Posted on May 30, 2017, by Travis Pulver
With the amount of news coverage that is given to the NBA Finals, it is not hard to imagine some fans getting sick of all the talk. The same can be said for the NBA Draft. Yes, fans are interested which is why every news outlet in the country covers the Finals and the Draft to death.
But there comes the point where you just want to scream if you hear one more talking head try to wax poetic on why Steph Curry will win the NBA Finals MVP or who he thinks will be the first pick in the Draft. Enough is enough! It’s not like all the coverage is good for anything other than filling time until the draft or game starts.
Via Twitter
If only you could take all that information, the media is providing you with and do something with it…you know, like place a bet or two and try to make a little money.
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As luck would have it—now we can! Last week the Nevada Gaming Commission approved prop betting for the NBA Draft and on who will win the MVP during the NBA Finals. William Hill, who operates 109 sports books in Nevada, petitioned the Commission for approval and received it!
So—who is favored to do what or go where and what are the odds?
The NBA Finals will start on Thursday when the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers face off in Game One. Odds favor the Warriors to win the game and win the series, so it only makes sense that a pair of Golden State’s heroes opened as the favorites to win MVP:
- Kevin Durant- 7/5
- Steph Curry- 8/5
- LeBron James- 2/1
- Draymond Green- 17/2
- Kevin Love- 10/1
- Klay Thompson- 15/1
Durant has been the primary scoring threat for the Warriors this season so it stands to reason that he would be the favorite. But the Warriors are who they are because of Curry which explains why he is a close second. Should the Cavaliers win, it will likely be because of three-time NBA Finals MVP LeBron James, making him a safe bet to earn the honor a fourth time.
It’s worth noting that the last three NBA Finals MVPs were not the pre-series favorites. When the Warriors won the Finals a couple of years ago, the honor went to Andre Iguodala—whose odds are pretty steep to win it again (300-1). If you really want to win big and don’t mind long odds, put your money on Zaza Pachulia (1000-1).
If one of the Warriors wants to increase their odds of winning MVP, they just need to guard LeBron James. Of the last five MVPs, the award has either gone to James or the player whose primary job was to guard him.
As for the NBA Draft, as much as fans like to speculate about who will go where it should come as no surprise that some may like to put their money where their mouth is. According to SportsBettingDime.com, the following are some of the prop bets fans can place wagers on:
- Will Lonzo Ball not be a member of the Lakers by the end of the draft: 4-1
- Celtics trade the No. 1 pick: 3-1
- O/U on point guards taken with the first five picks: 2.5
- O/U on forwards drafted in the top ten: 4.5
- O/U on international players taken in the first round: 3.5
- O/U on draft position for Duke’s Harry Giles: 15.5
Lonzo Ball’s dad has talked a ton about his son playing for the Lakers, but the Lakers have not admitted to leaning towards anyone. But Ball is widely considered one of the top two players in the draft and the Lakers do have the No. 2 pick. With Ball, Markelle Fulz, Josh Jackson, and Jayson Tatum expected to go in the top five it doesn’t look good for the over on point guards.
Via @LonzoBigBaller
Fans have until Game One tips off Thursday night to place wagers on Finals MVP and until June 21 for Draft-related bets.