Russell Westbrook may have lost his running buddy Kevin Durant, but oddsmakers figure he will have a monster year now as a result.
Westbrook is the favorite to win NBA MVP honors at 2/1 ahead of Steph Curry (9/2) and LeBron James (9/2), according to Bovada.lv.
On the NBA GM survey, James leads the MVP voting at 46.7 percent to Curry’s 23.3 percent.
Meantime, former Oklahoma star Buddy Hield of New Orleans faces odds of 7/2 to win Rookie of the Year honors, while former Providence star Kris Dunn of Minnesota is at 4/1.
On the GM survey, Dunn leads at 46.7 percent compared to 13.3 percent for both Dunn and Ben Simmons of Philadelphia.
Dunn and Hield both spent four years on campus, while Simmons was a one-and-done at LSU. Simmons, of course, is out approximately eight weeks with a foot injury.
Awards Odds
Who will win the 2016 – 2017 NBA MVP (Players in red have longer odds, players in blue have shorter odds, and players in black stayed the same)
Opening Odds (8/4/16) 8/15/16 Current Odds (10/18/16)
Russell Westbrook 4/1 2/1 2/1
Stephen Curry 15/4 4/1 9/2
LeBron James 15/4 5/1 9/2
Anthony Davis 14/1 16/1 10/1
Kevin Durant 8/1 12/1 10/1
James Harden 16/1 16/1 10/1
Kawhi Leonard 16/1 16/1 10/1
Paul George 22/1 22/1 22/1
Carmelo Anthony 33/1 33/1 33/1
Blake Griffin 22/1 22/1 33/1
Kyrie Irving 33/1 33/1 33/1
Damien Lillard 28/1 28/1 33/1
Chris Paul 33/1 33/1 33/1
Karl Anthony Towns 50/1 50/1 33/1
2017 NBA Rookie of the Year – Odds to Win (Players in red have longer odds, players in blue have shorter odds, and players in black stayed the same)
Opening Odds (6/27/16) Current Odds (10/18/16)
Buddy Hield (NO) 11/2 7/2
Kris Dunn (MIN) 15/2 4/1
Joel Embiid (PHI) 14/1 5/1
Ben Simmons (PHI) 13/4 5/1
Brandon Ingram (LAL) 13/2 11/2
Dario Saric (PHI) Off the Board 16/1
Thon Maker (MIL) 16/1 20/1
Jamal Murray (DEN) 12/1 20/1
Denzel Valentine (CHI) 12/1 20/1
Wade Baldwin (MEM) 16/1 28/1
Marquese Chriss (PHO) 16/1 28/1
Jaylen Brown (BOS) 20/1 30/1
Dragan Bender (PHO) 20/1 35/1
Caris LeVert (BKN) 20/1 35/1
Domantas Sabonis (OKC) 28/1 35/1
Jakob Poeltl (TOR) 25/1 40/1
Taurean Prince (ATL) 16/1 40/1
Malachi Richardson 20/1 40/1
Kay Felder (CLE) Off the Board 50/1
Brice Johnson (LAC) 20/1 50/1
