2024 NBA Finals MVP Update: Celtics Guys Look Good
Brown May Be Best Value
With the Boston Celtics up 2-0 in the 2024 NBA Finals after a close-ish win in Game 2 on Sunday night, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP odds have been sussed out a bit more.
Of course, Boston’s top two players—Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown—are currently seen as the likeliest options to win the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, while a relatively new entrant to the contention group, Jrue Holiday, is now in the mix, considering just how good he has been defensively.
The odds for the Dallas Mavericks’ best NBA players have, understandably, dipped significantly, with Luka Dončić’s a distant third option and Kyrie Irving’s (+8000) below that of Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis (each +5000).
Irving has not had a good Finals so far, and while his past Finals experiences certainly tell that he can turn things around, it’s hard to no-show the first two games and still have a legitimate MVP chance on the NBA betting lines.
There isn’t much of a chance either White or Porzingis take home the award either, but with Boston clearly establishing itself as the better team through two games, it would take a huge comeback for a Maverick to get into pole position. Let’s run through the updated odds:
Jayson Tatum (+125)
Tatum is still the leader in the 2024 NBA Finals MVP odds, but it’s hard to imagine him winning MVP if he continues to shoot as poorly as he has so far in this series. He went 6-for-16 in Game 1 and then 6-for-22 in Game 2, scoring an underwhelming 34 points across the two NBA games.
Granted, he hasn’t needed to score a lot with how well the rest of the Celtics have played—and he is averaging 10 rebounds and 8.5 assists per contest, too—but he has been a non-factor in terms of scoring.
NBA teams, not players, win or lose championships and the Celtics are on the verge of winning another title because of how they have backed their best player when he hasn’t been at his best.
For an individual award, though, he has not been deserving thus far. That isn’t to say he can’t rebound and get back in the lead if he starts making shots in Dallas. Right now, he isn’t looking too good.
- Jaylen Brown (+155)
When looking at the NBA scores of this series, Brown is the guy who stands out the most for Boston. He scored 22 points in Game 1 to lead the Celtics and followed that up with 21 points in Game 2 to go with incredible defensive play — he has had three steals in both games and blocked three shots in Game 1.
His offensive consistency and the defensive contributions he has made likely put him a the most deserving MVP option through two games.
At +155, if you want to put all your eggs in one basket, Brown may be the guy to go with. You could also use the 2024 NBA Finals MVP odds to your advantage and corner the market on the Boston guys, backing both Tatum and Brown at plus money to try and guarantee a win.
There is risk involved there because the Mavericks can certainly come back in this series — just ask the Phoenix Suns from a few years ago how a 2-0 Finals lead holds up — or Holiday (we’ll get to him later) can make a push to steal MVP from the Celtics’ long-time leaders.
Luka Dončić (+600)
Luka has done pretty much all he can do so far in this series but because of how much Kyrie has struggled and how disappointed the rest of Dallas’ supporting cast has done, the Mavericks are in a very tough spot.
He put up 30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1 and then posted a 32-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in Game 2 and neither performance was enough.
He has had issues on defense, to be fair, and Dončić will never be mistaken for a lockdown defender. But, Dallas is going to need him to really step up on that end of the floor while also continuing to score 30+ points a night if the Mavericks are going to have any chance at winning and if he is going to potentially be named MVP.
Luka might also need to routinely score 40+ to really put the entire team on his back. However, it’s not so easy to do that against Boston.
- Jrue Holiday (+650)
He might not get as much shine as Tatum or Brown but Holiday’s performance all season was a major reason why the Celtics were at the top of the NBA standings from the get-go. This series has shown just how valuable he can be at both ends of the floor.
Defense was more of his focus in Game 1 as he scored 12 points to go with eight boards and five dimes while he took on a scoring mentality in Game 2, dropping 26 points with 11 rebounds.
It may take a quiet rest of the series from Tatum and Brown for Holiday to garner serious MVP consideration but as an incredibly disruptive defender who has played a role in Irving’s low-scoring outputs, he is definitely worth a flier at +650.
Defense wins championships and Holiday’s reputation precedes him as a big-game player who makes as many notable defensive plays as he does offensive plays.
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