This is the year to bet LeBron to win the MVP

LeBron James is not the favorite to win the NBA MVP, Russell Westbrook is at +350. The King doesn’t have the second-best odds either, Golden State’s Kevin Durant does at +450. He isn’t the third option, that would be Kawhi Leonard (+650). The Cavs star is +750, wager $100 to win $750. This is the year to bet LeBron to win the MVP.

Dating back to 2006, King James has never had odds this long to win the regular season Most Valuable Player award and he has never even had worse than the second-best odds to win.

Note: In 2007, he was tied with Kobe and Dirk for best odds

LeBron wasn’t a finalist for the 2016-17 NBA MVP, that was the first time since 2008 he didn’t make the cut and his last MVP season came in 2012-13. This might make some bettors believe his best days are behind him.

That’s not the case. Last year, LeBron was first in Real Plus-Minus, an estimate of a player’s impact on the court, and Wins Added, an estimate of the number of wins a player contributed to his team. His true shooting percentage last season was also better than Westbrook, Harden and Leonard. Plus, only Leonard can match LeBron on the defensive end of the court.

The odds suggest LeBron has taken a step back but that isn’t true. He is as great as he always has been. The King might not win but at +750, those aren’t bad odds for the best player in the league.

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Odds to win the 2017-18 NBA MVP (Bovada)