NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the way in updated 2020 NBA MVP odds

Author Photo
Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden finished 1-2 in MVP voting last season.

Oddsmakers at the SuperBookUSA have updated their odds to win the 2020 NBA MVP .

Before jumping into the actual odds, here are five quick takeaways based on the most recent update.

Giannis still leads the pack

Giannis Antetokounmpo opened as the MVP front runner back in July and nothing has changed as he's still leading the pack in the most recent update. The Greek Freak's current odds have improved to 3-1, slightly up after opening at 7-2.

It's actually somewhat surprising given that his scoring numbers are down significantly from last season while the Bucks have shown they may struggle to match last year's 60-win pace.

Here comes KAT

Years from now, scholars will look back on the opening odds to win the MVP and wonder how on earth Karl-Anthony Towns was at one point 100-1.

Towns has been a wrecking ball to begin the season, averaging 27.3 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 53% on over eight 3-point attempts per game. If Towns leads the Timberwolves to a middle of the pack finish in a loaded Western Conference, he'll be right there in the conversation at the end of the season.

You can still buy low on Siakam

When the opening odds were first released in the offseason, Pascal Siakam was among the large group of longshots listed at 100-1. After a head-turning opening week, Siakam is one of the biggest early risers as his odds have shot all the way up to 40-1. There are now only 12 players with better MVP odds than Siakam who at the time of this writing ranks fifth in the NBA at scoring at 28.0 points per game, a significant improvement from last season when he averaged 16.9.

FiveThirtyEight's projections currently have the Raptors finishing with 48 wins which would rank third in the East based on their projections. If the Raptors can prove a legitimate threat to finishing ahead of the 76ers and/or Bucks, the current odds of 40-1 could be a steal.

Steph Curry's plummeting odds

Curry entered the season second in MVP odds trailing only Antetokounmpo. Now following his broken hand and Golden State's bad start, Curry is now all the way down at 50-1.

AD separates from LeBron

LeBron James is certainly still capable of winning the MVP. But prior to the season, the odds were close to even on determining whether James or Anthony Davis was the more serious MVP candidate as Davis entered at 10-1, just ahead of James at 12-1.

Just over a week into the season, Davis is now second behind only Antetokounmpo at 4-1 while James has slightly dropped back to 14-1. The oddsmakers now see Davis as over three times more likely to win the MVP.

Here are the latest favourites as of Wednesday, October 31.

2020 NBA MVP Odds
Giannis Antetokounmpo 3-1
Anthony Davis 4-1
James Harden 11-2
Kawhi Leonard 10-1
Joel Embiid 10-1
Nikola Jokic 12-1
LeBron James 14-1
Damian Lillard 25-1
Kyrie Irving 25-1
Donovan Mitchell 25-1
Luka Doncic 30-1
Karl-Anthony Towns 30-1
Pascal Siakam 40-1
Ben Simmons 40-1
Russell Westbrook 40-1
Stephen Curry 50-1
Paul George 50-1
Trae Young 50-1

The views on this page do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its clubs.

Author(s)
Micah Adams Photo

Micah Adams is a Managing Editor at Sporting News.