The NBA has presented its Most Valuable Player Award for 65 years, but rarely has the race been as wide open as it is right now. The league is chock-full of superstars trying to lead their teams to the title. Only one will claim this important regular-season crown.
A quick look at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill reveals three clear tiers of MVP contenders early on, featuring a deep crew of established MVPs and potential first-timers.
Let's dive into these Las Vegas-focused tiers, the most intriguing early trends and the potentially undervalued candidates.
The front-runners
Luka Doncic (+400)
Doncic has a chance to replace Derrick Rose as the youngest MVP in league history. At 21, Doncic is already the overall favorite to win. But for that chance to become a reality, he'll have to do what Rose did back in 2010-11: drive his squad to the top of the standings.
Why? Well, 48 of the 65 MVP winners -- including Rose, who led the Chicago Bulls to a 62-20 record that season -- finished the season first in their respective conference, nine finished second and four finished third. Only four of the league's 65 MVPs ever finished below third place in their conference, and Russell Westbrook is the only player to do it since 1982.
Doncic has shown us he can fill up the stat sheet. Before he is a legitimate MVP favorite, he must improve his scoring efficiency and lead the Dallas Mavericks to a higher seed out West. He will do both, eventually, but will he do both this season?
The Mavs are currently .500, Doncic's jumper isn't falling, and there are too many other good contenders in this race to fully buy into anyone not firing on all cylinders.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (+450)
The two-time defending MVP remains a major threat to win it again this year. No player has won three consecutive MVP awards since Larry Bird did so in the 1980s. The fact that Antetokounmpo could pull it off tells you just how great he has been.
But will voters really give him the nod again? Uh ... maybe?
The MVP is a regular-season award, and Antetokounmpo has powered his Milwaukee Bucks to two straight dominant campaigns. Voters also have seen him and his team falter in the playoffs, and those collapses along with a reluctance to give him that prestigious third straight MVP are likely to compel at least some to change their votes this time around.
Long story short, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks basically have to make this an airtight MVP case. That will be challenging.
The legitimate contenders
Kevin Durant (+650)
Kevin Durant is awesome, and it's beautiful to see. After missing more than 500 days with his Achilles injury, Durant's performance so far this season has been sublime. But can he really be MVP if he now shares the court with both James Harden and Kyrie Irving?
The Brooklyn Nets have the glitziest big three in basketball, and it's hard to imagine any of these guys truly emerging as the MVP here. Of course, that's not their ultimate goal. Durant eventually might get overlooked due to his superstar teammates, but those teammates should help him get closer to his third ring.
Nikola Jokic (+700)
Here's the good news: Jokic currently leads the league in player efficiency rating (PER). And eight of the past nine MVPs finished the regular season first in that stat.
Now for the bad news: The Denver Nuggets are hovering around .500. No small-market center playing for a middling club is taking home the NBA's MVP trophy.
The Nuggets have to start winning games for Jokic to really break through here. They currently rank 23rd in defensive rating. That could keep Jokic from rising, but this team has bigger concerns right now than luring MVP votes for its superstar center.
LeBron James (+800)
The Los Angeles Lakers are more than the defending champs. They currently stand alone atop the West and own the best record in the league, despite enduring the shortest offseason in NBA history. Their net rating of plus-9.7 dwarfs that of any other squad in the conference.
Bottom line: James might be the single best bet here. Winners win MVPs. And voters will remember James yet again proving his best-in-the-world status in the Florida bubble after Antetokounmpo grabbed last year's regular-season award. Add in the fact that James has not won an MVP since he was with the Miami Heat and you've got yourself a compelling case for The King.
If he wins it, James, 36, will replace Karl Malone as the oldest MVP in league history.
Stephen Curry (+1000)
There's no question that Curry is the MVP of the Warriors, and his ability to score is vital to their success. But like a lot of the other candidates in this race, Curry's chance to win this year's MVP hinges on his team's ability to win games.
The Warriors' statistical markers aren't exactly encouraging. They rank 21st in net rating, 23rd in offensive efficiency and 16th in defensive efficiency. Those markers scream lottery team.
Curry will benefit from his scoring -- top four in the league at 28.2 points per game -- and the clearly heavy load he is required to carry. Voters still love buckets, as eight of the past 10 MVPs have ended the season in the top five in scoring. Curry's penchant for blowing up social media with his legendary shooting performances will keep him in the conversation. His efficiency with the extra defensive attention and his ability to drag the Warriors above the West play-in scuffle will likely determine his fate here.
Joel Embiid (+1000)
Can a center even be MVP of a league consumed by pace, space and 3-point shooting? Maybe, but no center has done it since Shaquille O'Neal was still wearing purple and gold back in 2000 -- long before the league handed the keys over to guards and wings.
Embiid is my favorite long shot in this race. The Philadelphia 76ers have looked great early (at full strength, at least) and have been particularly dominant with Embiid on the court. They have a net rating of 10.1 with him on the floor, winning 10 of his 12 played games and losing all three that he has missed.
If these early trends hold -- and Embiid can stay healthy -- look for the 26-year-old center to emerge as one of the front-runners.
The peripheral threats
Anthony Davis (+1900)
If there's one reason voters will shy away from James, it's the fact that his teammate is also one of the most dominant forces in the league. Davis proved he was built for titles last season, as he supplied the Lakers with incredible production on both ends of the floor.
As an MVP candidate himself, Davis might actually lure votes away from James. Over the past 30 years, there have been four instances of a team having multiple players finish in the top five for MVP. The last time a team did this and one of the players won MVP? That was 1995-96: Michael Jordan won the award and Scottie Pippen finished fifth.
Jayson Tatum (+1900)
Tatum is emerging as one of the most dangerous overall scorers in the NBA. The Boston Celtics would be a mess without him and his running mate, Jaylen Brown, who are both off to great starts.
Still, the reason Tatum isn't a clearer favorite here is Brown. The Celtics have two young superstars on the wings, and both could be MVPs in the next 10 years. However, the tandem's excellence makes flagging either of them as a real MVP difficult this season.
Damian Lillard (+1900)
There's no question that Lillard is one of the most talented and clutch offensive players in the NBA right now. But he is a long shot for this award because it's hard to see his team gathering enough wins to attract legitimate attention for his case, especially given Portland's questionable defense. Still, if Lillard can get rolling with CJ McCollum on the shelf with a foot injury, he'll deserve more buzz.