NBA Betting News This Month | Breaking Down Early Awards Odds Post-LeBron Shocker | August 2026

By Dan Favale, Updated on: Aug 11, 2026

Now that LeBron James has officially joined the Philadelphia 76ers, the NBA prop betting markets are going crazy.

Indeed, the same can be said for the best odds to win the 2027 NBA Finals. And we will cover that too!

For the month of August, though, we are more interested in the 2027 NBA awards odds. The Association’s betting lines to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and more are live. And while they are bound to shift between now and opening night October, there is potentially plenty of value to be mined from pouncing on the early releases.

The trick, of course, is identifying the right candidate to invest in. Sure, you may need to adjust and place another wager, depending on how next season shakes. But this exercise is all about locking in the best value wager now. We’ll go through our top pick in each category.

But first, like always, let’s have an updated look at the favorites to win the 2027 NBA title.

Here is a look at which five teams have the best odds to win the 2027 NBA Finals. These lines come courtesy of the folks over at Bovada.

2027 NBA Finals Odds

Golden State Warriors (+500)

Cleveland Cavaliers (+300)

Dallas Mavericks (+3000)

New York Knicks (+3000)

Miami Heat (+1000)

Golden State is the obvious favorite because this is the cleanest “win-now” path for LeBron. A pairing with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green has dominated July 1 reporting, and the Warriors are widely viewed as the team most aggressively positioned to make it happen.

Cleveland remains the sentimental threat because a third stint would give LeBron a homecoming angle and another shot at meaningful basketball. The biggest question is roster math, since multiple reports note that cap flexibility could complicate a reunion even if mutual interest is there.

Dallas is a true long-shot play, but the appeal is easy to understand if LeBron prioritizes another immediate contender. The Mavericks have shown up in July 1 odds boards as an outside option, though they have not had nearly the same momentum as Golden State or Cleveland.

The Knicks feel like a price-on-upside team rather than a likely landing spot. New York offers market size, contender appeal, and Madison Square Garden gravity, but current reporting still places them behind the Warriors, Cavs, and Heat in the actual race.

Miami makes sense because LeBron already knows the organization and could talk himself into one more run in a familiar winning environment. Even so, July 1 market coverage has generally treated the Heat as a secondary option behind Golden State, with a better chance than the deep long shots but less traction than the top favorite.

Okay, that’s enough title odds talk. Let’s get to some way-too-early, yet-totally necessary 2027 NBA awards analysis.

NBA Awards markets for 2027

Here is how this will work: We’ll list out the players with the five best odds to win each award that has a market. After that, we’ll give you who we’d bet on to win right now—even if they’re not in the top five.

Victor Wembanyama leads the NBA MVP market

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (+200)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (+350)
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets (+550)
Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers (+600)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1000)

If you are wondering when people expect the Victor Wembanyama world takeover to begin, well, it has apparently already happened.

While it is tough to argue with his case as a megastar playing for a championship contender, we find ourselves drawn toward Nikola Jokic. The Denver Nuggets are in a precarious situation, voters have overlooked him in each of the past two years, and rumor has it he won’t sign an extension. Yes, the latter point matters.

Nikola Jokic has reiterated his desire to stay long-term with the Denver Nuggets, per @MikeAScotto

“Despite the possibility of Nikola Jokic holding off on extension talks for now, per The Stein Line, Jokic has reiterated a desire to stay long-term in Denver in recent talks,… pic.twitter.com/YYNPctpMlz

— NBABase (@TheNBABase) June 28, 2026

Basically, we are expecting Jokic to go on a revenge tour, doing everything in his power to elevate the Nuggets and his own standing, before he makes a big-time decision next summer.

Best Bet to Win MVP: Nikola Jokic +550

Victor Wembanyama is already running away with Defensive Player of the Year

Victor Wembanyama (-350)
Chet Holmgren (+1200)
Ausar Thompson (+2500)
Rudy Gobert (+3000)
Scottie Barnes (+4000)

Get used to seeing Wemby pay out less than even money in Defensive Player of the Year odds. He won it in a landslide this past season. Poll any number of experts, including yours truly, and they’ll tell you he’s a lock to become the NBA’s first unanimous DPOY at some point.

The big question: Will he play in 65 games? His contract extension is set up so he doesn’t have to concern himself with winning awards. So, the race could be more wide open than many think.

That still isn’t a good enough reason to pick someone else. Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors is interesting at +4000. The same goes for Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers (+5000). And if the Los Angeles Lakers manage to have a good-or-better defense, Walker Kessler (+10000) is bound to enter the mix.

Best Bet to Win Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama -350

The 2027 Rookie of the Year race is shaping up to be an all-timer

Cameron Boozer, Memphis Grizzlies (+250)
Darryn Peterson, Utah Jazz (+325)
AJ Dybantsa, Washington Wizards (+400)
Caleb Wilson, Chicago Bulls (+500)
Darius Acuff Jr., Sacramento Kings (+750)

The top-four picks from this year’s draft populate the top four in this category as well. This should not come as a surprise. Each prospect is considered to have superstar potential.

