It's been almost a decade since Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James last won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, but even though he's turning 37 this coming December, it's still not easy to count out his chances of winning his fifth Maurice Podoloff Trophy. For one, according to the NBA MVP odds released by BetMGM, James has a price of +1400 to take home the coveted individual honor in the upcoming 2021-22 NBA season.

James isn't the favorite, though. That would be Dallas Mavericks golden boy Luka Doncic, who is labeled +400 to win MVP. Other players with shorter odds than the Lakers forward are Joel Embiid (+700), Kevin Durant (+700), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+800), Stephen Curry (+900), and Damian Lillard (+1100).

But here's an interesting trend which is an encouraging sign for James' chances of winning MVP again. According to research done by Owen Phillips of theF5, dating back to 2007, every player who was named MVP had preseason odds of +2500 or better.

This season, there are 14 players with odds of +2500 or better. That’s noteworthy because according to historical data from sportsoddshistory.com, no player since 2007 has won the MVP with longer preseason odds than +2500.

There are 14 players with odds of +2500 or better in the odds released by BetMGM, including reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (+1600) James Harden (+2500), and James' Lakers teammate Anthony Davis (+2500).

In other words, it appears as though there's going to be a wild MVP race ahead in the NBA, which is also emblematic of how even the competition is expected to be for the championship.