Why Nikola Jokić at +6000 for NBA MVP Is the Sharpest Bet on the Board
As the 2025-26 regular season winds down, the MVP race has a clear favorite in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and serious buzz around Victor Wembanyama. But Nikola Jokić sits at +6000 on most sportsbooks—third in the odds but treated like an afterthought by voters. That number feels like a gift for bettors who actually look at the numbers instead of the narrative.
Let’s run the tape. Jokić is putting up 27.9 points per game (7th in the NBA), but he’s miles ahead of the flashier counting stats that voters love. He leads the league in rebounding at 12.9 RPG—Wembanyama is a distant 5th at 11.4. He’s also No. 1 in assists at 10.8 APG; Shai is back in 18th at 6.5. Both Jokić and Wemby have played 60-61 games. Shai has suited up for 64, yet the Serbian big man still posts the second-best PER in basketball (32.5-32.6 range), trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo—who’s played just 34-36 games and is effectively out of the conversation.
Jokić is the only player in the top tier doing everything at an elite level. He’s not just scoring—he’s orchestrating the Nuggets’ offense like a point guard in a 7-footer’s body while dominating the glass. Efficiency? Off the charts. Wins above replacement and advanced metrics back it up. Yet the betting market and media have him as a distant long shot behind SGA (31.6 PPG on a presumed top seed) and Wemby (the shiny new superstar on a Spurs team rolling at a .760 clip).
So why the disrespect? Voter fatigue is real. Jokić already has three MVPs. NBA awards historically punish repeat winners once the “new shiny toy” narrative kicks in—see the love for Wemby’s two-way explosion or SGA’s scoring explosion on what looks like the league’s best team. Denver sits at 48-28 with 6 games to play, solid but not the juggernaut OKC or San Antonio have been. Narrative > stats in MVP voting, and the story right now is “SGA carries the No. 1 seed” or “Wemby is the future.” That’s exactly why +6000 is screaming value. Jokić has been the best all-around player in the league again. He leads the NBA in rebounding and assists while posting top-10 scoring on elite efficiency. His PER sits second only to a guy who barely played half a season. If the Nuggets close strong and Jokić keeps triple-double hunting, the advanced-stat crowd (and any voter who actually watches film) will remember who’s been the most valuable night in and night out. At +6000, you’re getting 60-1 implied odds on a player who’s been the best in the league by most objective measures. That’s not a long shot—that’s a mispriced gift. If you’re betting MVP futures, the Joker at plus money this big is the play. The numbers don’t lie. The market just isn’t listening.
We won’t make a large wager on this but will make a small investment instead. It’s not about stats or who is the best player, it’s political and biased and decided by uninformed, biased sports writers.
LA CLIPPERS OVER 49.5 WINS (-120) – The Clippers are going to be better this season than they were a year ago when they won 50 games. They lost Norman Powell to the Heat but added Bradley Beal, Chris Paul and Brook Lopez. They also get a full year with John Collins in the lineup after trading for him midway through the season last year. The health of aging Kahwi Leonard is always a concern but this deep roster can overcome load management games with some of the vets resting nights. Los Angeles was 6th in average margin of victory last season at +4.7PPG and had the 5th best Efficiency Differential at +4.8.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS OVER 43.5 WINS (+100) – The one caveat that could derail this season long win total bet is if Giannis Antetokounmpo demands a trade mid-season. The Bucks added a few key pieces in the offseason with Miles Turner, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris along with bringing back Thanasis Antetokounmpo (to appease Giannis). Milwaukee had the 11th best Efficiency Differential in the NBA a year ago at +2.4 and won 48 games. The Eastern Conference is going to be down this season with Super Star players Jayson Tatum (Celtics) and Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers) sidelined. The Bucks have won 44+ games every season dating back to the 2017-18 season. Giannis was a top 3 player last season in Value Index and Usage percentage. If he stays…the Bucks win 50.
