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Kendrick Perkins just threw a new name into the MVP conversation, and did it with enough conviction to spark instant debate.
On ESPN, Perkins rolled out his top-three MVP list and slotted Jaylen Brown at No. 1, calling him his “front-runner” (with Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham also on his list).
3️⃣ – Victor Wembanyama
2️⃣ – Cade Cunningham
1️⃣ – ???
Who tops @KendrickPerkins‘ MVP leaderboard? 🤔
That’s the TV narrative. Now the market reality: the current NBA MVP odds boards still don’t price Brown like the favorite, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting atop most snapshots.
Odds can move fast. The numbers below are as of 8:35 p.m. ET on Feb. 25, 2026 (time of writing) and may change.
NBA MVP odds tracker
Here’s a quick top-of-board tracker using a clean “favorites” table (Vegas) plus where Brown sits.
FOX Sports (updated Feb. 25, 2026 at 4:46 p.m. ET) — top contenders:
Where Brown sits: +5000 in this snapshot — not the market favorite, but not buried either (more “second-tier long shot” than “top-two frontrunner”).
NBA MVP odds vegas
Perkins’ list is useful because it creates a clean tension point: his MVP board is storyline + production, while Vegas is pricing what it believes is most likely to happen by season’s end.
If you’re asking “who’s the favorite right now,” the Vegas snapshot above has SGA priced shortest, with Jokic and Cunningham next, while Brown’s current price is meaningfully longer.
And timing matters: Brown and the Celtics playing a high-profile ESPN game (like Celtics-Nuggets) can juice MVP conversation, but it doesn’t automatically flip the odds board overnight.
NBA MVP odds 2026
This is the 2025-26 regular-season MVP race (award given in 2026), and the stretch-run mechanics matter as much as highlight clips.
One practical factor markets tend to react to: availability/eligibility pressure. ESPN’s betting coverage has focused on how the 65-game minimum can reshape MVP pricing if stars hover near the threshold.
That’s one reason you can see a gap between a media take and the market: the market often prices “risk” (games played, team seeding volatility, etc.) earlier.
NBA MVP odds Wembanyama
Perk had Wembanyama third on his list, and the market still treats him as a serious name, just not the top favorite right now.
FOX Sports lists Wembanyama at +2500 (fourth on its favorites table).
Polymarket has Wembanyama at 5.6% implied probability, behind SGA/Jokic/Cunningham.
NBA MVP odds Vegas Insider
Vegas Insider’s page is valuable because it shows multiple sportsbooks side-by-side (so you can see ranges rather than one number).
In the VegasInsider grid at the time of writing, Brown is listed in the +2500 to +4000 range across the books displayed. Wembanyama shows up around +1200 to +2000 on the same table.
That’s the heart of this story: Perkins is calling Brown the front-runner, while sportsbooks are still pricing Brown behind the top cluster.
NBA MVP odds Polymarket
Polymarket gives you a clean “crowd probability” snapshot. At the time of writing, it had:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 56%
Nikola Jokic: 19.9%
Cade Cunningham: 13.6%
Victor Wembanyama: 5.6%
Jaylen Brown: 2%
So even if Perk’s list is trying to elevate Brown into the top slot, Polymarket still treats Brown as a long shot relative to the leaders.
NBA MVP odds Kalshi
Kalshi’s basketball awards category page shows “MVP Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander” around 56% in its preview snippet.
However, Kalshi’s pages didn’t reliably render a full, readable candidate board in this capture, so we can’t verify Jaylen Brown’s exact Kalshi price or ranking at time of writing.
The big picture: Perkins put Brown first on his ESPN list. But the market snapshots (VegasInsider + FOX Sports’ odds table + Polymarket) still say the MVP race is being priced around SGA and Jokic at the top, with Brown sitting well behind them for now.
Erik Anderson is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, MLB and NFL for Heavy.com. He also focuses on the trading card market. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson
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