Getty Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
How quickly things can change in the NBA. While we’re in the early stages of the season, the push for the Most Valuable Player award is shaping up to be even more interesting than originally anticipated. Back in October, it was LeBron James holding down the top spot, but the emergence of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has shaken things up in a big way.
The original odds just prior to the season, courtesy of Bovada, looked as follows (h/t OddsShark):
- LeBron James +333
- Anthony Davis +450
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +500
- James Harden +650
- Kawhi Leonard +950
- Kevin Durant +1000
- Stephen Curry +1200
- Joel Embiid +1500
- Kyrie Irving +1500
- Russell Westbrook +1600
- Ben Simmons +2500
- Donovan Mitchell +2500
While Antetokounmpo found himself squarely in the mix, an exceptional start to the season paired with the Bucks sitting atop the Eastern Conference has shifted those odds. Giannis is no longer just one of the favorites, he is the standalone favorite to take home the hardware this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Takes Control of MVP Race
The odds to win the Most Valuable Player award have been updated a fair amount, and Antetokounmpo was one of the multiple players to see a big shift. After moving ahead of both Davis and LeBron, Giannis sits with even better odds than the latter had prior to the season on Bovada, but his odds currently at BetOnline are incredible.
First, these are the latest from Bovada:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +325
- Anthony Davis +450
- LeBron James +450
- Kawhi Leonard +650
- Stephen Curry +650
- James Harden +850
- Joel Embiid +1400
- Kevin Durant +1600
- Russell Westbrook +1800
Here’s a look at the BetOnline updated odds, which were updated on November 9:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +150
- Anthony Davis +450
- Kawhi Leonard +600
- Stephen Curry +600
- LeBron James +750
- James Harden +1000
- Kevin Durant +1000
- Joel Embiid +1400
- DeMar DeRozan +2000
Antetokounmpo has seen his odds skyrocket through the first stretch of the 2018-19 season. The Bucks star has done a little bit of everything and excelled across the board. Although he’s averaging 25.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game, those numbers are actually brought down by one game in which he played just 19 minutes due to injury.
Aside from that one shortened game, Giannis has posted a double-double in all but one of the other games. Arguably the most impressive aspect is that he’s shooting 54.4 percent from the field while leading the Bucks to an 8-2 start through the first 10 games. If this impressive run continues and Milwaukee keeps winning, it’ll be hard to make a case to not give Antetokounmpo the NBA MVP award.
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