2019-20 NBA Awards Odds And Expert Picks

Hoop heads and basketball fans are ready to block the bookies and launch from downtown for the 2019-20 NBA season and some of the best season-long futures bets to wager on are for NBA player awards.

These include the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

Online sportsbook Bovada has unveiled the betting odds for each one of these award props and I’m going to give you my favorite pick for each accolade.

If you don’t want to bet on the individual NBA awards, skip this article altogether and check out each NBA team’s betting odds to make the playoffs and the OVER-UNDER projected regular-season win totals for all 30 NBA teams.

NBA Most Valuable Player

Nikola Jokic +1200

My pick to win MVP is Nuggets center Nikola Jokic at +1200 as he’s been the focal point of the offense on a team that is expected to win at least 50 games this season. The Joker and his dad bod nearly averaged a triple-double last year and he led all centers with 7.3 assists per game.

Some of this will come down to the standings as voters tend to reward the best player on the team with the best record. However, considering how splintered the Western Conference is now, the Nuggets’ roster continuity is actually an asset for this pick and if the Nuggets are a top-two team in the West and Jokic stays healthy, he’s the best value on the board.

As mentioned in my more in-depth piece about which NBA player will win MVP, I explicitly said to not bet on players from the Los Angeles teams (LeBron, Davis, Kawhi, PG13) as it’s unknown which player will need to sacrifice stats for the greater good.

Odds as of October 16 at Bovada              

NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Rudy Gobert +145

I wanted to make a case for another player like the Pacers’ Myles Turner (+2000) or the Warriors’ Draymond Green (+1800), but neither of those players can impose their will defensively like Utah’s Rudy Gobert. The francophone center was third in blocked shots and spearheaded a Jazz squad that was fourth in opponent points per game (106.5) last season.

It’s not uncommon for a player to win this award consecutively and Gobert has taken the award the last two seasons. Unless he gets hurt, he’s the best bet to make it three in a row.

If I had to make a case for anyone else, it would be Myles Turner (+2000) with the Pacers as he led the league in blocked shots, but he only averaged 7.2 rebounds last season. Unless he moves that to double digits, he will not win this award.

Odds as of October 16 at Bovada

NBA Sixth Man of the Year

Spencer Dinwiddie +700

On paper, the Clippers’ Lou Williams looks like a lock for this award. He won’t be starting for the Clips as he’ll continue his role providing scoring punch off the bench and, barring injury, they’ll likely win 50 or more games.

But I feel uneasy about backing him because unlike the last two seasons in Los Angeles, he likely won’t be the leading scorer for the Clippers this season since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are on the squad.

That’s why I love the pick of Spencer Dinwiddie (+700) with the Brooklyn Nets. Dinwiddie is currently the backup point guard but will still get his chance to be on the court in crunch time with Kyrie Irving. The Bitcoin King upped his scoring to 16.8 points per game last season while shooting 45 percent from the field.

The only other player I would consider is Derrick Rose (+1800) with the Pistons but health could be a factor and I’m leery of his ability to play more than 50 games with his balky knees.

Odds as of October 16 at Bovada

NBA Most Improved Player

Dejounte Murray +2000

The starting point guard with the San Antonio Spurs missed all of last season due to a torn ACL but reports from the Alamo say he’s looked great in training camp. The Spurs had to do a point guard by committee last year with him on the mend but he’s in a prime position to bounce back.

This award is tough to handicap because you’re essentially picking players to bounce back from a terrible year or studs to improve their numbers so drastically it would be historic.

The only other player I would consider would be Lonzo Ball (+2500) with the New Orleans Pelicans. He’ll be the starter in the Bayou with tons of talent around him to throw lobs and make easy outlet passes to. But if he can’t play more than 65 games or his career three-point shooting rate of 31.6 percent doesn’t improve, he doesn’t stand a chance.

Odds as of October 16 at Bovada

NBA Rookie of the Year

RJ Barrett +550

The Pelicans’ Zion Williamson is the -130 favorite and while he looks like the real deal, I tend to think NBA defenses will figure him out soon to make him shoot more threes, which is one of his weaknesses.

This is why I’m going with the Knicks’ RJ Barrett at +550 because he’ll be given plenty of opportunity in the Big Apple to run the offense. He led the ACC in scoring last season with Duke and has looked impressive in the preseason.

There’s been a lot of buzz about Tyler Herro (+2000) with the Miami Heat as he’s been lighting it up from behind the arc in the preseason, but shooting can tend to go cold in an 82-game season. There will be plenty of games where he’ll get lost in the shuffle in Erik Spoelstra’s offense but he does have great value.

Odds as of October 16 at Bovada

NBA Coach of the Year

Mike Malone (+1200)

I’m fairly bullish on the Nuggets this season and they’re my pick to have the best record in the Western Conference. Typically, the team with the best record usually gets the spoils of Coach of the Year so it’s a natural connection. Malone was one of the three candidates up for the award last season but it went to Mike Budenholzer with the Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA.

Another reason why I like Malone to get this hardware is it makes a good story for the steadily improved team to finally win the West. Doc Rivers, who is the +300 favorite, won’t likely win it because if the Clippers have the best record, the credit will go to the players instead of him.

Odds as of October 16 at Bovada