Making a prediction for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game is a difficult proposition, given that very little defense is usually played until the fourth quarter. The point spread for Sunday’s contest in Cleveland, however, indicates that one team has a clear advantage.

Team LeBron is favored by 5.5 points over Team Durant in the 2022 All-Star Game, according to the latest betting odds at BetMGM. Since the NBA switched its format and allowed two captains to draft their respective rosters, LeBron James’ squad has gone a perfect 4-0 in the annual event.

Kevin Durant’s team came up short against Team LeBron last year in a 170-150 contest. Giannis Antetokounmpo won the All-Star Game MVP award just four months before becoming the 2021 NBA Finals MVP.

Antetokounmpo is back on Team James, joining James, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Jokic in the starting lineup. In a recent straw poll among likely voters, Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Curry finished second through fourth in ESPN's regular-season MVP straw poll.

Joel Embiid was picked as the midseason NBA MVP. The Philadelphia 76ers center highlights Team Durant’s starting five with Durant himself missing the game due to a knee injury. Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young and Andrew Wiggins fill out the rest of the Team Durant starting lineup.

The 2022 All-Star betting total is 321.5. It’s been three years since the All-Star Game featured more than 320 total points.

Antetokounmpo is favored to repeat as the All-Star MVP with +400 odds at BetMGM. Embiid has the second-best MVP odds at +550. James has +600 odds to win the award, followed by +800 odds for Curry and Morant.

James has been the All-Star MVP three times, last doing so in 2018. Chris Paul has also won the award in the past. Paul is a relative long shot with +3500 MVP odds for Team LeBron.

Luka Doncic (+1400) has the best MVP odds of any player coming off the bench. The Dallas Mavericks star has the same MVP odds as Jokic (+1400) and DeRozan (+1400), his Team LeBron teammates.

Wiggins (+5000) has the worst MVP odds of the starters. Only Khris Middleton (+6600), Karl-Anthony Towns (+6600), Rudy Gobert (+10000), Dejonte Murray (+10000) and Jarrett Allen (+10000) are given less of a chance to be the game's most valuable player.

Prediction: Team LeBron over Team Durant, 168-160

MVP Winner: Nikola Jokic

Giannis Antetokounmpo LeBron James Bucks Lakers
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers hug following a game at Fiserv Forum on December 19, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES