With the NBA basketball season now well over a month into play, we have seen some guys put together some truly remarkable individual performances. So, who’s been among the best of the best? In this article, we have updated NBA player props picks for 2021. Who will end up being MVP? It’s looking to be quite the battle between Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and others.
After a rough couple of seasons, the Golden State Warriors are back to looking like one of the best teams in the league, maybe even the best. With that, you already know Stephen Curry is the new favorite to win NBA MVP this season and for good reason. Curry has been nothing short of superb for the Warriors in 2021, as he’s back to drilling shots from all over the hardwood.
As of this writing, Curry is averaging 28.6 points per game, which is tied for the most in the league. On top of that, Curry is adding 6.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds per night. What makes Curry so special is his ability to drill 3-pointers with ease. Whenever Curry is beyond the arc, he’s got a quick trigger and he often finds the bottom of the cotton with consistency.
| NBA MVP odds |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curry to win | +150 | +150 | +150 | +150 |
| Durant to win | +500 | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Giannis to win | +700 | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| Jokic to win | +1300 | +1300 | +1300 | +1300 |
To make things even better for the Warriors, Klay Thompson is getting closer and closer to his return. Once Thompson does get back on the hardwood, it’s only going to make things even better for Curry. The two will go down in history as one of the best combos we’ve ever seen. They’ve got three NBA Finals titles together and they surely could make it No. 4 next spring too.
According to the NBA Vegas odds, Curry has been placed at +150 to win MVP this season. Kevin Durant is No. 2 on the list with his +500 odds. Other guys to keep in mind would no question be Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and others. At the end of the day, though, we’ve got a strong belief Curry will win it. He’s our pick. Do you agree? Check out our NBA betting sites to get a wager in.
Meanwhile, for the Charlotte Hornets, Miles Bridges could end up winning Most Improved Player of the Year this season. Bridges hasn’t quite gotten his career off to the start he was hoping for and he really disappointed last year. In 2019-20, Bridges appeared in 66 games, averaging 12.7 points per contest. It’s not what was expected of him whatsoever and fans were bummed.
However, things have changed in a big way for Bridges this season. He’s averaging more than 20 points a game and he’s looking pretty damn healthy too. This has been outstanding to see for Charlotte as a whole, as Bridges has what it takes to be a superstar player in this league. The Charlotte coaching staff has been thrilled with Bridges’ play too. Bridges himself is thrilled, as he’s currently in a contract season too. He could earn a big payday next offseason.
“I’m not worried about the money,” Bridges told The Undefeated in an interview after a recent game where he put on a show. “I’m really just worried about playing the right way and winning. I will let my agent worry about all that stuff and just worry about the game.”
Bridges could earn himself a monster contract in free agency, which makes his start to the year thus far even more important. While the odds haven’t been released yet, he’s among the favorites to win Most Improved Player of the Year, along with guys like Ja Morant, Dejounte Murray, Tyler Herro, Lamelo Ball, and others. We’re liking how Bridges is looking thus far, which is why we’re going with him as our pick.
As was expected even before the season started, Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green are in a battle for Defensive Player of the Year. Which superstar will come out on top? What really is going to be key here is who will be on more of a winning team down the road. For the Warriors, they really could be in the title hunt again, as they’ve got strong NBA Finals Vegas odds. Green is going to play a massive part in that.
Meanwhile, for Gobert, he and the Jazz are off to a strong start as well, with Utah expected to make plenty of noise late in the season too. Gobert, like Green, is best known for his work around the glass. These two are monster rebounders and do excellent jobs of preventing guys from doing work on them down in the low post. That will be needed the rest of the season.
Per the oddsmakers, Gobert is the slight favorite at +210, while Green has been set at +240. We figure this to be a monster battle until the final whistle of the year. So, who has the edge? It’s really tough to say and picking one guy sure is tough. However, we’re going to give Green the slight edge here. The Warriors defender is our pick for DPOY in this case.
