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Doug KezirianESPN
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is now the NBA MVP favorite or runner-up in most sportsbooks, thanks to an unexpected commitment to the regular season that led the Lakers to the league’s best record.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook was the first operator to make James the favorite, posting 4-1 chances on Monday night after the 36-year-old brought the Lakers together for a comeback victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. James finished with 46 points out of 19 out of 26 shots, including 7 out of 11 in 3 point territory.
“People have to be more amazed at what he is doing the older he gets. I think it has to influence the minds of some voters. I think it can influence some people who did not vote for him last year,” head of SuperBook NBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said ESPN.
James started the season among the top six favorites, reaching odds of 14-1. However, despite a brief turnaround from the NBA finals in October to the opening night of this season, James played all games with an average of 25.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists.
“The expectation was that he would waste some time, take it easy and prepare for the playoffs. The fact that he did not do that changed the appearance of the chances,” said Sherman. “Anthony Davis lost time and a half that just fulfilled his role and underperformed. That helped in the case of LeBron.”
William Hill currently lists James (3-1) as the second favorite, behind Luka Doncic (+280).
“He’s heating up, so people are supporting him, thinking the old body is going to get up,” William Hill’s trading director, Nick Bogdanovich, told ESPN, also sharing that the house has to lose if James finally raises the trophy.
DraftKings have James and Doncic as 5-1 co-favorites. Sports betting director John Avello told ESPN that he reduced the odds because of the bettors’ constant action over the past two weeks with odds as high as 10-1.
“He’s playing typical LeBron basketball. He’s doing everything,” said Avello. “Even at the end of the season, if he takes out a few games, it’s still about who did the most to get his team there.
The four-time MVP has not won the award since 2013. James finished as runner-up to Giannis Antetokounmpo last year, James Harden in 2018 and Kevin Durant in 2014. If James wins again, he will become the oldest MVP in the league and become will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5) and Bill Russell (5) as the only players in the league’s history to win at least five MVP trophies.
Doncic started this season as the favorite in betting and has remained close to the top in all sports betting. Durant (7-1), Joel Embiid (8-1) and Nikola Jokic (8-1) became a bigger part of the race. Antetokounmpo (9-1) is still among the leaders, but it will probably take a historic season for the reigning twice MVP to become a peat of three.
“Giannis is almost trying to get rid of the conversation. The Bucks are doing less than expected. There is voter fatigue and people can’t help but remember the playoffs,” said Sherman, referring to Milwaukee Bucks’ inability to reach to the NBA finals, despite being the most important seed of the Eastern Conference in each of the past two seasons.
Voters are members of the media who essentially have a responsibility to determine their own interpretation of the award. Discussions often involve criteria centered on the player with the most impressive season or who is most valuable to their team.
“Obviously, if you take LeBron out of the Lakers, they are a different team, but they can take some stretches. But if you take Luka out of the Mavericks, they will be a really bad team,” said Sherman.
The Lakers are currently 14-4, while the Dallas Mavericks are 8-9. Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers have the best seed in the East now, with a record of 12-6.