NBA Finals MVP Betting: Odds, History, and More

Since 1969, a top performer in the NBA's championship series has been named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Many NBA greats past and present have received this award at least once, including Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and the late Kobe Bryant.

Winning the championship and taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy are the biggest goal for every player that takes part in the NBA Finals, but MVP honors are one of the perks of achieving that goal.

Below, we dive a little deeper into NBA Finals MVP history and how you can bet on who will take home the honor in this year's championship clash at Lucky Rebel and other top online sportsbooks.

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2026 NBA Finals MVP Odds

Odds are from Lucky Rebel as of Sunday, May 24, 2026.

Where to Bet on NBA Finals MVP Odds

Betting on the NBA Finals draws significant interest each year. That includes betting on who will win NBA Finals MVP. Many of the best NBA betting sites offer NBA Finals MVP odds, including sites such as Lucky Rebel, BetOnline, and Everygame.

Some sites even offer bonuses centered around betting on the NBA Finals, much like they do for betting on the Super Bowl, March Madness, and other marquee events.

Be sure to check out the bonuses and promotions at your favorite sports betting sites in the days leading up to the NBA Finals to make sure you don't miss out on the opportunity to boost your bankroll for betting on the championship series.

How to Bet on NBA Finals MVP Odds

As with other regular season or postseason awards, such as NBA MVP, the MLB MVP awards, Super Bowl MVP, and the Heisman Trophy, NBA Finals MVP odds are futures odds.

Some online sportsbooks, such as Lucky Rebel, will have odds when the postseason starts, allowing bettors to potentially bet on someone before their chosen player's odds shorten. Other sites may not have odds until after the conference finals finish.

Depending on the matchup and the players involved, there may be a heavy favorite. Many of the NBA's best teams are led by one or two superstars, and these players will occupy the top spots in any odds.

If the Finals matchup is expected to be close, the MVP favorites may not be separated by a wide margin. But if one team is heavily favored, there will be some distance between that team's star(s) and the other team's star(s).

As with any other futures bets, whether you choose to bet on NBA Finals MVP odds may come down to value and timing.

If you want to bet on the favorite but elect to wait until after the series starts, you may well get better value than you would have prior to the series.

On the other hand, if you bet on someone who is not the favorite, your best option might be to do so before the series starts. If they perform well in the first game or two, their odds could significantly shorten.

In most years, the eventual NBA Finals MVP winner will be a superstar from the winning team. But there are occasional surprises, such as in 2015 when Andre Iguodala won the award after doing his part to help the Golden State Warriors defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

NBA Finals MVP History

Since the award's inception, many household names have received this accolade for shining in the NBA's championship series.

Here are a few fast facts about the award's history.

Who are the most recent NBA Finals MVP winners?

Here are the 20 most recent NBA Finals MVP winners, as well as their odds to win the award. Odds are courtesy of Sports Odds History, a treasure trove of historical odds and information for the major North American sports and leagues and more.

In that time, the biggest favorite to win is 2025 winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while the biggest underdog by a massive margin is Iguodala in 2015.

NBA Finals MVP Winners (2005-Present)

Has a rookie ever won the award?

NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is the only rookie to win Finals MVP. Johnson, the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft, helped the Los Angeles Lakers reach the Finals in his debut season in the league.

After averaging 21.5 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, and 8.7 assists per game in six games in the Lakers' 1980 NBA Finals win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Johnson took home Most Valuable Player honors.

Has someone on a losing team won the award?

The only NBA Finals MVP to come from the losing team was the first winner of the award. In the 1969 NBA Finals, Jerry West and the Lakers lost out to the Boston Celtics in a hotly contested seven-game series that featured three games decided by one or two points.

However, West became the first player to receive NBA Finals MVP honors for his outstanding efforts in the series. He scored 40 or more points in four games, including 53 in L.A.'s Game 1 win, and averaged 37.9 PPG, 7.4 APG, and 4.7 RPG.

In the years since, there have been worthy players on losing teams. But as with Super Bowl MVP, which has also only had one winner from a losing team, a losing player faces tall odds no matter how well they have played.

Who has won NBA Finals MVP the most times?

Michael Jordan earned NBA Finals MVP honors in all six of the Chicago Bulls' championship wins in the 1990s. LeBron James has won the award four times with three different teams (2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat, 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and 2020 with the Lakers).

Magic Johnson (1980, 1982, 1987), Shaquille O'Neal (2000, 2001, 2002), and Tim Duncan (1999, 2003, 2005) are all three-time winners. Willis Reed (1970, 1973), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971, 1985), Larry Bird (1984, 1986), Hakeem Olajuwon (1994, 1995), Kobe Bryant (2009, 2010), Kawhi Leonard (2014, 2019), and Kevin Durant (2017, 2018) are the other players to win NBA Finals MVP multiple times.

NBA Finals MVP FAQ