{"id":97857,"date":"2024-09-26T13:04:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T17:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=97857"},"modified":"2026-03-11T00:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:14:56","slug":"2024-25-nba-mvp-odds-lebron-james-mvp-days-are-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/26\/2024-25-nba-mvp-odds-lebron-james-mvp-days-are-over\/","title":{"rendered":"2024-25 NBA MVP Odds: LeBron James MVP Days Are Over"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a>\u2019s MVP-winning days are long over. Although some argue that he is the greatest basketball player of all time, he is no longer the most valuable player in the league. LeBron has been defying expectations his whole career, and the last few seasons have been no exception.r Entering his 22nd season and turning 40 in December with his son playing beside him, he will look to bring the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/19\/2024-25-nba-betting-preview-los-angeles-lakers-win-total-odds\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> back to the NBA Finals, but an MVP award is unlikely. The LeBron <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/17\/2024-25-nba-mvp-odds-the-case-for-luka-doncic\/\" target=\"_self\">MVP odds<\/a> are currently +15000. This <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/10\/nba-odds-breaking-down-the-favorites-in-the-pacific-division\/\" target=\"_self\">2024-25 NBA betting<\/a> preview will look at the LeBron James MVP odds and determine if he has any chance to win another MVP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>2024-25 NBA MVP Odds: LeBron James MVP Days Are Over<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"input-box\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<div id=\"waffle-rich-text-editor\" class=\"cell-input editable disabled-input\" dir=\"ltr\" role=\"combobox\" contenteditable=\"false\" aria-label=\"B6\" aria-autocomplete=\"list\" tabindex=\"0\">[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;170476&#8243;]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>LeBron\u2019s MVP Past<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last season,<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/02\/top-5-nba-power-forwards-heading-into-the-2024-25-season\/\" target=\"_self\"> LeBron James<\/a> was unbelievable. He ended the season ranked 13th in the league in points and 5th in assists. At 39 years old, he averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. Although he has taken a step down from his explosive, high-flying past, he is still among the best players in the NBA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;He can shoot it better, he&#39;s faster, he&#39;s more athletic, he&#39;s not even getting tired&#8230; I just don&#39;t understand.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>First-ever IST MVP: LeBron James. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/00CeTltILb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/00CeTltILb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Lakers\/status\/1734047099619025326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James has already claimed four MVP awards during his career, joining an elite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask\/most-mvps-in-nba-history\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">club<\/a> of players:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/abdulka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>,\u00a0<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jordami01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Jordan<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russebi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Russell<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chambwi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wilt Chamberlain<\/a>, each with four or more MVPs. However, it has been over a decade since LeBron last won the award (2013). Despite remaining one of the league\u2019s top performers, younger stars like <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> have dominated recent MVP conversations. LeBron hasn\u2019t landed in the top three for MVP voting since the 2019-2020 season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"input-box\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<div id=\"waffle-rich-text-editor\" class=\"cell-input editable disabled-input\" dir=\"ltr\" role=\"combobox\" contenteditable=\"false\" aria-autocomplete=\"list\" aria-label=\"B5\" tabindex=\"0\">[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;170460&#8243;]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Factors Working Against LeBron<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two main factors that will work against LeBron\u2019s MVP case are team success and the new 65-game rule. The last time an NBA MVP\u2019s team wasn\u2019t near the top of the standings was when <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a> won the award in 2016-2017. The Lakers simply aren\u2019t good enough to put LeBron into the MVP conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LeBron James on his son, Bronny James, entering his rookie season and his advice for him <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RSRecommends?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RSRecommends<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>&quot;I\u2019m excited to just be present for him as a teammate and a father. And beyond his career and as general advice for life: have fun.&quot; <\/p>\n<p>More: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JG4qdXGkQv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/JG4qdXGkQv<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KNK9CbLSnX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/KNK9CbLSnX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RollingStone\/status\/1839319437759099125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers have gone under their projected win total for four years in a row. They haven\u2019t won 50 games since the COVID season, and they\u2019ve narrowly made the playoffs as a seven seed the last two years. There hasn\u2019t been enough roster improvement around LeBron and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Davis<\/a> this offseason for us to believe they will be able to be a top seed in the NBA standings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Health is the next factor that hurts LeBron James&#8217; MVP odds. The NBA\u2019s new rule that players must play 65 games to be eligible for major end-of-season awards directly affects LeBron\u2019s ability to win his fifth MVP. Since joining the Lakers in the 2018-19 season, LeBron has only played more than 65 games twice. Although he did play in 71 games last year, at his age, don\u2019t expect him to repeat that this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LeBron James intends to opt out of his $51.4M player option for next season with the expectation to return to the Lakers on a new deal, per <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ShamsCharania<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4eDHEEoI9S\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4eDHEEoI9S<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BleacherReport\/status\/1807085214650548299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Long Odds, Save Your Money<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"input-box\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<div id=\"waffle-rich-text-editor\" class=\"cell-input editable disabled-input\" dir=\"ltr\" role=\"combobox\" contenteditable=\"false\" aria-autocomplete=\"list\" aria-label=\"B4\" tabindex=\"0\">[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;170468&#8243;]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the LeBron James <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/21\/2024-25-nba-mvp-odds-embiid-wont-win-another\/\" target=\"_self\">MVP odds<\/a> of +15000 may seem enticing, it\u2019s better to stay away. Father time is slowly creeping up on King James, and there are too many other young stars able to put up much better statistics on much better teams. It seems like LeBron will end his career with four MVP awards, is that enough to make him the greatest basketball player of all time?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LeBron James\u2019s MVP-winning days are long over. Although some argue that he is the greatest basketball player of all time, he is no longer the most valuable player in the league. LeBron has been defying expectations his whole career, and the last few seasons have been no exception.r Entering his 22nd season and turning 40 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5284,"featured_media":97877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49087,1608,26,62],"tags":[240,2101,38,607,564,72,53],"class_list":["post-97857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball-betting","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-anthony-davis","tag-bill-russell","tag-lebron-james","tag-michael-jordan","tag-nba-mvp","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-russell-westbrook"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181051,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97857\/revisions\/181051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}