NBA Awards betting season has come to a close, with several interesting races coming to a head during the season’s final week.
We take a look at the final NBA Awards odds, where the MVP is all but decided, with Nikola Jokic the clear favorite to win for the third time at -5000 odds.
Luka Doncic made the MVP race interesting, but too little too late it appears, as awards voters look likely to roll with Jokic for the third time in four years.
But the other awards, which have massive stakes in the betting world, are firmly up in the air.
This is going to end as a final tally of all awards, fueled mostly by what voters think, and less-so what we believe.
“We must divorce what your own feelings are about an award. I would vote for Jalen Williams to win Most Improved Player, but I think he has next to no chance to win it,” NBC Sports analyst Jay Croucher tells The Post.
When betting on awards, Croucher says there are two things to consider.
“I think it’s a combination of one, understanding what precedent is in the award,” Croucher said, “and two, listening to what voters are actually saying.”
We bring in Croucher, an ex-head trader at PointsBet, to dive into the final NBA Awards odds and make predictions.
NBA Awards finalists will be announced sometime in mid-April and will be given out in late May.
Final NBA Awards odds and predictions
NBA MVP prediction: Nikola Jokic (-5000, FanDuel)
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Nikola Jokic | -5000 |
| Luka Doncic | 21/1 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 46/1 |
There was some discourse in the final week of the season speculating that Luka Doncic could steal some votes, but there isn’t enough public outpouring for from voters to think this will go any other way on Jokic.
“I think this one is absolutely done,” Croucher told The Post. “It felt like there was a little bit of a window if Luka Doncic went crazy or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came back from injury and brought the Thunder to the No. 1 seed, but that hasn’t happened. Luka has played very well, but his team’s seeding is too far back. This one is completely wrapped.”
NBA Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert (-2500, BetMGM)
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | -2500 |
| Victor Wembanyama | +950 |
“I think this one is a wrap to the same extent as MVP,” Croucher said. “Rudy Gobert is anchoring the No. 1 defense; his stats are all off the map.”
Wembanyama was trending in an interesting direction at one point, getting to +200 at one point to win Defensive Player of the year.
But the odds clearly suggest it is Gobert’s award and that’s fair.
NBA Sixth Man of the Year: Naz Reid (+225, DraftKings)
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Malik Monk | -250 |
| Naz Reid | +225 |
All-aboard the Naz Reid train, from 150/1 to teetering back and forth on favorite status.
Typically, the award is the points per game off the bench award, but Reid has a different case as the clear sixth man off the bench, helping keep the Timberwolves among the Western Conference favorites after Karl-Anthony Towns went down with injury.
“I think there are enough factors in Reid’s favor that now this is going to be a coin-flip,” Croucher explained. “Naz is doing this on a top seed while Monk is on an eight or nine seed … Naz’s shooting splits lap Monk’s; Naz is +280 (plus/minus) with him on the court, and the Kings are +10 with Monk. Naz has him with plus/minus, advanced stats with defense and team success. Monk’s case is he averages 1.6 more points per game and is a better ball handler and playmaker.”
This one will be very close, but give me the underdog here: Reid has a better case, and there’s enough of a voting team to lean in Reid’s direction.
NBA Most Improved Player: Tyrese Maxey? (-2000, Caesars)
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Tyrese Maxey | -2000 |
| Coby White | +700 |
A 52-point showing this week has moved Maxey from near pick ’em to -2000 odds.
“I think the market on this award, in particular, moves way too aggressively off of individual games,” Croucher said. “Maxey was magnificent against the Spurs, 52 points, but he also scored seven points the day before, if you take the two games in conjunction, he increased his scoring by 0.1 of a point per game, and he was actually inefficient – well he was below average for his own efficiency and for league efficiency.
“It matters clearly; we have to think who is changing their vote on that game; it seems like many. At one point, I thought Coby White should be favored to win the award, just odds agnostic, because he had a cleaner case. From 9.7 points per game to 19 points per game on really solid efficiency that was better than Maxey’s.”
Croucher notes that Most Improved Player is ranked-choice votes, meaning White could win by just accumulating second-place votes based on this score.
You could do worse than a flyer on White late, but the return of Embiid likely sways voters considerably.
NBA Coach of the Year: Jamahl Mosley (11/1, BetRivers)
| Coach | Odds |
|---|---|
| Mark Daigneault | -550 |
| Chris Finch | +600 |
| Jamahl Mosley | 11/1 |
There’s plenty of reason to question Mark Daigneault’s favorite status, as the Thunder have fallen a bit in the standings, looking like they will end the season top-three but not quite at the No. 1 seed.
“The Magic could have the same record as the Bucks. That’s completely insane,” Croucher says on the case for Jamahl Mosley to win the NBA Coach of the Year.
“It’s hard to tell how much this will resonate with voters, but they don’t have anyone that will sniff an All-NBA third-team.”
This will depend on final seeding; if the Magic can avoid finishing fifth, they could potentially jump up in a tight eastern conference race.
The odds really suggest Daigneault is going to win but that roster is seriously talented with an MVP candidate, it’s hard to argue that anyone has done more with less than Mosley.
Contrarian’s unite!
NBA Rookie of the Year: Victor Wembanyama (-10000, ESPN BET)
There is no sense wasting time here; Wembanyama is an alien.
NBA Clutch Player of the Year: Steph Curry (-150, Bet365)
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | -150 |
| DeMar DeRozan | +110 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 29/1 |
This award doesn’t really make sense, and the NBA should define the basis of the award more clearly.
It’s only the second year of the award’s existence, but it seems like the voters are latching on to clutch points per game as a main stat to cast a vote on.
This is where you see Curry and DeRozan, each averaging 4.5 points per game in the clutch.
It could be close in terms of voting, and for me, I would vote for LeBron James, but it doesn’t matter what we think.
Betting on the NBA?
- Check out the best NBA betting sites
- Read our guide on how to bet on basketball
- Get the latest NBA Championship odds
- Use the North Carolina betting apps
“The Bulls will play a clutch game at home against the Portland Trail Blazers; that doesn’t make DeRozan a better candidate to win an award,” Croucher explained.
We certainly think it’ll be Curry.
