Kemba Walker’s MVP Odds Continue Getting Better; Is He a Legitimate Candidate?

• Kemba Walker joins the Celtics after eight seasons in Charlotte
• Walker has played in just 11 playoff games his entire career
• Of all the considerable long shots to win MVP, is he the best bet?

Freed from the limiting shackles of a Michael Jordan-led roster construct, perhaps no All-Star switched up his basketball life better than Kemba Walker when he inked a free-agent deal with the Boston Celtics.

But his feel-good story could quickly dissipate as he takes his game from am aimless 82-game jaunt in nowheresville to the bright lights of one of the glamour franchises in basketball; the pressure to perform will be as high as he’s faced since he was the man at UConn.

Does Walker have it in him to be the  man? The early 2020 NBA MVP odds suggest that he’ll need the luck of the Irish.

2020 NBA MVP Odds

*Odds taken on 07/20/19. 

A three-time All-Star named to the All-NBA Third Team this past season, Walker’s odds dipped all the way to +6600, but still can be found as short as +5000. After opening with average odds of +8300, which shortened to +6600 on July 12, his average odds now sit at +6100.

Let’s unravel Walker’s legitimacy as your dark horse, and see if we can’t find another lurker with value.

Walker’s Environment Upgrade Worth Noting

While few would tell you that Boston’s roster is among the elite in the NBA, it’s easily the best assembly of talent that the 6’1″ waterbug point man has ever played with (and this is a team that just lost Al Horford and Kyrie Irving).

Perhaps there’s another level that Kemba can hit: he’s coming off a career year, posting  25.6 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 35.6% from deep, and grinding all 82 games.

This on a team whose second best player was Jeremy Lamb, and boasted the rotting corpses of Nicolas Batum and Tony Parker, as well as dried-up fountains of promise in Frank Kaminsky and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Kemba Walker is looking forward to working with Brad Stevens pic.twitter.com/jpz0b6g70X

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) July 17, 2019

On Boston, he’ll be on a team where Brad Stevens has shown the blueprint of what pint-size scoring guards can achieve when he empowered Isiah Thomas to be the closer.

Walker has every bit of the shot-making chops the Little Guy did. Going back to the 2015-16 campaign, Synergy stats say he’s shooting an impressive 37.8% on threes while coming off screens and off the dribble.

Kemba Walker notes that he has prior relationships with Tatum, Jaylen and Gordon. “I’m easy to get along with.”

— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) July 17, 2019

Over that same time, he’s a slick 41.4% spotting up from beyond the arc, making him an enticing option as the lead ball handler or the bail out option for the Jays (Tatum and Brown) as they drive to the bucket. He’ll be prominently featured either way.

Who’s the Best Long Shot Bet?

I’ve already gone on record as stating that Steph Curry and Anthony Davis should not be overlooked as MVP contenders, and I don’t believe the MVP award will slide past them, but if you’re seeking long shots with a shot, you want guys who are the undisputed top option, which Walker will be in Beantown.

However, as my colleague Angelo Montilla rightly pointed out, Damian Lillard is in a comfortable environment and is a steal at +2500.  I’d lean on those two with my extra bucks, after the favorites.