The 2025 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player betting odds have a pair of Boston Celtics from the reigning champions leading the pack, but the race is extremely tight months before the regular season even gets underway.
Here's a look at where some of the more prominent candidates rank in the odds for the Bill Russell award.
2025 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Odds
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics | +750 |
| Jaylen Brown | Boston Celtics | +850 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Oklahoma City Thunder | +850 |
| Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets | +900 |
| Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | +1000 |
| Jalen Brunson | New York Knicks | +1100 |
| Luka Donic | Dallas Mavericks | +1100 |
| Anthony Edwards | Minnesota Timberwolves | +1300 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | +2000 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves | +4000 |
| Ja Morant | Memphis Grizzlies | +5000 |
| Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | +5000 |
| Paolo Banchero | Orlando Magic | +5000 |
| LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers | +5000 |
| Julius Randle | New York Knicks | +5000 |
| Jrue Holiday | Boston Celtics | +6000 |
| Derrick White | Boston Celtics | +6000 |
| Anthony Davis | Los Angeles Lakers | +6000 |
| Kevin Durant | Phoenix Suns | +6000 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | Boston Celtics | +6000 |
| Jimmy Butler | Miami Heat | +6000 |
| Damian Lillard | Milwaukee Bucks | +7000 |
| Tyrese Maxey | Philadelphia 76ers | +7000 |
| Donovan Mitchell | Cleveland Cavaliers | +7000 |
| Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns | +7000 |
| Kawhi Leonard | Los Angeles Clippers | +7000 |
| Paul George | Philadelphia 76ers | +7000 |
Odds as of July 25, 2024
2025 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Betting Favorite: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
The Celtics are receiving some early love from oddsmakers and deservedly so after just hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy for the first time since 2008. However, it's not the current Finals MVP holder Jaylen Brown with the strongest odds of all, as that distinction falls upon Jayson Tatum who received four of a possible 11 votes to lose out to Brown's seven.
The league has had a unique champion each of the last six years, so a repeat title for Boston would mark the first time a franchise won back-to-back championships since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. Recent history certainly isn't in the Celtics' favor, although they did only drop three total games in the playoffs en route to their Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks, and this came after finishing the regular season with 64 wins to lead all teams.
Tatum would undoubtedly be incentivized to gun for Finals Most Valuable Player should Boston return to the Finals, as losing once more to his All-Star teammate for a second-straight year wouldn't be great for the individual optics.
Past 10 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Winners
| Year | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jaylen Brown | Boston Celtics |
| 2023 | Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets |
| 2022 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors |
| 2021 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2020 | LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2019 | Kawhi Leonard | Toronto Raptors |
| 2018 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors |
| 2017 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors |
| 2016 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2015 | Andre Iguodala | Golden State Warriors |
Only former Warriors forward Kevin Durant has managed to repeat as Finals Most Valuable Player over the last decade. He joins LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal as the only players since 2000 to do so.
Who Has Won The Most NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards?
| NBA Finals MVP Wins | Player | Team | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
| 4 | LeBron James | Miami Heat (2), Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers | 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020 |
| 3 | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs | 1999, 2003, 2005 |
| 3 | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers | 1980, 1982, 1987 |
| 3 | Shaquille O'Neal | Los Angeles Lakers | 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| 2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers | 1971, 1985 |
| 2 | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 1984, 1986 |
| 2 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | 2009, 2010 |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors | 2017, 2018 |
| 2 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors | 2014, 2019 |
| 2 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 1994, 1995 |
| 2 | Willis Reed | New York Knicks | 1970, 1973 |
The Finals Most Valuable Player award was first introduced in 1969 and won by Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West. Since its inception, only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have captured the award four or more times.
NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Winners By Position
| Position | Winners |
|---|---|
| Small Forward | 15 |
| Center | 14 |
| Shooting Guard | 11 |
| Point Guard | 9 |
| Power Forward | 7 |
How To Read NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Odds
When you visit your NBA betting site of choice, you’ll notice 2025 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player odds laid out like this:
- Jayson Tatum +750
- Jaylen Brown +850
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +850
- Nikola Jokic +900
Unlike a moneyline bet where favorites are shown by the minus sign (-) and underdogs have a plus sign (+), the player with the lowest odds with the plus sign (+) is the favorite. In this scenario, Jayson Tatum is favored. If you were to bet $100 on Tatum in the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player betting odds and it hits, you would win $850 – your $100 is returned and you would get $750 in profit.
If you were to bet on which player will be named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, you would make a futures bet.
What Is A Futures Bet?
This is a bet made on events that will happen in time. In this case, it’s NBA Finals Finals Most Valuable Player. To make a futures bet, you would first use the handicapping info on this page to make your decision. Our Odds Calculator can give you an idea of how much you’d win based on the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player odds and the amount of money you bet.
