Philadelphia 76ers big-man Joel Embiid is the new betting favorite to win the 2021 NBA MVP award, per ESPN.
Embiid has been playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 30.2PPG, 11.6RPG, and 3.3APG on an impressive 52% shooting from the field, 42% shooting from three, and 86% shooting from the line.
He’s also tied for second-place in Win Shares with Giannis Antetokounmpo; albeit 2.5WS behind Nikola Jokic.
Embiid’s stellar play has impressed betting experts so much that Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill is now listing him as the new favorite to win MVP AT +200.
LeBron James is currently ranked second behind Embiid at +225; followed closely behind by Jokic at +350.
If Embiid does win the MVP award, he’ll become the first 76ers player to do so since Allen Iverson in 2001.
However, it will be difficult for Embiid to stave off James, who’s had to carry the Lakers’ offense in Anthony Davis’s absence.
Jokic has a legitimate claim at the MVP as well.
Perhaps no player in the NBA has been more efficient this season on the offensive end than Nikola Jokic.
Still, there’s a lot of basketball left to play.
There’s still an outside chance a dark horse candidate could enter the three-man race for MVP.