (915), Jokic (674) and Antetokounmpo (606) to earn triple-digit points. The next-highest vote-getter was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a mere 46.

Finally, there are several other former MVPs looking to win the award once again. They include Stephen Curry (+1400), Kevin Durant (+1600), LeBron James (+5000), James Harden (+12000) and Russell Westbrook (+50000).

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