NBA Odds: No Celtics Among Favorites To Win MVP Award In 2019-2020
Collective endeavor will factor more heavily than individual brilliance in any success the Boston Celtics achieve in 2019-20.
We conclude as much judging by the NBA MVP lines OddsShark released Monday via Twitter. No Celtics players rank among the 19 early favorites for the prestigious NBA honor, which Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed last season.
NBA MVP odds (BetOnline):
Antetokounmpo +300
Curry +500
Harden +550
Leonard/James +700
Davis +1000
Embiid/George/Westbrook +1400
Jokic +1600
Towns +2000
Lillard/Irving +2500
Doncic +3300
Mitchell/Zion +5000
Griffin/Butler +6600
DeRozan +8000— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) July 8, 2019
Kyrie Irving, who left the Celtics for the Brooklyn Nets this month in free agency, is the only one of these MVP hopefuls who has ties to Boston. The others are elite NBA players who have plied their trades elsewhere throughout their careers.
Kemba Walker is the only Celtic whose résumé boasts an All-NBA selection, and his was an appearance on the third team in 2019, far from the ranks of MVP hopefuls.
Perhaps Jayson Tatum will blossom into the superstar many hope he’ll become, or Gordon Hayward will come into his pre-injury form next season. Nevertheless, no one realistically expects anyone on the Celtics roster to vie for basketball’s most hallowed individual award next season.