NBA MVP Odds Greatly Impacted by Kyrie Irving Deal

NBA MVP Odds Greatly Impacted by Kyrie Irving Deal

Just ten days ago, NBA MVP odds were released at Paddy Power for the upcoming season. Many sportsbooks followed suit releasing their own (albeit similar) odds. The initial reaction on Twitter seemed to be that LeBron James was significantly undervalued. Many books had him at +750, generally fourth or fifth best odds in the league.

That all changed after the Kyrie Irving trade last night. The Cavs may not have helped their chances of beating the Warriors, but the King’s chances of winning his fifth MVP have gone up. He can now be found at +500 at the Westgate and several other offshore books who have re-opened their odds.

2017-18 NBA MVP Award adjustments

L James 5/1 (from 6/1)
K Irving 25/1 (from 50/1)
I Thomas 100/1 (from 30/1)

— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) August 22, 2017

As expected, Irving’s odds of winning his first MVP have gone way up. He no longer has to play second fiddle to LeBron and could potentially lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals. Just how well the Celtics play together as a team is still a mystery, but there was basically no chance of him winning the award with the Cavs.

Unfortunately for Isaiah Thomas, his odds plummeted from 30/1 to 100/1 at the Westgate. He burst onto the scene last year by averaging almost 30 points a game, but will have an entirely different role with the Cavs. His scoring ability was by far the most valuable aspect he brought to the Celtics squad and it might be greatly diminished in Cleveland. If he ever wants to win an MVP, he’ll have to wait until LeBron bolts for the western conference.

Surprisingly, Kawhi Leonard was the favorite at Bovada once they re-opened their odds. The top of the leaderboard is tight, but Leonard is the only one of the top candidates other than James whose odds have improved since opening last week.

Below is the full odds history from around the market.

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