The 2024-25 NBA season is well underway and we've already seen some movement at the top of the NBA MVP odds board with Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic supplanting Oklahoma City Thunder sensation Shai Gilgeous Alexander for the No. 1 spot.
Joker has somehow found a new gear in his tenth season in the league and is averaging a career-high 30.7 points per game. His 11 triple-doubles lead all players by a landslide and have the undermanned Nuggets off to an encouraging 16-12 start despite losses to key personnel.
Let's take a peek at the 2025 NBA Most Valuable Player odds as the new season continues to unfold.
2025 NBA MVP odds
| Player |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Nikola Jokic |
+120 | +115 | +125 |
 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
+170 | +170 | +140 |
 Giannis Antetokounmpo |
+425 | +430 | +450 |
 Jayson Tatum |
+1000 | +1300 | +1200 |
 Victor Wembanyama |
+6500 | +9500 | +8000 |
 Anthony Davis |
+10000 | +15000 | +12500 |
 Karl-Anthony Towns |
+15000 | +9500 | +15000 |
 Anthony Edwards |
+15000 | +15000 | +15000 |
 Donovan Mitchell |
+15000 | +15000 | +15000 |
| Jalen Brunson |
+15000 | +15000 | +15000 |
Odds as of 12-27-2024
2024 NBA MVP favorites
Nikola Jokic (+115 to +125)
I mean, what more is there to say about Nikola Jokic at this point?
The man is an elite offense unto himself. He'll score about as efficiently as anyone in NBA history, and do so entirely within the flow of an attack he also coordinates, with passing few have ever had the vision for.
While the loss of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope further stretches a roster that may have already lacked for Bruce Brown last season, we can expect a supremely-efficient triple-double average from Jokic, and 50+ wins for the Denver Nuggets, which is a pretty iron-clad argument for MVP contention, at the very least.
The biggest reason to fade Jokic's MVP chase is, honestly, voter fatigue. The historical implications of a fourth MVP (which is how many LeBron James and Bill Russell each won) may also weigh on ballots come April.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30.7 | 12.6 | 9.4 | 56.7 |
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+140 to +170)
As the Clippers bid adieu to Paul George this summer, one couldn't help but notice how well things are going for the Oklahoma City Thunder on the other side of that fateful 2019 PG trade.
Not only did the Thunder pocket a zillion draft picks in the deal, but a young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished second in MVP voting last season and could very well win the damn thing in 2025. Meanwhile, OKC is looking to make a deep playoff run after precociously notching the West's No. 1 seed last season.
SGA is a beast on both sides of the ball; equally impossible to stay in front of and avoid. One of the NBA's best pure scorers, he operates more efficiently than just about any lead ball-handler in the league — all the more impressive given the unconventional nature of his game.
The Thunder have upside to spare, and might just make the kind of mini-leap that puts them in a class by themselves in the West, which will shine the MVP spotlight on Gilgeous-Alexander even brighter.
SGA was also the preseason target at BetMGM for lots of MVP bettors, leading both ticket count (14.5%) and handle (24.1%). His NBA odds bear watching as the season unfolds.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30.6 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 51.0 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo (+425 to +450)
Jokic isn't the only multiple MVP on the board. Two-time winner Giannis Antetokounmpo has slid into the Top 3 after a sizzling stretch in late November in which he averaged 32.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. His strong play earned the Bucks a spot in the NBA Cup Final, where they silenced the Thunder, 97-81.
Now in his 12th season with the Bucks, the Greek Freak is scoring at a career-high rate while hitting 61.4% of his shots, the fourth best mark in the league.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32.7 | 11.6 | 6.0 | 61.3 |
Jayson Tatum (+1000 to +1300)
The NBA is a league of petty superstars, so there was little doubt how Jayson Tatum would start the season after being denied NBA Finals MVP honors and riding the pine at the Paris Olympics.
The five-time All-Star is averaging 28.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and a career-high 5.7 assists per game while shooting a blistering 46.3% from the field and 37.2% from deep.
Tatum is locked in to a degree we haven't seen this early in the season before and appears hellbent on reminding the world (or at least Steve Kerr) just how dominant he really is.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28.8 | 9.3 | 5.7 | 46.3 |
Best NBA bonuses
New Users
Bet $5, Get $150 instantly
Claim Now
See our DraftKings sportsbook review
New Users
Get a no-sweat first bet
Up to $1,500 bonus bets back if your first bet loses! Claim Now
See our BetMGM sportsbook review
21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
NBA MVP predictions
Oddsmakers are telling us that if the season ended today, Nikola Jokic (-115 at DraftKings) would be the NBA MVP in a close race over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+380 at DraftKings). Jokic's -115 odds convert to a 53.5% implied probability, while SGA's +380 odds convert to an implied probability of 20.8%.
Jon Metler's NBA MVP prediction: Nikola Jokic
If LeBron James could win the NBA MVP award four times in five seasons, why can't Nikola Jokic? The Denver Nuggets center could achieve it in a similar way, winning twice, missing out in the third year, and then winning back-to-back again in years four and five.
