{"id":61221,"date":"2017-10-19T17:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T00:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=61221"},"modified":"2017-10-19T15:14:53","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T22:14:53","slug":"lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard Favorites to Win NBA MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not a surprise to see Cleveland\u2019s LeBron James as a favorite to win the NBA\u2019s Most Valuable Player award, but he has company at the top spot. San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard is also a 4-1 pick to win the award after the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season.<\/p>\n

\"NBA
Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 LeBron James and San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard are both 4-1 favorites to win this season\u2019s NBA MVP award. (Image: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even more startling was that the Spurs small forward was ahead of the league\u2019s superstar when the odds opened a few months ago. He was a 6-1 pick, while James began as 7-1. But Leonard is nursing a quad injury that kept him out Wednesday\u2019s season opener and when he\u2019ll return is still to be determined.<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant was the preseason favorite at 4-1, but has slipped to third at 9-2. Last year\u2019s MVP Russell Westbrook started at 7-2 and is now fourth at 5-1. Milwaukee\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo is next at 7-1, followed by Houston\u2019s James Harden at 8-1 and Golden State\u2019s Steph Curry at 12-1.<\/p>\n

Wide Open Race<\/h2>\n

While the odds for what team will win the NBA Championship are pretty one-sided with the Warriors at 5-12, the contest for the league\u2019s best player is more competitive and several players could walk away with the trophy.<\/p>\n

If past winners are any indication of the future, you don\u2019t have to be on the best squad to be voted No.1. In the last four years only Curry won the MVP while being on a championship team.<\/p>\n

\n

Curry has won the award twice, but is behind teammate Durant, who won in 2014 when he was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now that the two are teammates winning it again will be difficult for both.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Handicapping Contestants<\/h2>\n

One dark horse candidate is Boston\u2019s Kyrie Irving<\/a>. The guard went to Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert over the summer and requested a trade. He was tired of being in the shadow of James and wanted to be the main man on a different team.<\/p>\n

Now that he is with the Celtics he should have that opportunity. Before the trade he was 50-1, but leaped to 15-1 once the news of his moving to Boston<\/a> was announced.<\/p>\n

Though his departure also helps his former teammate. James will now be required to carry the load almost completely, which he has done easily in the past. He won the award twice with his current team and twice with the Miami Heat. Getting his fifth MVP would put him with Michael Jordan and Bill Russell.<\/p>\n

Kareem Adbul-Jabbar has the most, being selected three times with the Milwaukee Bucks and three times with the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n

It will be difficult for Westbrook to repeat. Last year he averaged a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists, but he was the leader on a team with no comparable talent. Now with the addition of former New York Knick Carmelo Anthony and ex Indiana Pacer Paul George, there are more players that will want to score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not a surprise to see Cleveland\u2019s LeBron James as a favorite to win the NBA\u2019s Most Valuable Player award, but he has company at the top spot. San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard is also a 4-1 pick to win the award after the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season. Even more startling was that the Spurs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":61223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeBron James, Kawhi Leonard Favorites to Win NBA MVP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cleveland\u2019s LeBron James and San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard are the favorites to win the NBA\u2019s Most Valuable Player this season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard Favorites to Win NBA MVP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cleveland\u2019s LeBron James and San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard are the favorites to win the NBA\u2019s Most Valuable Player this season.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-20T00:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-19T22:14:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/kawhi-leonard-lebron-james-9ba9e32c3dd3c907.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1009\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/\",\"name\":\"LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard Favorites to Win NBA MVP\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/kawhi-leonard-lebron-james-9ba9e32c3dd3c907.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-20T00:00:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-19T22:14:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Cleveland\u2019s LeBron James and San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard are the favorites to win the NBA\u2019s Most Valuable Player this season.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-favorites-win-nba-mvp\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/kawhi-leonard-lebron-james-9ba9e32c3dd3c907.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/kawhi-leonard-lebron-james-9ba9e32c3dd3c907.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1009,\"caption\":\"Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 LeBron James and San Antonio\u2019s Kawhi Leonard are both 4-1 favorites to win this season\u2019s NBA MVP award. 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