Editor's note: According to reports, Joel Embiid will not play on Monday night due to a calf injury.
What a night for the NBA to feature a showdown between MVP hopefuls Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic.
With the NCAA Tournament off until Saturday's Final Four matchup, Monday is all about the NBA, headlined by 76ers vs. Nuggets at 9:30 p.m. ET (NBA TV).
According to the latest NBA MVP odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, Embiid is the current favorite to win the award at -145 with Jokic next at +195.
In addition, Denver is listed as a 5.5-point spread favorite against Philadelphia on Monday night — but with these two superstars facing off, don't be surprised to see bettors flocking toward NBA player props as well.
With this in mind, I turned to Action Labs' projections to determine Embiid's smartest NBA player prop picks for those looking to back the MVP favorite tonight.
Joel Embiid Player Props, Picks
*Odds and projections as of Monday afternoon
According to our NBA player prop picks, the most valuable way to back Embiid is by taking a position on his assists over/under.
As of the time of writing we project the 76ers center for 4.5 assists tonight against Denver, which earns a grade of nine (on a scale of 1-10) based on the widely-available line of under 5.5 assists and a vig of -130.
In addition, savvy NBA player prop bettors may also want to consider Embiid's rebounds as well.
Checking in with a grade of eight via Action Labs' player prop picks, Embiid securing fewer than 11.5 boards at -132 (FanDuel) is also showing as a way to find value in tonight's 76ers vs. Nuggets matchup.
