The NBA MVP Award may very well come down to big men, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic. The All-Star Game is quickly approaching, giving us a chance to assess how the storylines will shake out for the second half of the season. Both Embiid and Jokic are continuing to dominate their opponents on a nightly basis, which makes for a fun race down the stretch. Sure enough, the latest NBA MVP odds show that both centers are far and away ahead of their competition.
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NBA MVP Odds: Joel Embiid & Nikola Jokic Lead the Way
Check out the latest NBA MVP odds below, per FanDuel Sportsbook:
Nikola Jokic is looking to win his third-straight MVP Award and has done nothing in the first half to show voters he shouldn't be the man carrying the hardware at season's end. He is currently averaging a triple-double, ranking 16th in the league in points per game (25.1), sixth in rebounds per game (11.1) and second in assists per game (10.0). He leads the Denver Nuggets to a 35-16 record, good for first place in the Western Conference.
If anyone is going to dethrone Jokic it could very well be Joel Embiid, who has consistently led the NBA in scoring. Despite coming into the season behind Luka Doncic (+400) at +600 to win the MVP Trophy, Embiid now finds himself squarely in the second spot behind Jokic. Embiid leads the league in points per game (33.5), ranking 11th in rebounds per game (10.1) adding 4.2 assists for the 76ers (33-17).
Embiid acknowledged recently that he remains behind Jokic in the MVP race despite putting in a ton of work in the offseason to reach his full potential.
"I could get sad and mad about it, but I feel like everything that happens in my life happens for a reason," Embiid said, per NBC Sports. "And if the MVP wasn't supposed to be mine this year, I guess maybe it is not.
"But the positive that I also took away from it, is that maybe that's what keeps me healthy to make sure I'm ready for the playoffs. Because if I were to chase after the MVP, maybe I would have burnt out like two years ago."
Still, Embiid has a lot to be proud of from his first-half efforts. And we could very well be looking at a Joel Embiid-Nikola Jokic MVP duel based on the latest NBA MVP odds.
Be sure to use OddsShopper tools to get the best value on NBA bets throughout the remainder of the season!
