2019 NBA MVP Finalists Announced, Giannis Given Short 1-5 Odds to Win Award Over Harden & George

• Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to a 60-win season
• James Harden had nine straight games of 50+ points
• Paul George finished second in scoring and led the league in steals

The finalist for the 2018-19 MVP award have been announced and sportsbooks have quickly followed up with betting odds to win the award.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has the shortest NBA MVP odds, but is he the best bet? He’s a huge favorite while the other two would pay out a pretty penny if they cash. Let’s take a closer look.

2019 NBA MVP Odds

*Odds taken 05/21/19

Is Giannis the Best Bet?

We’re looking at huge line on Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he might be worth the price. He was the league’s most consistently awesome player throughout the season and his team went the furthest. Those are the two things that are going to matter the most.

The Greek Freak led the Bucks to a 60-win season while averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.

The Greek Freak led his team to a 60-win season while averaging 27.7 points (third-best), 12.5 rebounds (sixth-best), and 5.9 assists (27th) per game. His PER was 30.95 (fifth-best), but when you look at the roster around him, it would be hard to imagine that this would even be a playoff team without him. He also had 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

It’s all Giannis early ?

(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/hNGDgeoxgJ

— ESPN (@espn) May 18, 2019

For comparison, Hakeem Olajuwon had similar numbers (27.3 PPG, 11.9 REB, 3.6 AST, 3.7 BLK and 1.6 SPG) in his MVP season in 1993-94, and Shaquille O’Neal did as well during his in 1999-00 (29.7 PPG, 13.6 REB, 3.8 AST, 3 BLK and 0.5 STL).

He’s has some stiff competition, but nobody was more brilliant more consistently than Antetokounmpo in 2018-19.

What About James Harden?

At one point this season, it seemed like Harden was a shoo-in for the MVP award. He scored 30 points or more in 32 straight games while scoring 50 or more in nine straight. That’s incredible. He also became the first player in NBA history to score 30 or more points against all 29 other teams in one season.

James Harden now has six 50-PT games this season. No other player has more than one. ? pic.twitter.com/hxuSnPAviH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 1, 2019

The challenge is that Harden’s Rockets didn’t have a great season. Yes, they made the postseason, but they lost in the second-round of the playoffs. Overall, they were merely the fourth seed in the West with just 53 wins. And remember, the team was awful to start too. The team numbers pale in comparison to Giannis, which is what will hurt Harden’s case.

Forget Paul George

There’s no question that George had a phenomenal season but in my view, he’s not really in this conversation. He had what was arguably his best season, producing 28.0 PPGS 8.2 REB, 4.1 APG, and 2.2 SPG. He finished second in scoring, led the league in steals, and was a top-three defensive player.

Paul George answering a question about Dame’s shot choice, calls it a “bad shot” pic.twitter.com/uj25TBDUE1

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 24, 2019

Even so, he’ll be held back in this award race by Russell Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double for a third straight season. Also, a shoulder injury down the stretch hurt his production. Lastly, the team just didn’t have that great of a year. Add it all up and I’d pass on George for this prop.