Ahead of the 2025 NBA season tipping off on Tuesday, we break down the the NBA MVP award betting market, including a three-time former winner as the favorite
The NBA MVP award recipient is given the Michael Jordan Trophy(Image: Getty Images)
The NBA Most Valuable Player award is one of the most coveted awards in all of sports, signifying season-long greatness and consistency at professional basketball’s highest level.
Ahead of the 2025 NBA season tipping off this week, which will see LeBron James miss an opener for the first time in 23 years and Cooper Flagg make his professional debut, we assess the betting favorites to win the MVP award.
Last season, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the fourth player in league history to win MVP, the NBA title, and the NBA Finals MVP award all in the same season.
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While SGA is among the favorites to win MVP again, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the betting favorite with odds of +220.
Jokic, a three-time MVP award winner, has finished either first or second in voting each of the past five seasons.
The Serbian is the consensus best player in the world, officially claiming that status after he led Denver to its first ever NBA title in 2023.
Jokic is a triple-double machine that can do everything on the basketball court. Over the past five seasons, ‘Joker’ has averaged a staggering 26.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, and nine assists per game.
The 30-year-old is always available, which cannot be said about many NBA stars, never missing more than 13 games in a season across his 10-year career.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic have been first and second in MVP voting each of the past two years(Image: Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
In a league dominated by athleticism and three-point shooting, Jokic stands out as a unique talent who creates for teammates, can score at will, plays hard defense, and is always available.
Gilgeous-Alexander is second-favorite in the MVP market at +275, followed by Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (+380), Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1100), and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (+1200).
It’s important to consider that in order for a player to win MVP, or any NBA award or recognition such as Defensive Player of the Year or an All-NBA team, they must play in at least 65 of 82 regular season games.
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The only exception is if a player played in at least 62 regular season games and 85 percent of his team’s games before suffering a season-ending injury.
This rule was put in the new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the 2024 season to discourage load management, which saw players miss games due to rest, rather than injury.
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