The bookmakers in Las Vegas are pretty high on Los Angeles Lakers youngster Kyle Kuzma. So much so that they have pegged him as having the same odds of taking home this upcoming season's Most Valuable Player trophy as Detroit Pistons cornerstone player Blake Griffin, as explained by Eric Rosales of Sports Betting Dime.
This is more of a letdown for Griffin as it is an overreaction to Kuzma's breakout rookie campaign. After the blockbuster deal that sent Griffin to the Pistons, the 29-year-old has not had ample time to fully adjust to life in the Motor City. Nonetheless, he did post familiar Blake Griffin-like numbers in 25 games with the Pistons with 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 33.2 minutes per contest.
The oddsmakers appear to be sleeping on Griffin, who was once an MVP finalist himself some four years ago. With reigning NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey in the fray, it would not be surprising to see a resurgence from Griffin this year.
For his part, Kuzma, along with Rookie of the Year runner-up Donovan Mitchell, was one of the biggest surprises of last season's rookie class. He outperformed most, if not all, of his preseason projections, and forced his way into the ROTY conversation. Lonzo Ball was the supposed prized rookie of the Lakers, but Kuzma did have a thing or two to say about that assumption.
For context, though, both Griffin and Kuzma are +20000 to win MVP. This is an absolute far cry from front-runner LeBron James who is pegged at +250.
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