MVP betting odds fluctuate wildly after Week One
The NBA season has only just got underway, yet already the talk among bookmakers, gamblers and even everyday fans concerns who will be favorite to scoop the MVP gong at the end of the season.
The reason for the interest has everything to do with being part of the technological age. Let's find out more, and also look at some of the top contenders, as well as a couple of tempting early season long shots.
Online sports betting sends the world MVP crazy
It is often said that the internet makes the world a smaller place, and nowhere is this more true than when it comes to sport, and specifically to sports betting. From online casinos branching out to traditional bookmakers going online, there are a whole host of new betting sites for 2017, and they cover practically every sport in every nation of the world.
Suddenly, gamblers in the UK are betting on NFL games and the NBA, while those in North America are placing wagers on English Premiership matches or Australian tennis tournaments.
The choice goes even deeper than that. Not only can betting enthusiasts place wagers on individual games or outright league winners. There are also side bets on everything from who will win the Golden Boot in the MLS to which English Premiership manager will be the next to lose his job. And that's where the interest in the NBA MVP comes into play.
Who are the top contenders?
Perhaps the biggest swing from week one concerned Philadelphia's Ben Simmons. Prior to the season opener, some bookmakers were offering odds as long as 300/1 on him being voted MVP at the end of the season. Anyone who took those odds will be clapping themselves on the back, as following the rookie's record breaking performance in the 76ers' win over the Pistons, some sportsbooks have slashed the odds to 33/1.
Oddly, the other player whose odds saw the biggest drop was Simmons' teammate Joel Embiid. That's not to say that Embiid is a bad shout for MVP, the Cameroonian has talent by the bucketful and at 23, the world is his oyster. It is more a case that when put alongside Simmons' antics, Embiid had an indifferent season opener, so it is a little mystifying that bookmakers have reduced his MVP odds from 40/1 before the game to 25/1 afterwards.
Away from all the excitement in Philly, there are some other interesting shots that could be worth your silver dollar. Cavaliers legend LeBron James is unsurprisingly the bookmakers' favorite at this early stage, although he could well be overtaken by the Bucks mercurial rising star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who continues to impress even his opponents.
An outside shot
Those are the big players attracting the MVP headlines, but for an outside shot, you could do far worse than to consider Blake Griffin. Those in the know think this could be the year for the 28 year old from Oklahoma, and if he stays fit, he has the potential to lead an otherwise underpowered Clippers team to some giant-killing victories. It'1s the stuff that MVP dreams are made of, and the 50/1 odds seem too good to refuse.