NBA Finals 2019 MVP Odds: Stephen Curry Favored, Klay Thompson Best Bet, Kawhi Leonard Leads Raptors

The Golden State Warriors have won three of the last four titles, but the face of the franchise has yet to win an NBA Finals MVP award. There’s a good chance that will change this year when the back-to-back defending champions take on the Toronto Raptors in their quest for a three-peat.

Stephen Curry isn’t simply the betting favorite to be recognized as the best player in the 2019 NBA Finals. The point guard is the odds-on favorite to be the Finals MVP.

The odds vary at different sportsbooks, but Curry is close to a 2/3 NBA Finals MVP favorite. Kawhi Leonard is second on the list with better than 3/1 odds. Draymond Green is third with either 7/1 or 8/1 odds.

Kevin Durant has been ruled out for the start of the series because of a calf injury. It’s starting to sound like he might not return until Game 3 at Oracle Arena at the earliest. That’s why his odds are no better than 10/1, and he can be found as high as 16/1.

Durant might be the favorite if he were healthy. The superstar has won the NBA Finals MVP award in both of his seasons with the Warriors, and he was clearly Golden State’s best player before getting hurt in Game 5 of the second round.

Klay Thompson is thought to be the least likely of the Warriors’ stars to win the NBA Finals MVP award, making him the best value bet of the series. The shooting guard opened at 14/1 and currently sits at 12/1 at BetOnline, but his odds are up to 23/1 at FanDuel Sportsbook.

There’s certainly a path for Thompson to win the award, especially if Durant misses the first few games. He’s more than capable of having an absurd game from three-point range, considering he set an NBA record this season with 14 threes in a game. Thompson set a playoff record with 11 made threes in a game exactly three years ago.

Thompson will likely guard Leonard for a good portion of the series. If the All-NBA second-team selection can even do a decent job on the Raptors’ star, he might be able to garner some votes. Andre Iguodala won the 2015 NBA Finals MVP award over Curry in large part because of his defensive effort against LeBron James.

Leonard has been the unofficial MVP of the playoffs. He’s the only Raptor with a real chance to win the award. Toronto can’t beat Golden State four times unless Leonard is the best player in the series, which is why his MVP odds are almost equal to Toronto’s odds of winning the title.

Pascal Siakam has the second-best MVP odds on the Raptors. His odds range from 25/1 to as high as 63/1.