Ja Morant put on a show last night, scoring 52 points with a couple of dazzling shots and a chorus of “MVP” chants from the Memphis contingent.
Even Allen Iverson gave Mr. Morant some MVP support on social media, but the number crunchers aren’t ready to hand over the hardware to the league’s most improved player, just yet.
SportsBetting released updated NBA awards odds Tuesday, and Morant went from +1200, or 12-1, to +800 overnight. Just last week, Morant had odds as high as +2500, and he went into the season with +4000 chances.
Joel Embiid remains the odds-on favorite for MVP at -130 while Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo round out the Top 3.
Below are the latest numbers for MVP, Most Improved Player, ROY, DPOY, Sixth Man and Coach of the Year.
MVP
Joel Embiid -130
Nikola Jokic +300
G. Antetokounmpo +600
DeMar DeRozan +800
Ja Morant +800
Stephen Curry +2000
Devin Booker +2200
Luka Doncic +3300
Most Improved Player
Ja Morant -1200
Miles Bridges +900
Darius Garland +950
Dejounte Murray +1600
Anfernee Simons +3300
Rookie of the Year
Evan Mobley -600
Scottie Barnes +650
Cade Cunningham +1000
Josh Giddey +1100
Franz Wagner +2500
Defensive Player of the Year
Rudy Gobert -155
G. Antetokounmpo +375
Jaren Jackson Jr +550
Draymond Green +650
Mikal Bridges +1400
Joel Embiid +2000
Evan Mobley +3300
Sixth Man of the Year
Tyler Herro -3300
Kelly Oubre Jr. +1400
Kevin Love +1800
Montrezl Harrell +6000
Jordan Clarkson +6600
Coach of the Year
Monty Williams -225
JB Bickerstaff +350
Taylor Jenkins +650
Erik Spoelstra +900
Billy Donovan +1200
Steve Kerr +2800