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This NBA season is as wide open as ever and sportsbooks are mirroring that sentiment.

In a typical year, there’s usually preseason consensus on a favourite to win the NBA championship.

In 2022-23, Milwaukee, Golden State and Boston all own the shortest odds somewhere out there in the betting world.

We’re in a non-dynasty era of the NBA. It’s no longer LeBron James or Steph Curry versus the pack.

Transitioning to NBA awards, the same parity exists.

Jordan Poole for Sixth Man of The Year holds the biggest gap in pricing at FanDuel. He’s +450 for the award while the next option, Norman Powell, sits at +850.

For all the others, there’s no undeniable favourite. All of the secondary options or longshots are worth consideration.

In this year’s awards article, I’m going to give you my best bets on five of the awards factoring in the odds you can bet them at on FanDuel.

An important disclaimer - this isn’t a list of my predictions. This bakes in expected payout and where I believe you get the best bang for buck.

MVP Pick – Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (+600)

Am I declaring Embiid the best player in the NBA? No. But the narrative built around him for this season is the best amongst his peers. He’s finished runner-up twice in a row and was the favourite for last year’s top honour from the beginning of February up until the last week of the regular season. Nikola Jokic had a few landmark games and swayed voters and the analytics community at the eleventh hour. Health has always held The Process back, but after playing 68 games last year (nine absences due to COVID), he’s demonstrated an ability to stay on the court. He gets a full season with former MVP, James Harden, another year of rising star Tyrese Maxey, and two new teammates in P.J. Tucker and De’Anthony Melton who will strength their defensive capabilities. I believe Philadelphia has a legitimate shot at finishing the season as the No. 1 seed which would make Embiid nearly impossible to ignore for MVP.

ROTY Pick - Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets (+700)

Paolo Banchero deservedly is the favourite for this award at +200. He’s the best bet to lead all rookies in scoring this season. Keegan Murray at +460 has garnered the most preseason buzz with his MVP performance at Summer League and dead eye shooting from deep. But at +700, I feel the oddsmakers are dinging Smith Jr. for his lack of preseason reps and not factoring in his upside. We’re talking about a player who was projected as the No. 1 overall draft pick right up until the final days before the draft. He shot 42.0 per cent from three at Auburn, which is salivating from a 6’10 forward. His efficiency was better than Murray who shot 39.8 per cent at Iowa. But what I like most about Smith Jr. is his usage rate upside in Houston. He’s not the alpha dog scorer but has one of the highest minutes floors in his class. He might be the best defender amongst the Top 10 and I’m betting that’ll show out once the regular season begins.

6MOY Pick - Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors (+450)

The shortest price of all my award picks in this article, Poole seems destined to make this trophy his. Fresh off a four-year, $140 million extension, he should come into this season confident knowing the organization has his back. This award is all about scoring and few in the the league come off the bench with more playmaking abilities than him. Tyler Herro, the defending champ, is the only other candidate I envision with a chance to average above 20.0 ppg, but he runs the risk of exceeding the maximum number of games allowed in the starting unit. Barring significant injuries to any of Golden State’s starters, Poole should see the majority of his minutes off the bench.

 

MIP Pick – Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (+2500)

There are a few key principles I feel strongly about for this award.

  1. A No. 1 overall pick has never won this award and justifiably shouldn’t.
  2. Scoring is the key – excluding Pascal Siakam, the last eight winners have improved their point production by 6.0 ppg or more.
  3. The winner has to be a fringe star player. Gone are the days where a Ryan Anderson or Boris Diaw take home the award.

Haliburton is a rising star who checks all the boxes. He heads into the season as the unquestioned star of this Pacers team and demonstrated his potential after stepping out of De’Aaron Fox’s shadow in Sacramento. He went from 14.3 ppg and 7.4 apg in 51 contests with the Kings last year. In the 26 games with Indiana post-trade, he averaged 17.5 ppg and 9.6 apg. If he inches towards being a 20-10 point guard this season, his case is almost impossible to vote against.

 

DPOY Pick – Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers (+2000)

Opening disclaimer, I believe all the momentum leans in Rudy Gobert’s favour to win his fourth DPOY trophy. Even if Minnesota doesn’t win the West or finish with a Top 3 defence, Gobert’s influence on their team success will be the prevailing narrative. But looking at the past 10 winners of this award, every DPOY winner has played for one of the league’s Top 2 defences or finished first in their respective conference. Considering this award has a proven correlation to team success, if Minnesota doesn’t improve as everyone expects, the Cavs are a good alternative. After drafting Mobley, Cleveland wrapped 2021-22 with the league’s fifth ranked defence after finishing 25th the year prior. As many second-year players do, I anticipate Mobley to take a leap. I think Cleveland has a better shot at finishing with a Top 2 defence than Minnesota who has to climb up from 13th. 20-1 is a great dart throw.