2023-24 NBA MVP Odds: Who Are Top Contenders After All-Star Break?

With the NBA All-Star break in the rearview and with two months left until the postseason this is the time where contenders begin to establish themselves in the standings and this is also when everyone’s favorite topic of discussion really heats up:

MVP candidates!

And this year there are several candidates to choose from. We have many first time candidates and also many repeat contenders.

We will take a deep look at a few of the candidates and find opportunities for value when betting on these players.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. If you’re looking to bet on any NBA team, FanDuel Sportsbook has an amazing promotional offer. New users who sign up with the link below and wager $5 will receive $150 in bonus bets -- if their bet wins.

Sign up for FanDuel now!

NBA MVP Odds for 2023-24 Season

NBA MVP Contenders This Season

Nikola Jokic

It wouldn’t be an MVP conversation if we didn’t discuss the front-runner for this season’s award, The Joker.

Jokic has shown zero signs of a championship hangover; currently averaging 26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists a night while also shooting 58% from the field, it looks as if he is destined to be the first player since LeBron James from 2009-2012 to win three MVPs in four seasons.

If we compare Jokic’s current campaign to his previous two we will see that he is averaging more assists per game than he did in both ’21 and ’22, he is averaging more rebounds per game than in ’21, and he is on the same points per game trajectory as he was in both ’21 and ’22.

You may be wondering what makes this season different from last season when many people believed that Jokic was the MVP over Joel Embiid, and the answer is that this season Jokic is back to scoring the ball.

Last season, Jokic shot a career best 63% from the field, but he also took three fewer shots per game than during his MVP seasons.

That lowered his points per game average, but he also became a better facilitator, averaging a career best 9.8 assists per game, and in an age of record scoring, MVP voters might be less inclined to back a guy that wants to get his teammates involved.

The price for Jokic is a bit juicy, however if the Nuggets are going to make a run at the top seed in the west, it will be because Jokic carries them there, and I would rather take this price then what it could be come March.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Last season SGA or as I refer to him, SGATM, burst onto the scene with a career year that resulted with All-NBA First Team honors and a fifth-place finish in the MVP voting.

What is SGA doing for an encore?

For starters he currently leads the NBA in 30-point games with thirty-nine. He also is producing on defense, leading the NBA with an average of 2.2 steals per game, also a career best.

What I believe separates SGA from the other scorers in the NBA is the combination of the volume of shots he takes and the rate at which he makes those shots. Six players currently average 20 or more field goal attempts per game, and only two of those six are shooting 50% or better from the field.

SGA is one of them with a 54.6% shooting average, a career best, the other is Joel Embiid who is ineligible for the MVP award due to games missed.

The most important piece to SGA’s MVP campaign is that his play isn’t just filling up the stat sheet; it is helping his team win. The Thunder are currently second place in the West and are all but guaranteed to make the playoffs for the first time since the bubble season of 2020.

If winning continues post All-Star break, it is because SGATM is cashing in. There is a reason this price is as short as it is and if you want to jump on the Thunder train, then an SGA MVP ticket would be a good purchase.

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum is the best player on a Boston Celtics team that is far and away the best team in the NBA right now.

However if you check the stat sheet Tatum isn’t doing anything different than he has in past seasons. He is shooting 47.5% from the field, which is on par for his career, he is averaging eight rebounds and four assists a night which he has done the two previous seasons, and he is still averaging 27 points per game. However, that is down from a career best 30 points per game last season.

The drop in scoring I attribute to the fact that the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have helped take some of the offensive responsibility away from Tatum.

Now, why do I like the odds on a guy who is scoring less and not having to carry a team to the best record in the NBA?

This is simply I reading the market and believing in agendas. Just two weeks ago these odds were +5000, even longer on other Sportsbooks, and suddenly Tatum is being flooded with bets.

Now, part of that could be due to the Embiid injury eliminating him from MVP contention, it could also be the Milwaukee Bucks inability to get out of their own way which is hurting Giannis Antetokounmpo’s chances at another MVP.

Or there is the other angle.

Now, I am not one for conspiracies, but I find it interesting how as we have hit the All-Star break every sports talk show in the country is suddenly discussing Tatum’s MVP chances.

It reminds me an awful lot of last season when everyone had Jokic penciled in as a third straight MVP winner, and then suddenly the Embiid conversations began happening and the rest is history.

A wise man once said, “Follow the money” and at least for the moment the money is pointing towards the possibility of Tatum being the first Celtic MVP since Larry Bird in 1986.

Jalen Brunson

The hype around the New York Knicks is real this season, and no this isn’t us New Yorkers setting the expectations too high as we sometimes do, but for the first time since the mid-90’s there is a genuine belief that the Knicks can be contenders for a championship and that is in large part of Jalen Brunson.

The MVP case for Brunson doesn’t have as much to do with his stats but to a greater extent of what would the Knicks season look like without him.

Don’t get me wrong, Brunson is filling up the stat sheet, with his career high 27 points per game average on 48% shooting from the field, while also averaging 6.5 assists a night.

However if you take a closer look at the Knicks roster in comparison to their place in the standings, all signs point to Brunson being worthy of MVP consideration.

Julius Randle and trade acquisition OG Anunoby have both been out with injuries and aren’t expected back until at least early March and centers Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein have also been out with injuries.

That has left the Knicks to keep the season in tact with several players who don’t ordinarily see significant playing time, and for Brunson to break these players in.

If the Knicks can maintain their place in the standings and even move up a spot or two in terms of playoff seeding, Jalen Brunson is going to be the reason for it, and while this price is certainly long, it is definitely worth a sprinkle for the first time All-Star. Bing Bong!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.