2021-22 NBA Awards Odds: DPOY, Sixth Man & Most Improved
Hoop heads and NBA fans are ready to block the bookies and launch from downtown for the 2021-22 NBA season and some of the best season-long futures bets to wager on are in NBA awards odds.
Those include the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year. Odds Shark also has basketball betting news for the prized NBA MVP Odds and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
The best basketball betting sites have newly released NBA awards odds for each of these accolades and below we break down the candidates to snag the trophies for the 2021-22 season:
NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Odds
To the surprise of no one, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is once again atop the oddsboard to take home yet another NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Gobert has won the award in three of the past four seasons and appears to be in prime position to take home another.
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Utah’s defense has been its key to success in recent years and if it maintains its pace, it will be hard to overlook Gobert’s contributions, especially since he also ranks at the top of the NBA in contested field-goal percentage in the paint. However, there is one player in the East who may challenge Gobert: Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. Simmons is tied with Gobert atop the board at +350.
If you have watched Simmons play, you are aware that he is lights-out on the defensive side of the ball. He may not have the obvious defensive box score stats of Gobert or a player like Myles Turner but he put up a very respectable 1.6 steals per game along with 7.2 rebounds last season.
Where his impact is lost on the stat sheet is how he impacts the game defensively on the perimeter. He’s typically tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player at the three-point line and the narrative exists now in the NBA that he’s the best perimeter defender in the league over the likes of studs like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
However, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Simmons and where he may play the 2021-22 season. Once he begins playing again, he will be right in the thick of the race for NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22.
Rudy Gobert & Ben Simmons Lead NBA DPOY Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | +350 |
| Ben Simmons | +350 |
| Myles Turner | +750 |
| Anthony Davis | +900 |
| Joel Embiid | +1000 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | +1000 |
| Bam Adebayo | +1300 |
| Jrue Holiday | +2000 |
| Matisse Thybulle | +2000 |
| Draymond Green | +2200 |
| Clint Capella | +3500 |
Odds as of October 19 at BetOnline Sportsbook
NBA Sixth Man Of The Year Odds
The Sixth Man of the Year competition was a two-headed race a year ago between two guys on the same team – Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz. As we approach the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season, Clarkson opens as the favorite to take home his second Sixth Man of the Year Award in a row.
The former Laker and Cavalier had bounced around the league trying to find a role suited to his skill set and Utah has seemingly unlocked his offensive potential. Clarkson finished the 2020-21 NBA season averaging 18.4 points through 68 games, only starting one of them.
His most significant improvement has come in his three-point shot. He hit at a 34.7 percent clip on an average of 8.8 attempts per game last season. Considering Clarkson only averaged 26.7 minutes of game time, head coach Quin Snyder has given him the greenest of lights to fire away when he’s on the court to pace the offense while Donovan Mitchell sits.
Jordan Clarkson Sits Atop NBA Sixth Man Of The Year Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jordan Clarkson | +550 |
| Tyler Herro | +1000 |
| Joe Ingles | +1200 |
| Derrick Rose | +1200 |
| Patty Mills | +1200 |
| Kevin Huerter | +1400 |
| Tyrese Haliburton | +1400 |
| Goran Dragic | +1800 |
| Coby White | +1800 |
| Jordan Poole | +2000 |
| Terrence Ross | +2000 |
| Bobby Portis | +2200 |
Odds as of October 19 at BetOnline Sportsbook
NBA Most Improved Player Of The Year Odds
Michael Porter Jr. is an up-and-coming star in the NBA. Porter improved his numbers dramatically from his first year to his second, and oddsmakers believe that this improvement will continue in 2021-22. Not only did Porter improve in every statistical category in his sophomore season, he also played a significantly bigger role for the Nuggets late in the season and in the postseason.
Porter is in a prime position to take that next step in his career and become an all-star in 2021-22. The Nuggets should be one of the top teams in the NBA with the likes of league MVP Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the fold. Porter could be in for a massive year, especially with the Nuggets easing Murray back in following his return from a torn ACL.
Sharing the top spot with the Nugget in the NBA Most Improved Player odds are Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Porter Jr. of the Houston Rockets.
Poole is heading into his third year and oddsmakers expect another big jump from the Michigan alumnus. Poole put up solid numbers in the 2020-21 NBA season, averaging 12.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a 21-year-old. He will enjoy a bigger role this year and a massive leap is anticipated.
Kevin Porter Jr. had a much bigger role than Poole last season, playing 32.1 minutes per game and averaging 16.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Porter will likely play the same role this season on a rebuilding Rockets team. If he can continue to build on those numbers, he could be a major threat to take home the award.
Three-Way Tie At The Top In Latest NBA Most Improved Player Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jordan Poole | +900 |
| Kevin Porter Jr. | +900 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | +900 |
| OG Anunoby | +1400 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | +1400 |
| Collin Sexton | +1600 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | +1600 |
| Zion Williamson | +2000 |
| Darius Garland | +2200 |
| De’Aaron Fox | +2200 |
| Christian Wood | +2500 |
| Jaylen Brown | +2500 |
| Zach LaVine | +2500 |
Odds as of October 19 at BetOnline Sportsbook
How To Read NBA Awards Odds
When you go to any sportsbook, you’ll see prop odds for the various NBA awards listed like so:
Sixth Man Of The Year
- Lou Williams +150
- Spencer Dinwiddie +300
- Terrence Ross +500
Generally, favorites are represented by the minus sign (-), whereas underdogs are shown by the plus sign (+). In this case, the player with the lowest odds is the front-runner, the rest are dogs.
If you were to bet $100 on Williams, you’d get a payout of $250 – you get your $100 back along with your winnings of $150. That same $100 on Ross would give you $600 – your original money is returned coupled with your prize of $500. Bets on underdogs are riskier, which is why they come with greater rewards.
To find out what you’d win based on your bet amount and the odds offered at the betting site, check out our Odds Calculator.
What Is An NBA Prop Bet?
This is a wager on the occurrence or non-occurrence of specific player or team milestones that may not directly relate to the outcome of a certain game. The prop bet here is on odds to win different NBA awards. These are set by oddsmakers early but you’ll notice that the lines move as the season progresses. A coach could be a lock for Coach of the Year in December only to see his odds shift as his team underperforms in February. We suggest jumping on odds you like when you see them to get the most value out of your bets.
