NBA MVP Odds: Joel Embiid Leapfrogs LeBron James as Favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook

As the NBA season rolls on after All-star weekend, the race to win the 2020-21 MVP Award seems increasingly more like a two-man race. However, recent movement has one guy pulling ahead of the other in the latest odds.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid now has odds of +190 to take home the season-long award, with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James right behind him at +240. This represents a sizable leap for Embiid in just over a week. On March 2, Embiid (+350) trailed LeBron (+170) in the odds.

Embiid has had an impressive season, even by his high standards. He is leading the Sixers to the best record in the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seed and the overall third-best record in the league. He's averaging career highs in points (30.2), and FG% and 3-point FG%.

LeBron, on the other hand, has the Lakers in third place in the Western Conference, but has impressed by keeping the team near the top of the conference while his superstar running mate Anthony Davis has been out nursing an Achilles injury.

Nikola Jokic (+490), Steph Curry (+1200), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1800), James Harden (+1800) and Luka Doncic (+1800) round out the top five and ties.

There's still a ton of time left in the NBA season, and these odds are sure to fluctuate, but Embiid certainly has the oddsmakers attention.

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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.