NBA MVP odds tracker: Joel Embiid overtakes Nikola Jokic as favorite to win

Thursday, March 16 update: Well, we have seen a major shift in the MVP race. Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, who was priced at +300 to win the award earlier in the week, has been moved up to -110 to become the new favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. Nikola Jokic is now +150 in what is a bit of a role reversal from last year’s race. Last year, Embiid held the lead for most of the season before Jokic came on late.

Embiid has been dominant over the last seven games in particular, averaging 36.6 points per game on 60/47/83 shooting splits. If the 76ers can climb up the East standings, that’ll further bolster Embiid’s case. However, there’s now some value on Jokic for those who believe this late movement is more noise than real traction for the Sixers center.

The 2022-23 NBA regular season is entering the last stages and the MVP race appears to be all but settled. Here’s a look at the latest odds to win MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook.

NBA MVP odds

Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic is running away with this market, and for good reason. Jokic has been consistently brilliant as the Nuggets look to secure the top seed in the Western Conference. Denver is finally having good injury luck and now Jokic is set to three-peat as the league MVP, something which hasn’t been done since Larry Bird in the mid 1980s.

The question now for Jokic will be whether he can parlay this regular season dominance into playoff success. The Nuggets have come up mostly empty in Jokic’s tenure when it comes to the playoffs, with the only notable accomplishment being a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the Orlando bubble against the Clippers. With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. healthy, now is the time for Jokic to start making deep playoff runs to back up his regular season accolades.