by Ben Perks
Stephen Curry’s blistering form for the Warriors has made him the hot favorite to win the 2022 NBA MVP award. Curry las led his team to charge to nine wins in their last ten games. Can other favorites narrow the gap, or will the point guard claim his third MVP this season? Get insights and the latest odds from NBA betting sites online for Curry to take home the MVP award.
Stephen Curry
Curry looks unbeatable in this MVP race. His performances have helped the Warriors win all but one of their games this season. In fact, the 33-year-old looks even better than when he won the award in 2015 and 2019. His per-36 minutes’ numbers this season show that he averages his career’s third-most points and fourth-most assists. However, because of his extra focus on defense, he has the lowest field goal percentage (45.5%) since 2013 and the lowest three-point percentage of his career (41.1%).
As the Warriors are showing dominance in nearly every matchup, many expect him to revert to his career shooting averages. If he secures a 32-points per game average with over six rebounds, six assists, and two steals per game, he should be the 2022 MVP. Only two weeks ago, online sportsbooks had him at +500 to win. Now he’s at +180 at Bovada. It seems that only two things stand in Curry’s way: head coach Steve Kerr playing Klay Thompson and James Wiseman instead of Curry to stop him from burning out, and picking up an injury.
Kevin Durant
Durant stays as second favorite thanks to his performances helping Brooklyn climb up the standings to number two in the East. The Nets have won five of their last six; the only defeat was to the Warriors. Durant is first in the NBA in scoring (29.2 points per game) while only ranking 25th in minutes per night in all November games. At the moment, only Jokic has a higher field goal percentage than Durant, and no one has performed better from outside the three-point line (45.7%).
Durant’s PER (27.8) is the highest since 2016, and his true shooting percentage (66.6%) is the best of his career. Throw in his career-high assist rate (27.5%) and best defensive rebounding rate (21.7%) since 2017, and you have an all-time season. But because of Curry’s stats, Durant needs to do even better to grab the MVP award for the second time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis has been crushing it this season. Therefore, it’s incredible to see that he’s experiencing one of the worst shooting slumps in his career. The Greek is shooting 50.7 % from the floor. Yes, this is poor for Antetokounmpo – he was averaging 56.9% last season. However, he’s averaging 29.2% from the three, which is only a shade worse than last year – 30.3%.
It’s hard to comprehend that a player could bag 28 points, 12 rebounds, almost six assists, plus two blocks per game and still not finish in the top-two of MVP voting. That said, if the front two get injured, expect Giannis to become the new pack leader.
Nikola Jokic
This may come as a surprise: Jokic’s numbers are better than they were in his MVP-winning campaign last year. The Serb is up to 26.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, a 59.3% field goal percentage, and 41% on threes. The reason why he’s an outsider to win this season’s MVP is that he’s playing for an injury-plagued team. Jamal Murray was already out, but now Michael Porter Jr may also miss the season, leaving the Nuggets short in offense and defense.
These injuries have led Denver to lose five games in a row and fall to tenth in the Western Conference. However, due to his performances and Doncic’s injury, he’s still hanging around in the NBA MVP top five.
Luka Doncic
Doncic was starting to gain some serious momentum before his injury. Before his ankle and knee problems, the Slovenian had three straight double-doubles, with two steals and at least eight rebounds. Although Doncic is set to return soon, his stats don’t look the best. He averages fewer assists and points than last year. What’s more, the point/shooting guard has a lower field goal percentage and free throw percentage. If he doesn’t improve his numbers soon, Jimmy Butler may take his place in the MVP race.
2021-22 NBA MVP Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | +180 |
| Kevin Durant | +500 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | +750 |
| Nikola Jokic | +900 |
| Luka Doncic | +1500 |
| Jimmy Butler | +2200 |
| Joel Embiid | +2500 |
| Paul George | +3000 |
| Anthony Davis | +4000 |
| DeMar DeRozan | +4000 |
| Ja Morant | +4000 |
Want to learn about your NBA wagering options? Check out this NBA betting guide.
Ben is a sports journalist & part-time trader with a passion for finding +EV bets. Ben lives in Madrid, Spain where he enjoys the live poker scene, and sunshine where he covers UFC, MLB, NHL, NBA, as well as tennis betting.
