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2023/24 NBA Awards, Predictions & Best Bets: Who’s Taking Home the MVP?
Written by: Varun Sharma
Last Updated:
Read Time: 7 minutes
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It’s almost hard to believe we’re just five days from tip off on the 2023/24 NBA Season. So much talent in to places, and so much young talent. The 2023/24 season is setting up to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. So let’s discuss who we’ve got taking home the NBA’s biggest Awards this Season.
Victor Wembanyama has impressed during the pre-season and he looks every bit worth the hype. Last year’s first overall pick, Chet Holmgren, has also been turning heads, looking primed for his rookie campaign.
With out further ado let’s get into our favourite Award Winners for this season. For each award, I’ll outline who I think will win it, but we’ll also be trying to identify some value on the board. Who wants to sweat chalk for 82 games right.
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Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY)
It all begins with defense. The DPOY is a tough award to predict, a lot of it is predicated not only on individual defense, but team defensive success as well.
Last year’s winner Jaren Jackson Jr. led the league in blocks/game (3) and block percentage (9.6%); he also lead the league in field goal percentage at the rim.
In addition to stellar individual stats, Jackson was the center piece of this Memphis Grizzlies defense. The Grizz finished 2nd in the Western Conference at 51-31, and finished with the 3rd best defensive rating in the league (110.7).
This year I’ve got my eyes on two guys to win this award. Let’s start off with the ‘safer’ option.
Anthony Davis DPOY Winner (+900) via Bovada
With all eyes on the Lakers this season, it’s Anthony Davis that looks ready to lead the charge.
Davis has been speaking all summer about wanting to play all 82 games, and about their animosity towards the Nuggets. Davis is coming in to the 2023/24 season with a chip on his shoulder.
Last year in 53 games AD averaged 2.0 blocks/game, 1.1 steals/game and a career high 12.5 rebounds/game. Last season, Lakers starters ranked in the top 4 of defensive rating, despite AD missing 29 games.
Davis was the the anchor to this defense during the 2020 Championship run and if they hope to make a similar run this year, he’ll have to do something similar.
Definitely the chalkier of my two plays, but I love AD to step up this season.
Anthony Davis Defensive Player of the Year (+900) via Bovada
Jrue Holiday DPOY Winner (+3300) via Bovada
More than anything, this is a narrative play. The Celtics’ defense is top 5 year in and year out, formerly anchored my Marcus Smart.
It looked like the C‘s defense was set to take a small step back with the departure of beloved Celtic, Marcus Smart; until Boston brought in another elite defender, Jrue Holiday.
Holiday remains one of the NBA’s best defenders, both on-ball and off-ball. He’s proven he can guard practically 1-4 and will be your team’s best defender on a nightly basis.
He doesn’t take nights off and he’s played 60+ games in 6 of his L7 seasons. Another team that’ll be under the microscope and in the news often, the Boston Celtics.
The members of the media voting on these awards love narratives. Who’s got a better narrative this season? Marcus Smart, the second ever point guard to win a DPOY award gets traded in the summer.
Enter, Jrue Holiday. The third ever point guard to win said award, with the very same team. Is this a reach? Probably, but at these odds why not.
Jrue Holiday Defensive Player of the Year (+3300) via Bovada
Rookie of the Year (ROY)
The rookie of the year awards is always one of the chalkiest of the bunch. It’s usually pretty clear which guys will be in the running but doesn’t mean we can’t find some value.
The two rookies favoured to win it all this year, Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. Both guys have looked great in the pre-season, already having faced off against each other once.
Chet Holmgren ROY Winner (+250) via Bovada
Chalk, yes just a little. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about this over the summer but Chet looks great. He’s put on weight, he looks comfortable with the three ball, and he’s able to put the ball on the floor and beat you that way.
This Thunder team are also primed to finally make that jump back into playoff contention. The Thunder were a play-in game away from their first playoff birth since Russell Westbrook.
Chet spent the entire last year with this Thunder staff getting NBA ready and working on his game. He was almost cleared to play at the tail end of last year, but ultimately wasn’t able to play.
This guy’s itching to play in his first NBA game, and help push the Thunder over that hump.
He’s likely to see the second most usage behind Shai, and with playoff hopes in mind, the Thunder won’t be looking to shut him down at any point during the season. The
Thunder are desperate for a second scoring option to put next to Shai, they’ve have him all along but now he finally gets to play.
Chet Holmgren Rookie of the Year (+250) via Bovada
Most Valuable Player (MVP)
The award everyone cares most about it. Most Valuable Player, let’s get into it.
Stephen Curry MVP (+1500) via Bovada
Steph’s entering his 15th season in the league, after averaging 29.4, 6.1 RPG, and 6.3 APG. He shot 49% from the field including 42.7% from 3.
With the two time MVP entering still putting up video game numbers at the age of 35, you’ve got to like his chances at a third MVP Award. Steph and the Warriors enter this season with a pretty different roster than last season.
The departure of Jordan Poole and should only allow for more usage, and scoring to go through Steph. With Chris Paul on the floor now it should provide more off-ball opportunities as well as provide someone to run the second unit.
Last year the Warriors struggled heavily when Steph wasn’t on the floor, both scoring the ball and running the offense. Now with CP3 in Golden State, it should help alleviate both issues. Allowing Steph a little more rest as well better off-ball scoring opportunities.
Steph’s also one of the few stars in the league right now that isn’t playing with another top 20 player. Guys like Tatum and Giannis are blessed with All-NBA teammates, but when it comes to the MVP conversation, sometimes great teammates can detract from your case.
Curry at the age of 35, hasn’t lost a step. He’s stronger now than he was during both his previous MVP campaigns, and still continues to shoot the lights out.
If Steph can come close to repeating the year he had last year, and the Dubs can secure homecourt in the playoffs, he’ll definitely be in the conversation for Most Valuable Player.
Stephen Curry Most Valuable Player (+1500) via Bovada
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