Only a few days into the offseason, LeBron James is once again among the favorites to take home the Most Valuable Player award, having agreed to a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to make the West Coast his new home.
According to Mark Gallant of The Action Network, James moved from a +700 to +400 at Bovada last offseason after Kyrie Irving was traded, leaving all the work on his shoulders and a better chance to post the necessary numbers to take home the award, but it was James Harden taking home the hardware, despite starting with +1000 odds a day before the 2017-18 season started.
This time around James is the lone man at the top with +300, followed shortly by Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and James Harden — all tied at +400.
Depending on the further moves made in the next few days, James' odds could rise or drop, depending on the supporting cast he has around him, as another star is likely to reduce his chances of earning his fifth MVP award, tying Michael Jordan and Bill Russell, while remaining one shy of Kareem Abdul Jabbar for a tie of the most by one player.
Six of the top seven MVP favorites reside in the Western Conference, while 10 of the 15 candidates listed by SportsBook are also from the West.
James has not won the award since his 2012-13 season with the Miami Heat, making it the longest dry streak of his career since being drafted first overall in 2003.
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