Oddsmakers Made In-Game NBA MVP Shift During Joel Embiid 70-Point Outing
Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was the favorite to win 2023-24 NBA MVP entering Monday’s contest against the San Antonio Spurs. And Embiid’s dominance against rookie Victor Wembanyama unsurprisingly strengthened his case.
Oddsmakers, however, didn’t wait until after Embiid scored 70 (!) points to shorten his NBA MVP prices. With Embiid’s outing being the talk of the NBA universe, bookmakers were forced to make in-game changes, as well.
BetMGM shared Tuesday that Embiid was 2-1 to win MVP during the first quarter, +140 at halftime and ultimately was shortened to +120 as of Tuesday morning.
Nearly 26% of the handle and 10% of tickets at BetMGM are on Embiid to claim his second consecutive MVP. Only Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic represents more of the handle (26.9%) while only Jokic (24.1%) and Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (13.6%) are responsible for more tickets.
During 32 games this season, Embiid has averaged a league-leading 36.1 points per game. He’s also averaged 11.6 rebounds and a career-high 5.9 assists for a Sixers team that sits third in the Eastern Conference behind the deep Celtics and star-led Milwaukee Bucks.