Sneaky Bets for MVP, Rookie of the Year as NBA Season Tips Off
Betting
The 2021-2022 NBA regular season tipped off earlier this week with a double-header of action. The Milwaukee Bucks took on the Brooklyn Nets, while the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Golden State Warriors.
As those four powerhouse teams squared off on the floor, there were many players on both teams who would be in the discussion for league MVP. While last season’s MVP came from a different team — Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets — superstars such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo dotted the floor Tuesday night.
Even though the season already tipped off, there is still plenty of time to place futures wagerson individual awards such as this season’s MVP and Rookie of the Year. Here are some sneaky basketball betting picks that could return significant value.
MVP: Bradley Beal
Last year’s MVP, Jokic, finds himself seventh on the list of odds-on favorite to win this season’s MVP, at +1500. The leader in this category is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks at +380. The next closest is Durant at +600.
While those guys could all win the award, of course, if you’re looking for some value, keep your eyes on Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards. His current odds are +6600, which would mean you’d win $6,600 if you wagered $100 on him and he won the award.
Last season, Beal finished second in the league in scoring with 31.3 points per game. Scoring leaders are almost always in the conversation for league MVP, so Beal is absurdly low on the list based on that alone.
If Beal is able to will the Wizards into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference this season, he’d at least be near the top of the contenders for MVP. That alone makes him worth the shot.
MVP: Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell has shorter odds of +3000. He finds himself on the same team as last year’s MVP, Jokic, which in and of itself buries him a bit in the MVP conversation. However, he has been on fire lately, and he could continue that streak into this season.
In the postseason last year, he averaged 32.3 points per game. If he’s able to somehow continue that pace into this year, he could end up leading the league in scoring.
And, again, scoring leaders have to be in the discussion for MVP.
ROY: Alperen Sengun
Sengun of the Houston Rockets is a young player, but he’s very polished for his age. In Europe last season, he averaged 19 points and 9 rebounds per game — at only 18 years old. Let’s not forget that was in a professional basketball league, too.
He is behind a lot of other shooters on the Rockets, which may not leave a lot of room for a ton of points. However, this is why his odds present a good value. Right now, his odds are +1600 to win this season’s Rookie of the Year Award.
ROY: James Bouknight
If you want to go on strictly scoring potential, look no further than Bouknight of the Charlotte Hornets. While playing for the University of Connecticut last season, he averaged 18.7 points per game.
He has a natural scoring touch, and he could bring that to Charlotte in just his first season in the league. Again, he’s not getting as much press as some of the top picks in the draft, which is why his odds are +2500. It may make for a good value play, though, compared to some of the others on the list.
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