With the Nuggets punching their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history earlier this week and the Heat and Celtics still battling in the Eastern Conference Finals, it's a perfect opportunity to check out the latest odds on who could win the 2023 NBA Finals MVP.
Last season, Golden State superstar Stephen Curry won his first-ever Finals MVP, averaging 31.2 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game against the Celtics. He's also shot 48.2 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from three-point range as the Warriors took home their fourth championship since 2015.
Nuggets' center Nikola Jokic was the betting favourite to win Finals MVP a couple of weeks ago and that hasn't changed with Denver winning the Western Conference Finals. Jokic currently has $1.55 odds, but we know it could change depending on who wins the East and how the first game or two of the Finals plays out.
Below, we'll look at the latest odds from TAB for Finals MVP before discussing a couple of sleepers that bettors should consider
2023 NBA Finals MVP Odds
All odds courtesy of TAB
| Player | Odds |
| Nikola Jokic, Nuggets | $1.55 |
| Jimmy Butler, Heat | $5.00 |
| Jayson Tatum, Celtics | $6.00 |
| Jamal Murray, Nuggets | $12 |
| Bam Adebayo, Heat | $34 |
| Jaylen Brown, Celtics | $41 |
| Michael Porter Jr., Nuggets | $101 |
| Caleb Martin, Heat | $151 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nuggets | $151 |
| Gabe Vincent, Heat | $151 |
| Aaron Gordon, Nuggets | $151 |
| Bruce Brown, Nuggets | $201 |
| Al Horford, Celtics | $501 |
| Marcus Smart, Celtics | $501 |
| Robert Williams III, Celtics | $501 |
NBA Finals MVP 2023 Odds: Favourites
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets ($1.55). To no one's surprise, Jokic is the favorite to win the Finals MVP after his stellar performance in the Western Conference Finals. He averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 11.8 assists and added the WCF MVP trophy to his decorated resume.
In the Nuggets' four-game sweep over the Lakers, the two-time league MVP had three games with a triple-double and has recorded eight triple-doubles in the playoffs. Jokic has arguably been the best player in the playoffs this year, with the possible exception of Jimmy Butler, who has been playing out of his mind and has Miami on the cusp of returning to the NBA Finals. The last time a "pure center" won Finals MVP was Shaquille O'Neal in 2001-02, but big men Dirk Nowitzki (2010-11) and Tim Duncan (2004-05) have also won the award in the past 20 years.
If Jokic can lift the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history, his performance this season and in the postseason will go down as one of the best we've seen in recent memory. Even though there isn't a ton of value on Jokic, bettors might want to put down a wager now because his Finals MVP odds will go up if he has a 20 or 30-point triple-double in a Game 1 win of the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals MVP 2023 Odds: Sleepers
Jamal Murray, Nuggets ($12). It's odd to consider Murray as a sleeper to win Finals MVP, especially since he had a great Western Conference Finals and has the fourth-best odds currently to win it behind Jokic, Butler, and Tatum.
In the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, the dynamic point guard scored 32.5 points per game on 52.7 percent shooting from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range. He also had three games with 30-plus points, which was almost the same amount of 30-point games Murray had in the first two rounds (4). If the Nuggets want to finish off this magical season with an NBA title, they need Murray to play at his absolute best because whoever they face will try to limit Jokic's scoring opportunities. It's possible he goes off and carries the offense like he did in the second half of Game 2 and the first half of Game 3 of the WCF, thus giving him an edge over Jokic.
We mentioned Tatum earlier in this section, who surprisingly has better odds to win Finals MVP ($6.00) over Murray despite the Celtics being down 3-1 to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Even though Tatum has the third shortest odds to win it, Boston has to win three-straight games (and four more in the NBA Finals), which remains unlikely. Tatum's odds will only shorten as Boston keeps winning, so his current $6.00 odds are the best you'll get, but we still think it's a waste of money to wager on him at this point.
Bam Adebayo, Heat ($34). With the Heat still up 3-1 on the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, we will throw Adebayo in the sleeper category for Finals MVP. The young center will need to be Butler's Robin to his Batman if the Heat want to take down their second No. 1 seed in the NBA playoffs. Adebayo is averaging 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in the ECF, which is a slight difference from the Eastern Conference semis, where he had 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
The Heat cannot afford for Adebayo to have an off game in the NBA Finals if they get there because Jokic and Murray can easily go off for 30-plus points each. Even more than that, if the Heat were to upset the Nuggets, it would likely be because Adebayo limited Jokic and controlled the paint on Murray drives. Butler will always score more, but Adebayo's two-way play could potentially be viewed as more valuable.
If bettors aren't feeling Adebayo and more of want a long-shot Heat ticket in their portfolio, Gabe Vincent ($151) is someone to watch out for. Vincent has produced four 20-point games and knocked down at least four threes six times in the NBA playoffs. However, the 26-year-old guard is dealing with an ankle injury that he suffered in the third quarter in Game 4. Vincent returned to the game, but it will be interesting to see if the injury lingers into Game 5.
