Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA regular-season MVP champion, is once more the favorite to win the award this season.
And this is already case after just one month into the new 2019-2020 US pro basketball season.
The sportsbook William Hill New Jersey this week had him at +250. FanDuel listed him at +230 and most of the state’s other 16 sports bookies at similar odds. Behind him they had James Harden at around +350.
The bookies odds clearly underline the good start the 22-year-old Nigerian-born Greek has had this season. Make no mistake though; the towering Milwaukee Bucks guard is not going to have things all his own way.
The 2.11m ‘Greek Freak’ is going to have a real battle on his hands fighting off high-flying Harden, the Houston Rocket’s super hot guard.
Right now Hardin, 30 and 1.95m tall, can show the better statistics after the first four weeks of competition.
At the season’s start the feeling in the basketball world was that Houston’s acquisition of Russell Westbrook might diminish Harden’s role.
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It hasn’t happened yet
It hasn’t happened. The two all-star guards have been working superbly together in leading the Rocket’s to their 11-4 record.
Hardin in particular, has shone brightly. After 15 games he is averaging 38.4 points per game. Better still, he seems to be in the kind mood and form to up that to 40-plus. And no one has done that since Wilt Chamberlain in the mid 1960s.
Harden already has seven 40-plus games under his belt. He has also notched up 35 or more in eight of his last nine outings.
It further underlines his value to Houston that his average of 7.6 assists per game makes him eighth-best in the league.
Antetokounmpo too has got out his blocks quickly and sparkled early. His scoring average of 30.3 points, 14.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists isn’t quite as impressive as Harden’s.
However, the fact that the Bucks currently head the Eastern Conference may have something to do with the current New Jersey sportsbetting odds.
Bucks have better win-lose record
After 15 games Antetokounmpo has led the Bucks to a better win-lose record (12-3). The Bucks are the best in the east with the Boston Celtics close behind at 11-3.
With a record of 11-3 Harden’s Rockets meantime are third behind the Lakers (12-2) and the Nuggets (10-3) in the Western Conference.
William Hill New Jersey and its fellow state bookies currently have the Bucks (+550) in third place behind the Los Angeles Clippers (+300) and Lakers (+350). The Rockets (+800) are in 5th place behind the Philadelphia 76ers (+600).
Winning or losing the championship may not matter, however. If Harden can continue his scoring spree and Antetokounmpo is unable to match him, the heavily-bearded Rockets guard might still prevail.
Right now LeBron James (+600), Luka Doncic (+700) and Anthony Davis (+1200) follow Antetokounmpo and Harden as MVP favorites.
It is at a distance, though and right now everything points to this year’s MVP contest being a fierce two-horse race.
