Are you willing to bet on anyone other than Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić to win the NBA Finals MVP?
The two first-team All-NBA members are the clear favorites for the award at BetMGM ahead of Game 1 on Thursday. Tatum is better than even money to win at -120, while Dončić is at +200.
Although Dončić is the consensus best player in the series, Tatum has significantly better odds than Dončić as the Celtics enter the finals as clear favorites. Boston is still -225 to win the finals, while Dallas is +180. The Celtics are favorites at home on Thursday evening with 6.5 points.
Tatum has averaged 26 points per game on 44% shooting so far in the postseason. If his three-point percentage returns, he could be in for a grand finale. Tatum is shooting just 29% from behind the arc in 14 postseason games, while shooting 37.6% from deep during the regular season.
Dončić’s field goal percentage has also dropped this postseason as he has dealt with some lingering injuries and increased defensive focus. After averaging almost 34 points per game in the regular season, Dončić is scoring just under 29 points per game this postseason and shooting 43.8% from the field, compared to 48.7% in the regular season.
After struggling in Dallas’ Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, Dončić bounced back with a huge game in Game 5. He shot 63.6% from the field with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Jaylen Brown is the clear number 3 favorite behind Tatum and Dončić at +625. Brown is averaging 25 points per game and shooting over 54% from the field in the playoffs. If you want Boston to be the favorite, he might be a better choice than Tatum.
Kyrie Irving is +1800 and wins Finals MVP as he returns to Boston for the first time as a member of the Mavericks. Irving last played against his former team in Boston during the 2022 postseason as a member of the Nets.
Irving has been phenomenal for the Mavericks so far in the playoffs. He shoots almost 49% and averages 22.8 points and 5.2 assists per game.
After those four players, the chances of MVP become very high. And you have to go a long way up the board to find the next Mavericks player. Favorites Nos. 5-8 are all Celtics players before you get to three Mavericks at +30000.
