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NBA betting: Jayson Tatum now favored to win Finals MVP over Steph Curry

sam cooper
College football writer
·2-min read

Stephen Curry is no longer the betting favorite to win NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Curry and the Golden State Warriors dropped Game 3 of the Finals on Wednesday night, and now the Boston Celtics hold a 2-1 edge in the series.

With the Celtics out in front, Boston star Jayson Tatum is now the favorite to win MVP at BetMGM. Tatum, who had 26 points and nine assists in the 116-100 win, is listed at +115 with Curry next in line at +200. Behind those two is Boston’s Jaylen Brown at +300. From there, there isn’t another player with MVP odds better than +3000.

Curry has three NBA championship rings but has never won Finals MVP. He scored a game-high 31 points in the Warriors’ Game 3 loss, but it wasn’t enough as Boston jumped out to a big first quarter lead and closed things out with a dominant performance in the fourth.

Curry hasn’t gotten much help from his teammates so far in the Finals. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins have both been up-and-down while Draymond Green had just two points, four rebounds and three assists while fouling out in 35 minutes on Wednesday night.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 08: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics drives past Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter during Game Three of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 08, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 08: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics drives past Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter during Game Three of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 08, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

On top of that, Curry hurt his foot in the fourth quarter. Though he is expected to be OK for Game 4, Curry’s injury adds another layer of difficulty to the series when it continues in Boston on Friday night.

Curry has been the most popular Finals MVP bet by a significant margin. According to BetMGM, Curry has received 17.6% of the bets and a whopping 34.2% of the money.

As of Thursday morning, Tatum has received the second-most bets (9.7%) and money (13.6%) — but those figures are well behind Curry.

Curry was +100 to win MVP when the Finals began with Tatum next at +175, so it hasn’t been too much of a shift. Predictably, with Boston now up 2-1 with another home game on the horizon, the overall odds for the series have moved in a big way in the Celtics’ favor.

Boston is now -225 to win its first title since 2008. The Warriors, who have three championships since 2015, are now +180 underdogs.