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2026 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Odds (Archive)

Originally published on February 19, 2026

We’re set for the second half of the 2026 NBA season, so it’s time to take another look at some of the best offshore sportsbooks offering their NBA MVP odds on the players who are in contention for the award this season. Below, we list the top favorites, and then we isolate a couple of our NBA MVP bets and their corresponding odds. Let’s discuss which players we believe will be giving us the best value for our NBA MVP buck!

2026 NBA MVP Odds

PlayerTeamOddsSportsbook
Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderThunder-210
Nikola JokicNuggets+300
Cade CunninghamPistons+1500
Luka DoncicLakers+2000
Jaylen BrownCeltics+5000

NBA MVP Award: Players to Watch

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-210)

Is it really a surprise that the reigning MVP has the lowest odds on the board? Let’s face it, everything is better, including your stats, when you are surrounded by elite players. And that’s precisely the situation we have with the 27-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, SGA for short.

SGA was not only selected as the best player in the league, but he was also on the best team last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning NBA champions. Not much has changed this year, as the Thunder are once again the best team in the NBA.

The Thunder are the chalkiest favorite on the board to win the title this year at odds of roughly +123 at Bookmaker. Therefore, the experts are predicting OKC to claim the title yet again, and they will only do it if all cylinders are clicking, including those that belong to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

While I never like to lay juice on a futures bet, this is a case where we’re taking the best player on the best team, so it makes a lot of sense.

Nikola Jokic (+300)

Those who have been living under a rock or just returned from Saturn may not know it, but Denver’s Serbian sensation, Nikola Jokic, has won the league’s most coveted personal award on three occasions (2021, 2022, and 2024). It would not be outlandish to believe he could take home the hardware again this year.

After all, the Nuggets are still one of the best teams in the league, and Jokic is still relatively young at age 30.

In a bit of irony, Jokic had a statistically better year last year than he did when he won the award in the 2023-2024 season. In 2023-2025, he tallied 29.6 points, 12.7 boards, and had 10.2 assists per game compared to his last MVP-winning season, when his slash line was 26.4/12.4/9.0.

If you’re going to bet on this year’s NBA MVP, then you could do much worse than Nikola Jokic.

The only issue here is that what would need to happen is the Nuggets would have to get red-hot in the second half of the season. Jokic has already missed some time due to injury, so he’ll have to stuff the stat sheet even more than usual to overtake Shai.

Cade Cunningham (+1500)

If you would have taken Cade Cunningham to win NBA MVP before the season, you would have gotten much better odds. That tells you how much of a surprise it’s been to see the Pistons dominating opponents, establishing themselves as the best team in the Eastern Conference.

As the top scorer and playmaker on the team, Cade is carrying this squad back to prominence. What if we get some voter fatigue on Shai and Jokic, pushing them towards the newcomer in Cade? 

After all, think about it: where would the Pistons be without Cade this year? Probably a play-in team at best. Definitely not among the top squads in the NBA.

At NBA MVP odds of +1500, this is the best longshot bet on the board.

Open a Sportsbook Account

Getting in the game with an opinion that makes you cash is what it’s all about. The only way to do that is to open an account at one or more of the most trustworthy, reliable, and reputable sportsbooks in the industry, like the several online sportsbooks featured at BMR.

Remember, the lines and odds don’t stay stagnant. They move, so why not review our NBA MVP odds and get down when the getting is good? Lock in on a line, and you’ll never have to worry that you missed out on value.

*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.