Updated NBA MVP Odds After Season’s First Week – Antetokounmpo & Curry Now +600 Co-Favorites

• Giannis Antetokoumpo and Steph Curry are the co-MVP favorites after the first week of the 2021-22 season
• Luka Doncic’s price has lengthened after a poor start for the Dallas Mavericks
• Who are the best bets for NBA MVP?

With just a week gone in the 2021-22 season, the NBA MVP odds have already changed dramatically. Luka Doncic has lost his status as favorite with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry tied atop the betting market.

Doncic has slid to fourth behind Kevin Durant, who has starred even amid the Brooklyn Nets’ 2-2 start. Ja Morant has made an appearance down the board at +3000 after a scintillating start to the campaign, including 37-point gem on opening night and a 40-point masterpiece in Memphis’ loss to the Lakers.

Anthony Davis has dropped to +3200 and Russell Westbrook is outside the top 15 following a slow start to the year. The Lakers have won just once in their opening three games, and Westbrook’s preseason struggles have carried over into competitive action.

2021-22 NBA MVP Odds

Odds as of Oct 26th at FanDuel

Big Four Lead the Way

Doncic’s price always looked too short. Offseason speculation about the Mavericks’ issues under Jason Kidd has been justified already with Dallas looking dysfunctional at both ends in the loss to the Hawks. Optimism for Kristaps Porzingis in 2021-22 already looks misplaced. Porzingis has been posting up an ill-advised amount, and he’s made just 11 of his 33 field goals thus far.

The Mavs’ record was always the biggest threat to Doncic’s MVP case. Nothing in the first week has damped those concerns. He’s still too short a price.

Davion Mitchell meet Steph Curry … pic.twitter.com/R5YCakcxj6

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 25, 2021

It gets more interesting with the top three. Steph Curry picked up Western Conference Player of the Week as the Warriors got off to a 3-0 start. The two-time former MVP was scintillating against the Clippers, and where team record is also a concern for him, Golden State managed beat the Lakers even with a quiet night from their star man.

Giannis and the Bucks blew out the Nets. They lost heavily to the Heat, too, but they followed up with two more wins. The Greek Freak has been his usual self at both ends. The defense – whether playing the four or five – has been elite, and the jump shot looks better than ever. An early season small sample of 72.5% from the stripe is also a great sign for Giannis MVP backers. He’s going to be in this race all year long if he stays healthy – his team record is not even a concern.

Where Durant and the Nets are expected to be a top two seed, it’s been a shaky start. Durant has been sensational, though. Putting up 31/10/6, he’s picked up where he left off in the playoffs. Games played remains a question mark over his candidacy, and that will put some bettors off at +650.

30 piece & a near triple-double for Giannis tonight. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/N3oKmMpc0P

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 26, 2021

Given how close they are in the odds right now, Giannis has to be the best value option. There’s a narrative case for each of them, but Antetokounmpo has the best combination of two-way brilliance and team success.

Watch Out for Embiid

Averaging 21 points per game with just 7.7 boards, Joel Embiid’s first three games haven’t been a statistical explosion. The Sixers look good even without Ben Simmons, though, going 2-1 in the first week and only narrowly losing to Brooklyn.

Joel Embiid is up to a career-high 26.4% assist rate (previous best of 18.4%) and has 15 assists to 4 turnovers through 3 games.

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) October 25, 2021

Already appearing on the injury report is a worry. Embiid’s health halted his MVP push last season, and the right knee is apparently troubling him just a week into this season. If you can live with the health risk, though, Embiid’s +1400 price is worth considering.

Early signs suggest the Sixers can be competitive this season, potentially sneaking into the top four. Embiid appears to have addressed his passing, the biggest weakness in his game, too.

Spotting double teams, picking out teammates and occasionally running the point, the career-high five assists per night only tells part of the story. If this improvement is for real, Embiid is going to not only help the Sixers win games, he’s going to be a legitimate MVP threat.

Joel Embiid is just ridiculously good pic.twitter.com/Ob3xjRMce5

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) October 25, 2021

After being arguably the best player in the NBA last season, Embiid is a great option at that price.

Jokic’s Price Too Short

Winning back-to-back MVPs is hard. Nikola Jokic is arguably the best center in the NBA and he’s going to put up gaudy numbers all year long, but he’s got his work cut out to even be a contender for this award. As good as Denver should be this season, it’s far from guaranteed that they’re a top four team.

Nobody knew anything about this Jokic pass pic.twitter.com/bF8JNOuiNy

— Fastbreak Breakfast (@fastbreakbreak) October 23, 2021

Where others have the narrative in their favor, it feels more like something Jokic has to overcome. He needs to put up otherworldly production and the Nuggets need to exceed all expectations if he’s to have a real chance at going back-to-back. While the defending MVP was superb against Phoenix and San Antonio, the performance against Cleveland doesn’t inspire confidence from Jokic or Denver.

Jokic is a top ten player. He’s bound to be near the top of the league in rebounding and assisting once again along with an efficient 25+ per night. Still, the +1800 price is just too short to be worth any real value.