Giannis Antetekounmpo is the new co-favorite to win the NBA MVP after the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard on Wednesday afternoon.
Antetekounmpo had been the second-best favorite (+500) behind defending champion and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic (+430). Now, with the additional help, Antetekounmpo is tied with Jokic at the top of the leaderboard at +430 via FanDuel.
In a corresponding move, the Bucks are now NBA title favorites across all major American sportsbooks.
While Milwaukee had been +600 — the third-best favorites behind the Celtics (+470) and Nuggets (+480) — prior to news of the trade, the Bucks are now firm +360 favorites, alone atop the odds board at FanDuel.
For reference, Lillard has the 10th-best odds to win MVP at +2300. Besides Jokic and Antetekounmpo, he trails Luka Doncic (+650), Jayson Tatum (+800), Joel Embiid (+850), Stephen Curry (+1600), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+1600), Kevin Durant (+1700) and Devin Booker (+1700) on the leaderboard.
For what it's worth, Antetekounmpo is only the favorite at FanDuel, which is the sportsbook with the most handle and individual bets out of any other book in the country.
At BetMGM and DraftKings, Jokic and Doncic are ahead of him in the MVP marketplace. At Caesars, he's second behind Jokic.