TORONTO RAPTORS OVER 39.5 WINS (-110) – The Raptors had the 9th most missed games due to injuries last season and still managed to win 30 games. If this team can remain healthy we like them to get to 40+ wins and make the playoffs as a 6-8 seed. The starting lineup of Quickley, Barrett, Ingram, Barnes and Poeltl is solid. Ingram and Barnes are All-Star caliber players capable of averaging 22+ points per game.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS UNDER 47.5 WINS (-122) – The Warriors are obviously a public team and their win total reflects a bump of a few wins making them a value UNDER team. Father time is undefeated and Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Al Horford aren’t getting any younger. This team was still elite defensively a year ago with the 7th best Defensive Efficiency rating in the regular season, but their offense was average (15th in OEFF). The Warriors won 48 games a year ago but it’s going to be tough to get to that number with this aging roster. And let’s face it, Golden State isn’t concerned about winning the division or the Western Conference, they want to be fresh come playoff time and just have a seat at the table.
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ASA’s ACC Sleeper Team in 2026: Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction The ACC is deeper and more unbalanced than it used to be: 17 football programs, a new nine-game league slate for most of them, and several rebuilt staffs chasing the same bowl spots. Miami, Clemson, and SMU will get the preseason headlines. Virginia Tech is… Read more: ACC Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction 2026
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College Football Home field advantage isn’t all the same. When it comes to college football handicapping, most bettors look at a team’s overall power rating and move on to the point spread. But there’s another question J’s Plays believes you should be asking: Where does that team perform best—at home or on the road? That… Read more: College Football Handicapping: Finding Value with Home & Road Ratings
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ASA NBA Future Bet:Nuggets at +700: A Championship Steal with Upgraded Depth and Defense
The Denver Nuggets sit at +700 odds to win the 2025-26 NBA Championship (implied probability ~12.5%), offering solid value for a team that’s reloaded around Nikola Jokić after a heartbreaking seven-game loss to the Thunder in the 2024-25 Western Conference Semifinals.
Fresh off a 50-32 regular season that secured the No. 4 seed, Denver’s elite offense—ranking 4th in offensive efficiency (OEFF) last year at 116.3 points per 100 possessions—remains one of the league’s best, but their defensive woes (22nd in defensive efficiency, DEFF, at 114.5) needed improvement. Fast-forward to the offseason: the Nuggets aggressively addressed depth and perimeter D, transforming a top-heavy roster into a balanced contender poised for another title run.
In the 2023-24 championship season, they finished 5th in OEFF and 8th in DEFF. Last year’s defensive drop-off correlated with thin bench minutes, but new additions flip the script. Trading Michael Porter Jr. (a high-usage scorer plagued by inconsistency – not a great defender) to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson nets a defensive upgrade—Johnson posted a career-best 18.8 PPG in 2024-25 while ranking in the 85th percentile for defensive versatility, per NBA Advanced Stats, adding switchable wings to clog passing lanes.
Re-signing Bruce Brown (the 2023 Finals X-factor) brings back gritty two-way play, while signing Tim Hardaway Jr. (fresh off a stint with Detroit) injects 40% three-point shooting (on 5.5 attempts per game last season) to stretch floors and punish help defense. Swapping Dario Šarić for Jonas Valančiūnas from Sacramento provides Jokić his best backup big ever—a rebounding machine (9.3 RPG for his career) who can anchor the paint with Jokic on the bench. These moves boost bench net rating by an estimated +4.2 points per 100 possessions (via Cleaning the Glass projections), directly targeting last year’s -3.1 non-Jokić minutes.
With Jokić entering his prime (projected for another MVP-caliber 26-12-9 line) and a healthier Jamal Murray, Denver’s now built for playoff grind. At +700, they’re undervalued and a solid bet to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy and pocket that sweet payout.
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If you’re looking for a few NBA Over-Under wagers or Future bets for the upcoming season, you’ve come to the right place.
ASA is coming off a banner season in the NBA, one of their best in 30+ years and have already been hard at work assessing all of the NBA’s rosters/teams in anticipation of the season.
