With the regular season right around the corner, now is a great time to take stock of the NBA prop-betting market. Awards are the best place to start in this regard because the NBA Finals hierarchy has been talked about ad nauseam to this point. Plus, the race for individual hardware is always compelling in the Association.
Our 2021 NBA props journey will begin with picks for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player. They represent three of the most competitive award fields this year, so putting them under the microscope prior to the start of the regular season simply feels right.
Let's begin with everyone's favorite: the MVP betting landscape. Here are the latest NBA prop betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline:
| NBA MVP Pick |  |
|---|---|
| Luka Doncic | +450 |
| Kevin Durant | +700 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | +700 |
| Stephen Curry | +800 |
| Joel Embiid | +850 |
| LeBron James | +1200 |
| Damian Lillard | +1400 |
| James Harden | +1400 |
| Nikola Jokic | +1600 |
| Trae Young | +1600 |
| Jayson Tatum | +1600 |
| Devin Booker | +2200 |
| Russell Westbrook | +2500 |
| Chris Paul | +2500 |
| Anthony Davis | +2800 |
| Zion Williamson | +2800 |
| Donovan Mitchell | +3300 |
| Paul George | +3300 |
| Ja Morant | +3500 |
| Bradley Beal | +4000 |
| Kyrie Irving | +4000 |
| Kawhi Leonard | +5000 |
| Jimmy Butler | +6600 |
| Jaylen Brown | +6600 |
| Jmmy butler | +6600 |
| Klay Thompson | +6600 |
| Julius Randle | +6600 |
| Khris Middleton | +6600 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | +8000 |
| Zach LaVine | +8000 |
| LaMelo Ball | +8000 |
| Ben Simmons | +8000 |
| Anthony Edwards | +15000 |
| Bam Adebayo | +15000 |
| Domantas Sabonis | +10000 |
| Brandon Ingram | +15000 |
| CJ McCollum | +15000 |
| Tobias Harris | +15000 |
| DeMar DeRozan | +15000 |
| Deandre Ayton | +20000 |
| De'Aaron Fox | +20000 |
| Christian Wood | +20000 |
| Jamal Murray | +25000 |
| Nikola Vucevic | +25000 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | +25000 |
| Malcolm Brogdon | +25000 |
| John Wall | +25000 |
| Jrue Holiday | +25000 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | +25000 |
| Kyle Lowry | +25000 |
You always want to double-check these NBA betting lines before making your NBA prop picks. NBA future odds always move as the season wears on and will shift at BetOnline and other top online sportsbooks as a result.
2021-22 NBA Awards Predictions
Our first batch of NBA prop predictions will focus on MVP honors since we've already dropped those NBA betting odds. Though we have provided the entire available field for the MVP hardware, we will be narrowing our scope for Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player, looking instead at only our top-10 candidates in each category.
2021-22 NBA MVP Pick
This year's NBA MVP landscape is truly fascinating. Nikola Jokic (+1600) turned last year's race into a foregone conclusion by the midway point. Injuries to LeBron James (+1200) and Joel Embiid (+850) helped his case, but he was arguably the top option regardless of context.
Here's the thing about the NBA's MVP award: It is almost always given to the best player from one of the league's six best teams. That logic is flawed. It's also the truth. That'll make it difficult for Jokic to repeat, even though he will be just as good. The Denver Nuggets are expected to be without Jamal Murray (+2500), their second-best player, for most of the year. That, in turn, suggests the Nuggets won't be good enough for Jokic to earn consideration.
Both LeBron and Embiid should loom at quality options. However, LeBron is entering his age-37 season and Embiid is a lock to miss at least 20 games every year. We don't expect either to play in enough contests to beat out this hyper-competitive.
Luka Doncic (+450) is the overwhelming favorite because his Dallas Mavericks squad both wants for another star and is built to steamroll the competition during the regular season. Still, we have questions about head coach Jason Kidd, a controversial hire who could hold his best player back with outmoded offensive ideologies.
Rolling with Kevin Durant (+700) or James Harden (+1400) is tempting now that Kyrie Irving (+4000) could miss all season due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. For our money, though, we are most intrigued by Giannis Antetokounmpo (+700), who hails from the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks, has two MVPs already to his name, and remains the type of player who can contend for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season.
OSB Prediction: Giannis Antetokounmpo (+700)
2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
Below is the list of the top-10 candidates to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year:
- Rudy Gobert (+330)
- Anthony Davis (+400)
- Ben Simmons (+700)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (+800)
- Joel Embiid (+900)
- Myles Turner (+900)
- Bam Adebayo (+1400)
- Jrue Holiday (+1600)
- Matisse Thybulle (+1600)
- Draymond Green (+2500)
We would recommend avoiding Rudy Gobert (+330) unless he starts inching towards a higher payout. He has won the Defensive Player of the Year award three times over the past half-decade. People will get voter fatigue, and we think the Utah Jazz's defense is a regression candidate.
As we already mentioned, Antetokounmpo (+800) is intriguing, but both he and Jrue Holiday (+1600) will take votes away from one another. Also: Holiday guards the opposing team's best player far more often.
Embiid (+900) might be the most dominant defensive player of the era. And yet, we find ourselves once again concerned about his ability to stay healthy.
That leaves to step out on a limb with Anthony Davis (+400). People tend to under-appreciate all he does on defense. That won't happen this year. The Los Angeles Lakers got rid of three of their five best defensive players from last season. If they remain elite on defense this year, it will be almost entirely because of Davis.
OSB Prediction: Anthony Davis (+400)
2021-22 NBA Most Improved Player Pick
Here are the players laying top-10 odds to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award:
- Jordan Poole (+550)
- Michael Porter (+1000)
- Kevin Porter Jr. (+1000)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+1400)
- OG Anunoby (+1400)
- Ja Morant (+1600)
- Dejounte Murray (+1600)
- Collin Sexton (+2000)
- Keldon Johnson (+2000)
- Tyrese Maxey (+2000)
The NBA's Most Improved Player landscape is almost always a crapshoot. That said, we can decipher some trends. Chief among them: Established stars never win the hardware. That eliminates names like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+1400) and Ja Morant (+1600).
Without mincing words, we endorse OG Anunoby (+1400). He is already the best on-ball defender in the game, and the Toronto Raptors are now expected to put the ball in his hands more often at the offensive end. We expect him to clear 18 points per game while contending for All-Defense honors. That doesn't make him a MIP shoo-in, but we feel confident in his overall candidacy.
OSB Prediction: OG Anunoby (+1400)
Check out this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one to use for all your NBA betting:
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