It might be a boring pick, and I'm sure many will root for literally anyone else, but the reality is that Jokic's stats are insane, and he fully deserves to win it. He's a walking triple-double and the most dominant player in the NBA.
NBA MVP odds over time
This year's MVP chase is sure to be a heavyweight melee. Follow along all season as we update this graphic with contenders rising and falling.
2025 NBA MVP opening odds
- Luka Doncic +350
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +400
- Nikola Jokic +475
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +850
- Jayson Tatum +1000
- Anthony Edwards +1200
- Jalen Brunson +1400
- Victor Wembanyama +2000
- Ja Morant +3500
- Joel Embiid +5000
How to read NBA MVP odds
Most sportsbooks will display odds in the American format as listed above. Nikola Jokic had all but locked up the award by the end of the 2024 season, so his odds were listed with a minus (-) sign ahead of the number.
- Nikola Jokic -1000
The (-) meant that Jokic was an odds-on favorite, and a bettor needed to wager $1,000 to win $100. Other contenders in the MVP race had plus (+) odds to win.
- Luka Doncic +650
Here, a bettor stood to profit $650 for a $100 wager on Doncic if he had won the award.
If American odds aren't your thing, simply use a tool like our odds converter to switch the odds to decimal or fractional format. Most online sportsbooks also give you the option to change the odds format that you see.
Popular NBA futures odds
- NBA championship odds
- NBA Rookie of the Year odds
- NBA Most Improved Player odds
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds
NBA MVP betting trends
Here are some trends you may want to consider before placing a bet on the NBA MVP at your favorite basketball betting site:
- Repeat winners are somewhat common. Jokic's 2022 win marked the 13th different player to have won the award two (or more) years in a row.
- The MVP usually comes from an elite team. Since 1985, only five MVP winners have come from a team that didn't finish first or second in its conference.
- The award is usually given to a player with a few years of experience. A rookie hasn't won MVP since Wes Unseld in 1969, and only four MVPs have been younger than 23 years old.
- Centers have historically dominated the MVP award. While they went on a two-decade drought between Shaquille O'Neal (2000) and Nikola Jokic (2021), centers have now won the last four MVPs.
NBA MVP voting criteria
The NBA's Most Valuable Player award is voted on by a panel of 100 media members, comprised of both national and local analysts.
Only regular-season games are taken into account (ballots are due shortly after the schedule concludes), and the league has intentionally not included specific criteria to guide voters, leading to a more open interpretation of "value", and the type of debate that now dominates media cycles and podcasts every March-April.
Despite the absence of a rubric, voters have generally trended towards awarding an MVP who leads a dominant team campaign (the "best player on the best team" is a popular contender argument).
Statistics are also a crucial factor to consider. However, with the rise of analytic models, traditional stats like points, rebounds, and assists have begun to carry less raw weight, despite still being part of the equation. Advanced stats like win shares, plus-minus, and VORP (value over replacement player) are leaned upon heavily in most discussions.
A player who has MVP moments throughout the season will resonate with voters too: monster stat lines in big games, outperforming rivals in head-to-head matchups, clutch performances — anything to add extra appeal to their MVP case.
In today's age of load management, how much an MVP plays is of increasing importance. The league's newly-imposed 65-game minimum for award contenders will help curb the debate here, but a player who suits up every night is inherently more valuable.
And, while it's unfortunate to admit, voter fatigue absolutely governs this process when a player wins several awards and the media perform mental gymnastics to vote for another player, whether out of boredom or contrarianism. It happened to Michael Jordan. It happened to LeBron James. It possibly just happened to Nikola Jokic. It will happen again.
NBA MVP betting history
A quick look at recent NBA MVPs and their opening odds.
| Season | Player | Opening Odds | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Nikola Jokic | +450 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2022-23 | Joel Embiid | +600 |  Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2021-22 | Nikola Jokic | +1600 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2020-21 | Nikola Jokic | +2500 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2019-20 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | +210 |  Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2018-19 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | +475 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2017-18 | James Harden | +1100 |  Houston Rockets |
| 2016-17 | Russell Westbrook | +200 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2015-16 | Stephen Curry | +650 |  Golden State Warriors |
| 2014-15 | Stephen Curry | +1600 | Golden State Warriors |
NBA MVP odds FAQ
The NBA intentionally leaves "value" open to the interpretation of voters, who typically look for a dominant player on an elite team.
NBA voters submit MVP ballots shortly after the regular season concludes, and playoff games are not considered.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets won the 2024 NBA MVP.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the all-time record with six NBA MVPs.
Jokic is once again the MVP favorite at -115.
The NBA MVP award is voted on by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from the United States and Canada. This panel consists of approximately 100 members who cover the NBA regularly throughout the season. They vote for the player they believe has been the most valuable to their team based on their performance throughout the regular season.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for winning the most NBA MVP awards in league history. He won the MVP award six times during his legendary career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers.