Here are the bets we’ve already made and the best options for your future options.
L.A. CLIPPERS OVER 46.5 WINS
This roster is largely intact from a year ago and will hopefully benefit from having Kawhi Leonard for more than the 52 games he played a year ago. Of course, that’s also a risk as Leonard has been injury prone, but when he’s healthy he is still one of the 10 best players in the league. The Clippers defensive efficiency numbers slipped last season but expect them to get back to their numbers of previous season when they lived in the top 10 in that category. In fact, the Clippers ranked top 10 in DEFF in 2020, 21 and 2022. Last year the Clippers finished 12th in offensive efficiency after finishing in the top 5 in two of the three previous seasons. Los Angeles won 44 games a year ago and had a positive +/- of +0.1PPG. The value in the number is our driving factor in this wager as the Oddmakers posted a total win number of 52.5 last season on this same roster. The Clippers had one of the worst records in the NBA in games decided by 5-points or less at 8-38 so expect a few more wins in close games and an easy Over ticket winner.
DENVER NUGGETS UNDER 52.5 WINS
The World Champs should see a regression in their win total for several factors including the fact they will have a target on their backs every night out. Secondly, the Nuggets suffered a few key losses in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green who were instrumental in their Championship run. Last season the Nuggets won 53 games in the regular season and had an average Margin of Victory of +3.2PPG which was 6th best in the league. Denver owned the 3rd best offensive efficiency rating during the regular season and were below average in defensive efficiency allowing 1.110-points per possession ranking 17th. We expect the rest of the Northwest Division to be improved over last season which will make getting to 53 wins more difficult. Overall, the entire Western Conference is loaded from top to bottom with up to seven teams being legitimate contenders to win the Conference. We are betting on a slight regression for the Nuggets and their regular season win total.
BOSTON CELTICS OVER 54.5 WINS
This Celtics roster is better than last year’s that won 57-games with the additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. The Celtics now feature a core group of Super Stars that can sustain winning results through multiple injuries if they occur during the regular season. They also have depth with the likes of Sam Hauser, Derrick White, Al Horford and Payton Prichard. Gone from the Celtics roster are Grant Williams, Robert Williams and Marcus Smart, but the additions far outweigh the subtractions. Boston was 1st in Efficiency differential last season at +6.6, they were 2nd in offensive efficiency averaging 1.181-points per possession and 3rd defensively allowing 1.115PPP. The Celtics had the best overall Average Margin of Victory at +5.9PPG and were one of only six teams to have a positive road differential at +2.9PPG. The Eastern Conference isn’t nearly as good as the West which will make winning 55+ games a very realistic opportunity for the C’s.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS UNDER 48.5 WINS
The Warriors have an aging roster, and the saying Father time waits for no man applies to this team more than anyone. Golden State didn’t get any younger this season when they traded for Chris Paul and we don’t see him being a great fit in the Warriors fast paced offense. When the Warriors were winning Championships, they had one of the best defenses in the NBA. In three of the four seasons the Warriors won it all they ranked top 10 in defensive efficiency three times. Last season this group slipped to 15th in the NBA in DEFF. In our rankings, we have the Pacific Division as the best in basketball with the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Kings and Warriors. Golden State was 13-16 SU against the Pacific last season and collectively those teams are all better this season. The Warriors really struggled on the road last regular season with an 11-30 SU away record and an average Margin of Victory of minus -5.9PPG which ranked bottom five in the league. To be a great team in the NBA you have to win on the road and the Warriors just don’t qualify as a great team anymore. Golden State won 44 games a season ago and we’ll project a .500 season at 41-41.
