The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will meet in the most highly anticipated NBA Finals in recent history. It will be the third straight NBA Finals meeting between these clubs with the overall series tied following the Cavaliers epic comeback from down 3-1 in last year’s championship series. All of the familiar faces are back including LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love for Cleveland with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green back for Golden State. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the newest addition to the rivalry as we wait to see what Kevin Durant brings to the table in this championship series. Here is a look at the favorites to win NBA Finals MVP.
LeBron James +175
The fact that LeBron is listed at +175 to win the NBA Finals MVP is testament to the fact that he is the key to the NBA finals. Everybody bet against Cleveland last year when they went down 3-1 in the NBA Finals but LeBron led the comeback en route to an MVP trophy.
What does LeBron have left in the tank heading in to this series? At times, we’ve seen LeBron look like he’s quite fatigued. There were a couple of long stretches in the regular season where the team struggled. They also had the surprising loss to the Boston Celtics where they blew a huge lead and James finished with just 11 points. However, the Cavs will have had a full week off before the Finals; that should be plenty of rest for King James.
If he can rally the Cavaliers to a second straight championship it is almost certain LeBron will be the NBA Finals MVP. Maybe Kyrie Irving could steal the award from him but it’s hard to see the Cavs winning and James not being a significant factor behind it.
Stephen Curry +200
Curry has led the way for Golden State in these playoffs by averaging a team-high 28.6 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. The consensus is that he has another level to reach after the Warriors cruised to the NBA Finals. Ultimately, Curry is still the face of this team and it won’t be a surprise if he is the focus if Golden State wins.
Kevin Durant +185
The fact that Durant is the co-favorite to win the award is a testament to his potential to swing this series. Durant has averaged 25.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for the Warriors this postseason as the perfect compliment to Curry. Golden State acquired Durant to help put them over the top in this anticipated matchup so it will be very interesting to see how he performs on the biggest stage.
Draymond Green +800
This would be the ultimate redemption story. It was Green’s suspension that allowed the Cavaliers to fight their way back in to the series with a big win in Game 6. Now Green is focused and motivated to answer and help the Warriors climb back to the top of the NBA mountain. Green has averaged 13.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game so far in these playoffs. Statistically, he will need to get to another level in order to have any shot at being in the NBA Finals MVP discussion. He’ll probably be guarding LeBron James the most, so his defensive effort could be the key to the Warriors success.
Kyrie Irving +1000
Irving gets the slight edge over Klay Thompson at +1500 and Kevin Love at +1500 when it comes to the NBA Finals MVP odds. Irving was brilliant during last year’s comeback but he has yet to take his game to that next level in this year’s playoffs. Cleveland will need its star point guard to dominate in order to have any shot in this series. It’s very unlikely that the NBA would give Irving the NBA Finals MVP over LeBron unless he played at an unbelievable level. It’s more likely that one of the top three candidates on this list ultimately wins the award.
Full List Of Odds To Win The NBA Finals MVP Award
Draymond Green +800
JaVale McGee +15000
JR Smith +12500
Kevin Durant +185
Kevin Love +1500
Klay Thompson +1500
Kyrie Irving +1000
LeBron James +175
Stephen Curry +200
Tristan Thompson +5000
Field +1200
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