NBA Finals MVP odds: Jokic remains favoured as Nuggets await winner of Heat, Celtics
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets are off to the NBA Finals after sweeping the Lakers. Photo by Ashley Landis/AP.

As the Denver Nuggets await their opponent in the NBA Finals, Nikola Jokic remains the favourite to win this award.

The latest: Jokic has hovered around a -200 favourite for the last few days and is down to -167 as of Friday evening after the Boston Celtics won again to keep their season alive. Jayson Tatum, who is second on the board, jumped past Jimmy Butler despite the Miami Heat being slight favourites to advance.

Check out the latest NBA Finals MVP odds as of May 26.

NBA Finals MVP odds

Check out the latest odds to win NBA Finals MVP. Click linked odds to add selection to betslip.

PlayerOdds (May 26)Odds (May 24)Odds (May 22)
Nikola Jokic-167-167-177
Jayson Tatum+350+500+2,000
Jimmy Butler+600+390+230
Jamal Murray+1,600+1,000+1,000
Jaylen Brown+2,000+2,000+6,000
Bam Adebayo+4,000+3,000+4,000

NBA odds as of 5:45 p.m. on 05/26/2023.

Best odds to win NBA Finals MVP

The favourite: Jokic (-167)

Jokic put his final stamp on the Western Conference finals with another triple-double in Denver's close-out victory in Game 4.

The Joker triple-doubled in three of the four games, bringing his total to eight for the playoffs.

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Jokic is averaging 29.9/13.3/10.3 over 15 postseason games. He continued to dominate in the Western Conference finals after shredding both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns in convincing series victories.

Only one time has the Finals MVP been awarded to a player from a losing team (Jerry West, 1969). So as long as the Nuggets win the title, this award is almost certainly going to Jokic.

Next best odds

Tatum (+350): The Celtics superstar was a long shot +2,000 choice on May 22 but has since taken up the No. 2 spot on the board after the Celtics clawed their way back from a 3-0 deficit.

Tatum scored 30-plus points for the third time this series to help the Celtics avoid a sweep and then dropped 21 in a convincing Game 5 victory.

The Celtics still have to win twice to make the Finals for the second consecutive year, but they enter Game 6 as a slim road favourite and would host a decisive Game 7 at TD Garden.

Risers and fallers

Butler was a +390 option ahead of Game 5 but his odds lengthened to +600 after his Heat were unable to close out again.

The Miami star has elevated his game for the postseason, where his PPG (29.9), RPG (6.9) and APG (5.6) are all higher than his regular season averages.

Miami will have a tall task in the Finals against Denver if the team makes it there. And if the Heat can shock one more NBA powerhouse en route to a title, Butler will almost certainly be the one doing the heavy lifting.

Jamal Murray also saw his odds lengthen again following Boston's second straight win. Murray entered the Lakers series as a +2,200 choice and is the only other realistic option from Denver if Jokic somehow didn't win this award.

Murray averaged 32.5 points in the Western Conference finals sweep on 52.5% shooting from the field and 40.5% from deep.

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