Here's How Much A Preseason $1,000 Bet On Nikola Jokic To Win NBA MVP Paid Out

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is the 2020-2021 NBA Most Valuable Player. He beat Stephen Curry and Joel Embid to win the award on Tuesday afternoon.

Jokic, drafted 41st overall in 2014 out of Serbia, entered the league as a raw center and has blossomed into one of the biggest stars in the league. He finished this season with an average of 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals.

Nicknamed “The Joker”, he made history by winning the MVP award. He's the lowest drafted player to ever win the award at 41st overall. Previously, Steve Nash and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the lowest drafted MVP winners, both at 15th overall.

Jokic played in all 72 regular-season games, making him the first MVP since Kobe Bryant in 2008 to play in every game. He is also the first Denver Nuggets player to win the award. He garnered 91 of 101 first-place votes and accumulated 971 total points.

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Embid finished second with 586 while Curry came in third with 453. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul rounded out the top five in voting.

The Nuggets entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference after going 47-25. In the opening round of the playoffs, they beat the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. On Monday night, they began their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Phoenix Suns with a 122-105 loss.

While the MVP is a regular-season award, Jokic continues to impress in the playoffs and was a catalyst for the Nuggets even making it this far. After injuries to point guard Jamaal Murray and forward Michael Porter Jr, Jokic stepped up and led the team to the third seed in the West.

In the postseason, Jokic is averaging 31.4 points per game with 10.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

How much money would a $1,000 preseason bet on Jokic have netted?

When the NBA MVP odds opened for the 2020-2021 season in October, Antetokounmpo entered as the favorite to win his third in a row at +600, according to DraftKings DKNG. Luka Doncic also entered at +600, while LeBron James and Anthony Davis were at +700.

Jokic entered the season at +2000, meaning a $1,000 bet on him to win the MVP award would have netted $20,000.

As the season progressed and Jokic emerged as one of the top players, his odds continued to shrink, reaching +470 on Feb. 1 before hitting +100 on March 22. By the end of the regular season and it was clear he was the favorite, his odds were -8500.

Photo credit: All-Pro Reels, Flickr