Jayson Tatum improved his NBA Finals MVP odds with a very efficient Game 2 stat line, bumping his price from +450 to +260 after Boston was able to tie up the series against Miami.
The Warriors and Celtics are now the overall favorites in the NBA championship odds and while it makes sense to see Stephen Curry atop the odds to win NBA Finals MVP, Tatum has overtaken Maimi star Jimmy Butler as the current second choice.
Here's an updated breakdown of the top candidates in our latest NBA Finals MVP odds update, as of May 20.
2022 NBA Finals MVP odds
| Player | Odds to win NBA Finals MVP |
|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | +180 |
| Jayson Tatum | +260 |
| Jimmy Butler | +650 |
| Luka Doncic | +1,000 |
| Klay Thompson | +1,400 |
| Draymond Green | +1,700 |
| Jordan Poole | +2,200 |
| Jaylen Brown | +2,400 |
| Marcus Smart | +2,800 |
| Bam Adebayo | +4,000 |
| Andrew Wiggins | +7,000 |
| Al Horford | +8,000 |
| Tyler Herro | +12,000 |
| Robert Williams | +16,000 |
| Jalen Brunson | +17,000 |
| Kyle Lowry | +24,000 |
Odds courtesy of FanDuel, as of May 20, 2022.
Favorite to win NBA Finals MVP
Steph Curry (+180)
Curry has held down the No. 1 spot since Devin Booker's hamstring injury took him out of the first round. While Booker returned, Phoenix was stunned by Dallas in the second round, who the Warriors, in turn, thumped 112-87 in their West final opener.
Despite struggling at times against Memphis in the West semifinal, Stephen Curry maintains a tidy 26/5/5 stat line for the postseason — still the unquestioned alpha of the NBA championship favorites.
Golden State sits close to an even-money bet to win the title with just four teams remaining, and if it manages to win its fourth title in the Curry era, he's easily the safest proposition to win, oddly, his first Finals MVP trophy.
Jayson Tatum (+260)
Tatum had himself another phenomenal postseason performance in Game 2, putting up 27/5/5 on 53/57/100 shooting splits. His efforts helped the Celtics tie the series against Miami.
Tatum was priced at +450 after the Game 1 loss and has now leapfrogged over Jimmy Butler for the second spot on the odds board. If you like Boston to win it all (currently +200 at bet365), Tatum to win MVP is a nice way to squeeze some added payout with little risk, considering he's putting together an incredible postseason run.
Understanding NBA Finals MVP odds
Sportsbooks will post NBA Finals MVP odds as early as the beginning of the playoffs. These NBA futures are constantly adjusted throughout the postseason depending on how well players perform as well as their team success. Sportsbooks will also adjust the NBA Awards odds based on handle and liability to certain players.
NBA Finals MVP odds will usually look like this:
- Kevin Durant +410
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $410 if Durant takes home the NBA Finals MVP Award. If it's close to the end of the NBA Finals and a player has stood out as the obvious MVP of the series they might have a minus sign (-) ahead of their odds like this:
- LeBron James -155
This means that if you bet on LeBron to win Finals MVP, you would have needed to bet $155 to profit $100.
All of the odds listed above are in American format, but if you prefer decimal or fractional odds, simply plug them into our odds converter tool.
NBA Finals MVP Odds FAQs
Steph Curry is the betting favorite to win NBA Final MVP at +320.
Giannis Antetokounmpo won NBA Finals MVP in 2021.
