SGA will look to join a prestigious list of NBA legends this season, going for his third consecutive MVP Award, but there's a 7'5 Frenchman standing in his way.
Best Bet
Victor Wembanyama @ $3.00
There's still so much improvement to come in Wemby's game, especially on the offensive end.
The Frenchman averaged 25 points per game last season while winning the Defensive Player of the Year, and a jump to 28 points per game along with the Spurs producing a top-three record in the NBA should be enough.
The bigger concern is Wemby not playing the minimum games required, but he qualified last year with 64 games. Last season the Spur only averaged 29.2 minutes per game, so if that jumps to 32 minutes per game along with improvement to his offensive game, we could see Wemby averaging 30 and 12 this season.
Bet on Victor Wembanyama for MVP with betr
Next Best
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander @ $4.50
The three-peat narrative kills him, like it killed Nikola Jokic, where Joel Embiid was awarded the MVP off the back of a late-season flurry.
The last player to win three straight MVPs was Larry Bird in 1984, and if SGA were to do it, he would join the company of Bird, Russell and Chamberlain.
The Thunder will likely have the best record in the NBA and SGA will likely average 30 points per game again, but history is not on the Canadian's side.
Bet on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP with betr
Value Bet
Cade Cunningham @ $26
20 of the last 21 players to win the MVP have finished top-six in voting the year prior, which narrows it down to Wemby, SGA, Doncic, Jokic, Jaylen Brown and Detroit point guard Cade Cunningham.
With Jaylen Brown moving to Philadelphia in a star-studded lineup, we can rule him out, which makes Cade our value.
Cunningham's points output was actually down compared to the season prior, averaging 23.9 per game, but he did lead the Pistons to the best record in the East. In 2024-25, Cunningham averaged 26.1 points per game. If he can better that number this season and once again lead Detroit to the best record in the East, he's a chance.
