The Eastern Conference Finals hasn’t ended yet, but you can already put your bets in for who will win MVP of the NBA Finals. Now that the Golden State Warriors have secured their spot in the championship, Stephen Curry has emerged as the favorite to win the award at +100 odds on Tipico Sportsbook.
It’s been an elusive award for Curry, who has two regular season MVPs to his name but has yet to win the Finals MVP in five previous trips. While he was easily the best player on the Warriors during their first championship run, in 2014-15, the award went to Andre Iguodala. And Kevin Durant won MVP of their next two championships. In the years Golden State lost, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard won.
However, Curry, who was named the inaugural Western Conference Finals MVP after Thursday’s win, has his best opportunity ahead of him.
Stephen Curry is presented with the FIRST Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy awarded to the Western Conference Finals MVP! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/lK8reLZsY4
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2022
Boston Celtics All-Stars Jayson Tatum (+185) and Jayen Brown (+900) have the second and third best Finals MVP odds, followed by Klay Thompson and Draymond Green at +1300 apiece. Jimmy Butler has the best odds of any Miami Heat player at +2000, though that could potentially shorten if Miami forces a Game 7 on Friday.
Regardless of which team from the East advances, this might be the first time Curry has a legitimate argument as the best player in the series. Though he was the league MVP and betting favorite in 2015, James was already a champion and still widely considered the NBA’s top dog — and he played like it both years, gaining Finals MVP buzz in a loss.
Little did we know at the time, that would be Curry’s best shot at winning it until now. The Warriors lost in 2016, Durant came over from OKC and Curry wasn’t their best player anymore. And once Durant and Klay Thompson went down in 2019, the Warriors didn’t stand a chance against Leonard and the Toronto Raptors.
Now, Curry is the top dog again. If the Celtics advance, there’s a case to be made for Tatum as the best player in the series, but he simply doesn’t have the same experience on this stage. Same can be said for Butler. No one on either Eastern Conference team has Curry’s combination of skill and Finals experience. And both teams would be an underdog to the Warriors, who have -145 odds to win it all.
That puts Curry, 34, in the driver seat for NBA Finals MVP, the last piece missing from his legendary career. And because the Warriors are no longer the young upstarts, there’s no guarantee he’ll get another shot. Now is the time.
