Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic Surge in NBA MVP Odds Amidst Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Injury Update

Over the last three weeks, amidst his own injury uncertainty, the return of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and the outstanding play of Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s odds of winning a second-straight MVP have taken a big hit.

The latest injury update on SGA has sent them down even more.

Gilgeous-Alexander is now -145 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the 2025-26 NBA MVP. He was -340 at DK a few weeks ago, but he’s been out of the Thunder lineup since Feb. 4 with an abdominal strain and his odds have continuously dropped since.

He was -210 at DK coming into this week.

The reason for the latest drop is a combination of Cunningham and Jokic’s surge in play and Marc Stein’s report today that SGA is out for at least another week. Gilgeous-Alexander still should play the required 65 regular-season games needed to be eligible for postseason awards, but the more time he loses, the more opportunity it creates for those chasing him.

Cunningham has been on a tear, averaging 27.3 points, 9.6 assists and 5.6 boards per game in February. He scored 42 points with 13 assists and eight rebounds against the Knicks in a dominant win last night. The Pistons lead the Eastern Conference by 5.5 games and are only one game behind the Thunder for the best record in the league.

Cunningham has moved from +1400 earlier this week to +500 now.

Jokic is averaging a near triple-double since his return from injury, putting up 23.1/13.7/9.6 in his last seven games. The points are far below his season average of 28.5, however, and the Nuggets are just 3-5 since he returned to the lineup.

Jokic was +300 to start the week.

Here are the latest MVP award odds on DraftKings

NBA MVP Odds

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -145
Nikola Jokic +330
Cade Cunningham +500
Luka Doncic +2800
Victor Wembanyama +3000
Jaylen Brown +4000

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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