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Oklahoma State Cowboys 2026: Why ASA Picks OSU as the Big 12 Prediction Oklahoma State CowboysCollege football’s most chaotic conference is back with 16 teams, nine league games each, and plenty of room for a team nobody is talking about in August to wreck November. After a 1-11 collapse in 2025, the Oklahoma State Cowboys… Read more: Oklahoma State Cowboys 2026 Big 12 prediction
Minnesota Lynx Lead as WNBA Championship Odds-On Favorites Heading Into the Playoffs The 2026 WNBA regular season is in its final stretch. If you’re tracking the latest 2026 WNBA Championship Odds, all eight playoff teams are locked in, seeding remains fluid, and the championship futures market has a clear leader. The Minnesota Lynx sit as… Read more: 2026 WNBA Championship Odds:
College Football Home field advantage isn’t all the same. When it comes to college football handicapping, most bettors look at a team’s overall power rating and move on to the point spread. But there’s another question J’s Plays believes you should be asking: Where does that team perform best—at home or on the road? That… Read more: College Football Handicapping: Finding Value with Home & Road Ratings
2026 NFL Preseason Week 2 QB Rotations Preview: Projected Playing Time for Every Game. ASA gives you the edge with a quick look at what the projected QB rotations will be this week in the NFL preseason games. For those curious about all NFL Preseason Week 2 quarterback rotations, this post lays out the key… Read more: 2026 NFL Preseason Week 2 QB Rotations Preview: Projected Playing Time for Every Game
Here are the expected NFL QB rotations for today’s (Saturday, August 15, 2026) NFL Preseason Week 1 games. This overview focuses specifically on NFL preseason QB rotations for 2026 based on coach announcements, depth charts, and reports as of game day. Plans can change slightly with in-game decisions, but these reflect the latest expected order… Read more: NFL preseason QB Rotations – August 15th 2026
NFL HALL OF FAME GAME PREVIEW This NFL Hall of Fame Game Preview Cardinals vs Panthers will set the stage for an exciting matchup. These two teams face off in this celebrated preseason event. Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers – August 6th 2026 Football is officially back. On Thursday, August 6, 2026, the NFL’s 107th… Read more: NFL Hall of Fame Game 2026 Preview: Cardinals vs Panthers Odds and Analysis
ASA’s ACC WIN TOTAL PROJECTIONS 2026 Regular Season Win Total Projections courtesy Draftkings: Boston College 3.5 California 6.5 Clemson 7.5 Duke 5.5 Florida State 6.5 Georgia Tech 6.5 Louisville 8.5 Miami FL 10.5 NC State 7.5 North Carolina 4.5 Pittsburgh 7.5 SMU 8.5 Stanford 3.5 Syracuse 4.5 Virginia 7.5 Virginia Tech 6.5 Wake Forest 5.5… Read more: ASA ACC Win Total Projections: Cal Under & Clemson Over
The race for the 2026 NFL MVP award is heating up early, with several young quarterbacks positioned for big seasons. Importantly, fans and bettors are already watching the shifting 2026 NFL MVP odds closely as the preseason unfolds. Joe Burrow leads the odds at +900 as the clear favorite. Meanwhile, Jordan Love sits in the… Read more: 2026 NFL MVP Odds: Joe Burrow Favored, Jordan Love Mid-Tier, Bo Nix Longshot Analysis
Wisconsin Badgers bounce back 2026 WISCONSIN BADGERS Big 10 Sleeper – The Badgers look to bounce back after failing to make a bowl game in each of the last 2 seasons after reaching the post-season every year since 2002 prior to that. As a result of improved play, they showed some life near the end… Read more: Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten 2026
If you are a bettor that likes to invest in NBA futures here are a couple wagers to consider for league MVP. We are sticking with a pair of our preseason predictions but have added another based on early season results.
Giannis Antetokounmpo +$250
Before the season started, we predicted Giannis Antetokounmpo as the NBA league MVP at +$250. Giannis is putting up 29.9PPG, 11.8RPG, 5.5APG with a PER rating of 29.14. In order he ranks 8th, 2nd, 29th and 6th in those four key categories. Milwaukee holds the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference at 11-3. The Greek Freak is quietly putting up numbers similar to his 2019 and 2020 season when he won back-to-back MVP’s.
