By Chris Havlicek
Updated 2/1/24 3:48am ET
Joel Embiid’s NBA MVP odds have shifted dramatically, following his latest injury. Nikola Jokic is the new favorite with -120 consensus odds.
Embiid is now a 20-to-1 longshot after having around +200 odds earlier this week. Given he is already ruled out for Thursday’s game in Utah, the Sixers center will only be allowed to miss three more games the rest of the season. That’s because of a new league rule that requires any award-winner to play at least 65 of a team’s 82 regular season games.
Embiid won the MVP last year after playing 66 games, which is by far the fewest for any MVP since media members began voting on the award.
Jokic has played 14 more games than Embiid this season and is unlikely to be affected by the new league rule. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the third-favorite at +300. Next are Luka Doncic at +550 and Giannis Antetokounmpo at +750.
If Jokic wins the award, he will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson as the only players with at least three MVP awards.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings)
Photo Courtesy: Icon Sportswire
