NBA Futures Tracker, Wednesday 23rd November
MVP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Oklahoma City may not get the prime time slots of some of the bigger-name teams in the NBA and may not even make the playoffs. But they do have a player who is as important to them as any player is to their franchise.
Gilgeous-Alexander has had an incredible season so far, averaging 31.4 points per game, the fourth-highest in the NBA and a Player Efficiency Rating of sixth in the league.
This season, he has won several games with his own hand, and the MVP buzz has escalated from a novelty outside bet to a genuine contender.
The market may not have fully caught up with his performance so far, but he has already come in from triple figures to now offering a price of $76. If he continues on even a slightly reduced level of what he has been playing at, he could be right in contention to be adorned the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
SUGGESTED BET:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win the MVP at $76
Sixth Man Of The Year
Nah'Shon Hyland
A raft of injuries to Denver in recent times has opened the door for several lesser lights to step up for the Nuggets, with none more than Bones Hyland.
Things looked worrying for Denver, with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon all sidelined at once. However, that allowed Hyland to step up and lead the team to some unlikely victories.
Over his last five games, Hyland has averaged 27.6 points per game, and while his minutes will most likely reduce with a full-strength squad around him, the boost in self-belief will remain.
The Nuggets are expected to go deep in the playoffs this season, and Hyland’s role off the bench is crucial to their hopes.
SUGGESTED BET:
Nah'Shon Hyland at $20
Most Improved Player
Desmond Bane
There are plenty of contenders for this award, not least of all the two candidates we have just profiled as possible MVPs and 6th man of the year winners. But to look a little laterally, the rise of Memphis this year is coming not just from the star power of Ja Morant but from the team around him, most notably Desmond Bane.
Bane’s rise first came in the playoffs last year and has only continued ever since with an impressive start to the season as the Robin to Morant’s Batman.
Bane’s shooting has been a hallmark of his game this season, and strategically it might be worth waiting out his current injury layoff (two to three weeks with a toe injury) to see if his odds for this award drift from the current $19. If they do, then hopefully, a market overreaction will work in your favour, as once he is back on the court, he will most likely continue to go from strength to strength.