Still, the opportunities for Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa will be more limited than many expect. Both are playing for teams trying to win, which could shrink their roles. Meanwhile, Caleb Wilson plays for a Chicago Bulls squad that doesn’t have great spacing. Given his impact is prided on play-finishing, this could be a problem.

We would steer clear of Darius Acuff Jr. The Sacramento Kings will give him plenty of touches, but that organization is a mess. Cameron Boozer is the right call here when looking at how many on-ball touches he’ll get.

“If you’re an anti-Boozer guy, the only thing you can say is he doesn’t jump with explosiveness. And there’s so much evidence in the NBA that this isn’t going to negate everything else.” pic.twitter.com/zyxkuVOn6t

— Hardwood Knocks (@HardwoodKnocks) July 13, 2026

With that said, we like Brayden Burries of the Milwaukee Bucks (+5000) and Yaxel Lendeborg of the Golden State Warriors (+2000) as darker-horse picks.

Best Bet to Win Rookie of the Year: Cameron Boozer +250

Brandon Miller leads a competitive Most Improved Player field

Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets (+800)
Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs (+1200)
Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics (+1200)
Kel’el Ware, Milwaukee Bucks (+1600)
Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons (+2000)

Brandon Miller leads the way for Most Improved Player. That makes sense considering the Charlotte Hornets just traded LaMelo Ball and will need the third-year wing to shoulder more of the offense.

Truth be told, we would pounce on Dylan Harper if MIP typically went to second-year players. It does not. Most of the time, it gravitates toward players in their third season or later.

Reed Sheppard of the Houston Rockets (+4000) has a good dark-horse case if you think he’ll be ahead of Marcus Smart in the team’s pecking order. We could be talked into Will Riley of the Washington Wizards (+8000) as well.

Ultimately, we like Cason Wallace of the Oklahoma City Thunder (+6000). He isn’t even laying top-10 odds, but his role will be bigger than ever after the team traded Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.

Best Bet to Win Most Improved Player: Cason Wallace +6000

Dylan Harper is pacing the Sixth Man of the Year landscape

Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs (+700)
Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City Thunder (+800)
Anthony Black, Orlando Magic (+1600)
Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets (+1600)
Tim Hardaway Jr., Miami Heat (+2000)

Believe it or not, we recommend avoiding Dylan Harper for Sixth Man of the Year. This isn’t because he’s not going to be great. On the contrary, we believe he’ll be so good that the Spurs put him in the starting lineup, rendering his case null and void.

We want to pick Reed Sheppard, but our concern here is the same as it is with Most Improved Player. It is unclear where he stands in the Rockets’ backcourt pecking order with a healthy Fred VanVleet and recently signed Marcus Smart.

Ajay Mitchell gets the nod for us. He stands to close some games for the Thunder and has shown aggressive improvement year-over-year at both ends of the floor. In fact, we would not be surprised if he opens the season as the odds-on favorite. To that end, it may be wise to hop on his odds now.

Best Bet to Win Sixth Man of the Year: Ajay Mitchell +800

Previous NBA betting news updates

[July 1-31]: The Cleveland Cavaliers were favored to land LeBron James.
[June 16-30]: The Oklahoma City Thunder open as favorites to win the 2027 NBA title.
[June 9-16]: Jalen Brunson wins Finals MVP as the Knicks upset the Spurs to become 2026 NBA champions.
[June 1-8]: The Spurs enter the NBA Finals as favorites to beat the Knicks.
[May 27-31]: The Spurs beat the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and emerge as new title favorites.
[May 20-27] :Giannis Antetokounmpo is most likely to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Bovada.
[May 13-20]: Bovada oddsmakers have the Cleveland Cavaliers as the most likely landing spot for LeBron James in free agency this summer.
[April 23-30]: The Oklahoma City Thunder increased their lead over the San Antonio Spurs as favorites to win the 2026 NBA Finals.
[April 15-22, 2026]: The Boston Celtics entered the playoffs as the odds-on favorites to win the Eastern Conference despite being considered a preseason long shot.
[April 8–15, 2026]: Los Angeles Lakers odds drop sharply after injuries to Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), creating uncertainty around their playoff availability.
[April 1–7, 2026]: Cade Cunningham returns from injury for the Detroit Pistons, with the team still holding top seeding but sitting fourth in Eastern Conference title odds.

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Dan Favale

Dan first began writing about sports back in 2011. At the time, his expertise lied in the NBA and NFL. More than one decade, that remains the case. But he's also expanded his catalog to include extensive knowledge and analysis on the NHL, MLB, tennis, NASCAR, college ba...