NBA Clutch Player of the Year Odds: Will Anyone Catch Up to Curry in the Clutch?

The NBA introduced the KIA Clutch Player of the Year award during the 2022-23 season, awarding its inaugural honors upon Sacramento Kings star De'Aaron Fox. Fox helped guide his team to their first playoff berth since the 2005-06 season while leading the league in points per game in "clutch" situations.

What is a "clutch" situation in the eyes of the NBA? Per the league's own definition, a clutch situation is any fourth quarter or overtime with under five minutes remaining on the clock and a score differential of five or fewer points.

Fox led the league in points in those scenarios a year ago on his way to claiming the first-ever award, but it feels safe to assume the award won't always be handed to the player with the most "clutch" points -- there will be other contributing factors.

The award is back again for the 2023-24 season and should be an exciting one to follow down to the wire. Will the award go to the biggest clutch scorer for a second straight year, or can a show-stealing, game-changing playmaker take it down as the season draws to a close?

Let's check out the NBA Clutch Player of the Year Betting Odds market on FanDuel Sportsbook to take a deeper look.

NBA Clutch Player of the Year Odds

From the way these odds are shaping up, it seems like we have a three-player race on our hands heading into the All-Star break. But should we really have such a narrow field when the Clutch Player of the Year award only recently came into being? Let's take a look at the cases for each of this year's top contenders and see if they've truly set themselves apart from their competitors.

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (+100)

You could already argue that no one has been more clutch than Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry this season, so it's no surprise that his +100 odds lead the group.

Curry's average of 5.1 points per game in clutch situations actually exceeds Fox's impressive 5.0-point rate a season ago, putting him on a solid path to taking home the title. He's already up to 160 total points in clutch situations, as well, not far off from Fox's 194-point mark, either.

Curry's statistical case for the award has a few highlight-reel moments to back it up, too. For instance, his role in the team's epic win over the Phoenix Suns is worth a mention. In what would become a 113-112 win, Curry snagged a defensive rebound with a two-point deficit and mere seconds left on the clock. He used that chance to call a timeout, then drained a 33-foot three-pointer to put his team up 113-112. It wasn't quite a buzzer-beater, but it was absolutely clutch.

However, the recency of that epic performance could be contributing to Curry's early lead in the betting markets -- there's still a lot of ball left to play this season. Could anyone else use the final months of the season to usurp him as the front-runner?

Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks (+400)

Damian Lillard's 100 total points in clutch time trail Curry's 160 such points by a fair margin, but it's fair to say that "Dame Time" has translated just fine to the Milwaukee Bucks' CST time zone. He's one of just five players all season to hit an actual buzzer-beater and is the only player to do so off a three-pointer while his team was trailing.

Lillard's epic three-point overtime game-winner even came against Fox's Kings, but it has been far from the star's only clutch performance of the 2023-24 campaign. In fact, he's already played an instrumental role in the two biggest comeback wins of the season.

At one point against the Mavs earlier in February, Lillard's Bucks trailed by 25 points. He caught fire after that, though, helping to lead his team to a 12-point victory while shooting 5 of 5 from three and finishing with 30 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists.

In the biggest comeback win of the season, Lillard helped his Bucks overcome a 26-point deficit against his former team. He sank 13 of 14 free throws while playing through physical defense, eventually helping his team eke out a 6-point win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (+400)

Compared to Curry and Lillard, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's case for Clutch Player of the Year seems kind of lacking. He doesn't have the same raw clutch output that his veteran counterparts can claim, and he hasn't hit a buzzer-beater yet this year. So why are his odds to win the award (+400) tied with Lillard's?

According to ChampsOrChumps, the Thunder's league-leading 11 comeback wins from deficits of 10 or more points could be the answer. In a year that has seen a massive turnaround from the Thunder franchise, they've still fallen behind in several games throughout the season. They've battled to comeback wins with shocking consistency and now sit near the top of the Western Conference. They owe a lot of their success to Gilgeous-Alexander's 31.1 points per game (second-most in the league).

Still, that's more of a narrative explanation without a definitive tie-in to SGA's stats, so the young star could have trouble maintaining his current spot in the odds down the stretch. He'll need to start compiling some game-winners and epic moments after the All-Star break to gain ground on Curry and Lillard.

The Best of the Rest

Curry, Lillard, and Gilgeous-Alexander have a pretty substantial lead in the Clutch Player of the Year award race right now, but it's still far too early to count out the next tier of players from contention.

Each of Jalen Brunson, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic are perfectly capable of launching their names up to the top of the race here over the final few months of the season.

Brunson (+1800) earned his first All-Star nod for his play with the New York Knicks and has done everything in his power to keep the team competitive in spite of their mounting injuries. His "clutch" stats might not stack up well compared to others, but getting a banged-up team to the playoffs is its own form of clutch, subjectively.

Los Angeles Lakers future Hall of Famer James (+2000) might have a surprisingly strong statistical case to win the award, as well. While his raw scoring output can't quite match Curry's league-best marks, he is averaging a league-best 7.2 fantasy points in clutch situations. Fantasy points are obviously not a metric the award's voters will be taking into account, but they do capture a decent picture of how many good plays versus bad plays a player accumulates over a game. James has been scoring points, nabbing rebounds, and doling out assists with the game on the line all year, which could work in his favor by the end of the season.

Doncic (+2000) leads the league in points per game with 34.2 a night, over 3 more points per game than SGA's second-place 31.1. points. He's pretty good. But despite scoring insane numbers of points on a regular basis, he ranks just 28th in points scored in clutch time. The issue? The Dallas Mavericks just haven't logged a lot of clutch minutes this season. There's no denying Doncic is a force to be reckoned with on the court, but if the award's voters put heavy stock into the NBA's clutch stat trackers, he might be out of luck for this season.

While it might seem like Curry or Lillard are running away with it right now, it's hard to make definitive statements about an award we've only had for one season so far. There's still too much of the season left to boldly anoint a winner before the All-Star break, and too many players are playing high-quality ball to be truly discounted.

If you think you have a sleeper contender who isn't getting the recognition they deserve, now is a great time to consider placing a bet on them to win Clutch Player of the Year.

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