NBA superstar LeBron James is facing high odds from sportsbooks to win the NBA MVP for the 2022-23 season. Here’s a look at the payout and how James’ stats compare.
What Happened: Heading into the 2022-23 National Basketball Association season, sportsbooks are placing a low probability on LeBron James to win his fifth regular season MVP award.
Here’s a look at the current odds from sportsbooks for LeBron James:
- DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG): +2000
- FanDuel, a unit of Flutter Entertainment (OTC:PDYPY): +3000
- BetMGM, a joint venture of Entain and MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM): +2500
- Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR): +2500
Across sportsbooks, James averages a payout of +2200, which would turn a $100 bet into $2,300 for a profit of $2,200.
According to data from SportsOddsHistory, which date back to 2006-07, this is the highest odds paid by a James MVP win. In fact, James was the MVP favorite or second place candidate in the NBA preseason for 13 consecutive seasons. Here’s how the odds for James at the start of each NBA season have fared.
- 2006-07: +250, favorite
- 2007-08: +500, favorite
- 2008-09: +250, favorite
- 2009-10: +275, favorite
- 2010-11: +300, tied for second
- 2011-12: +250, favorite
- 2012-13: +160, favorite
- 2013-14: +150, favorite
- 2014-15: -110, favorite
- 2015-16: +250, favorite
- 2016-17: +430, tied for second
- 2017-18: +400, favorite
- 2018-19: +385, favorite
- 2019-20: +1000, tied for fifth
- 2020-21: +800, third place
- 2021-22: +1400, seventh place
Related Link: LeBron James Biopic Coming In 2023: Here's Which Streaming Platform It Will Air On
Why It’s Important: The lower likelihood for James to win the NBA MVP comes after a season that saw the Los Angeles Lakers miss the NBA Playoffs.
James finished the 2021-22 NBA season with averages of 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists across 56 games. This was the highest points per game total in a season for James since 2005-06, and the second highest in his career.
The Los Angeles Lakers had only missed the NBA Playoffs five times since 1948 prior to the 2013-14 season. Since that season, the Lakers have missed the playoffs in seven of the last nine seasons, including two with James now a member of the team.
James has vowed to never miss the NBA Playoffs again after the Lakers missing last season’s playoffs. James has only missed the NBA Playoffs four times in his 19 seasons in the league.
James' four MVP wins came when he was a favorite to win the trophy in the preseason and came when he posted numbers similar to his stat line for 2022-23. Here are the years he won the MVP awards.
- 2008-09: 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists
- 2009-10: 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists
- 2011-12: 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists
- 2012-13: 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists
If James is fully healthy in 2022-23 and also plays with a chip on his shoulder from missing the NBA Playoffs and being disrespected by the sportsbooks, a fifth MVP award could be a wager for sports bettors to watch.
See Also: Is Lebron James Striving For Greatness In The NFT Space?
Photo: Courtesy of Erik Drost on flickr