Ja Morant +$1400
We also like a long shot early on with Ja Morant who is now listed at +1400. We still like Morant who is 9th in scoring at 29.3PPG while also averaging 6.8-Assists Per Game (14th) and 6.2-Rebounds Per Game (60th) with a PER of 26.19 (10th). Memphis has dealt with a number of key injuries early on but have still managed a 9-6 record. For Morant to win though he will have to improve on his assists per game and Memphis will need to finish as one of the top teams in the West.
Jayson Tatum $+550
New to the table is Jason Tatum who has led the Celtics to a 12-3 record and the best team +/- in the league at +7.1PPG. We won’t be surprised if Boston finishes first in the East again and if that’s the case, Tatum will be high on the voter’s radar. Tatum has the 7th best PER at 27.50, is 5th in scoring at 31.1PPG, is grabbing 7.4 Boards Per Game (40th) and is dishing out 4.1APG which ranks 50th. What makes Tatum as an attractive option right now is the fact that his team is deep and defenses can’t key on him. Boston spaces the floor with shooters at every position and they make shots at a 48.8% which is 3rd in the NBA. That means additional assist per game for Tatum even if he isn’t scoring as much.
HONORABLE MENTION – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – SGA won’t win MVP this season because he’s on a losing team in the Thunder but he’s put up incredible numbers to start the season and is worth mentioning. Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring 32.3PPG, grabbing 4.5RPG and dishing out 5.9APG. His PER rating is 30.10 which is 3rd best in the NBA.
Here is our elimination list or players I would avoid investing in: #1 on the list is Zion Williamson. Who in their right mind would invest in this “china doll” who can’t stay healthy? Yes, he can be a stat-sheet stuffer but there is no chance he wins MVP playing limited games this season. #2 Nikola Jokic. Jokic has won it the past two seasons which and it’s unlikely we would see a three-year run from the media. He also has Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back from injury and both cut into his scoring numbers.
ASA’s ACC Sleeper Team in 2026: Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction The ACC is deeper and more unbalanced than it used to be: 17 football programs, a new nine-game league slate for most of them, and several rebuilt staffs chasing the same bowl spots. Miami, Clemson, and SMU will get the preseason headlines. Virginia Tech is… Read more: ACC Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction 2026
Oklahoma State Cowboys 2026: Why ASA Picks OSU as the Big 12 Prediction Oklahoma State CowboysCollege football’s most chaotic conference is back with 16 teams, nine league games each, and plenty of room for a team nobody is talking about in August to wreck November. After a 1-11 collapse in 2025, the Oklahoma State Cowboys… Read more: Oklahoma State Cowboys 2026 Big 12 prediction
Minnesota Lynx Lead as WNBA Championship Odds-On Favorites Heading Into the Playoffs The 2026 WNBA regular season is in its final stretch. If you’re tracking the latest 2026 WNBA Championship Odds, all eight playoff teams are locked in, seeding remains fluid, and the championship futures market has a clear leader. The Minnesota Lynx sit as… Read more: 2026 WNBA Championship Odds:
College Football Home field advantage isn’t all the same. When it comes to college football handicapping, most bettors look at a team’s overall power rating and move on to the point spread. But there’s another question J’s Plays believes you should be asking: Where does that team perform best—at home or on the road? That… Read more: College Football Handicapping: Finding Value with Home & Road Ratings
2026 NFL Preseason Week 2 QB Rotations Preview: Projected Playing Time for Every Game. ASA gives you the edge with a quick look at what the projected QB rotations will be this week in the NFL preseason games. For those curious about all NFL Preseason Week 2 quarterback rotations, this post lays out the key… Read more: 2026 NFL Preseason Week 2 QB Rotations Preview: Projected Playing Time for Every Game
Ouch #Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights were favored by 30ish points tonight at home vs #UMass and they trail the Minutemen 24-7 at half! Massachusetts dominating with 251 total yards at half to just 108 for Rutgers. #CFBThursday
