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Kendrick Perkins just threw a new name into the MVP conversation, and did it with enough conviction to spark instant debate.<\/p>\n
On ESPN, Perkins rolled out his top-three MVP list and slotted Jaylen Brown at No. 1, calling him his \u201cfront-runner\u201d (with Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham also on his list).<\/p>\n
3\ufe0f\u20e3 \u2013 Victor Wembanyama
\n2\ufe0f\u20e3 \u2013 Cade Cunningham
\n1\ufe0f\u20e3 \u2013 ???<\/p>\n
Who tops @KendrickPerkins<\/a>\u2018 MVP leaderboard? \ud83e\udd14 <\/p>\n That\u2019s the TV narrative. Now the market reality: the current NBA<\/a> MVP odds boards still don\u2019t price Brown like the favorite, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting atop most snapshots.<\/p>\n Odds can move fast. The numbers below are as of 8:35 p.m. ET on Feb. 25, 2026 (time of writing) and may change.<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds tracker<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick top-of-board tracker using a clean \u201cfavorites\u201d table (Vegas) plus where Brown sits.<\/p>\n FOX Sports (updated Feb. 25, 2026 at 4:46 p.m. ET) \u2014 top contenders<\/a>:<\/p>\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: -150<\/p>\n Nikola Jokic: +300<\/p>\n Cade Cunningham: +600<\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama: +2500<\/p>\n Luka Doncic: +4000<\/p>\n Jaylen Brown: +5000<\/p>\n Donovan Mitchell: +10000<\/p>\n Anthony Edwards: +25000<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson: +50000<\/p>\n Tyrese Maxey: +100000<\/p>\n Where Brown sits: +5000 in this snapshot \u2014 not the market favorite, but not buried either (more \u201csecond-tier long shot\u201d than \u201ctop-two frontrunner\u201d).<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds vegas<\/p>\n Perkins\u2019 list is useful because it creates a clean tension point: his MVP board is storyline + production, while Vegas is pricing what it believes is most likely to happen by season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re asking \u201cwho\u2019s the favorite right now,\u201d the Vegas snapshot above has SGA priced shortest, with Jokic and Cunningham next, while Brown\u2019s current price is meaningfully longer.<\/p>\n And timing matters: Brown and the Celtics<\/a> playing a high-profile ESPN game (like Celtics-Nuggets) can juice MVP conversation, but it doesn\u2019t automatically flip the odds board overnight.<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds 2026<\/p>\n This is the 2025-26 regular-season MVP race (award given in 2026), and the stretch-run mechanics matter as much as highlight clips.<\/p>\n One practical factor markets tend to react to: availability\/eligibility pressure. ESPN\u2019s betting coverage<\/a> has focused on how the 65-game minimum can reshape MVP pricing if stars hover near the threshold.<\/p>\n That\u2019s one reason you can see a gap between a media take and the market: the market often prices \u201crisk\u201d (games played, team seeding volatility, etc.) earlier.<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds Wembanyama<\/p>\n Perk had Wembanyama third on his list, and the market still treats him as a serious name, just not the top favorite right now.<\/p>\n FOX Sports lists Wembanyama at +2500 (fourth on its favorites table).<\/p>\n Polymarket has Wembanyama<\/a> at 5.6% implied probability, behind SGA\/Jokic\/Cunningham.<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds Vegas Insider<\/p>\n Vegas Insider\u2019s page<\/a> is valuable because it shows multiple sportsbooks side-by-side (so you can see ranges rather than one number).<\/p>\n In the VegasInsider grid at the time of writing, Brown is listed in the +2500 to +4000 range across the books displayed. Wembanyama shows up around +1200 to +2000 on the same table.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the heart of this story: Perkins is calling Brown the front-runner, while sportsbooks are still pricing Brown behind the top cluster.<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds Polymarket<\/p>\n Polymarket<\/a> gives you a clean \u201ccrowd probability\u201d snapshot. At the time of writing, it had:<\/p>\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 56%<\/p>\n Nikola Jokic: 19.9%<\/p>\n Cade Cunningham: 13.6%<\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama: 5.6%<\/p>\n Jaylen Brown: 2%<\/p>\n So even if Perk\u2019s list is trying to elevate Brown into the top slot, Polymarket still treats Brown as a long shot relative to the leaders.<\/p>\n NBA MVP odds Kalshi<\/p>\n Kalshi\u2019s basketball awards category page<\/a> shows \u201cMVP Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u201d around 56% in its preview snippet.<\/p>\n However, Kalshi\u2019s pages didn\u2019t reliably render a full, readable candidate board in this capture, so we can\u2019t verify Jaylen Brown\u2019s exact Kalshi price or ranking at time of writing.<\/p>\n The big picture: Perkins put Brown first on his ESPN list. But the market snapshots (VegasInsider + FOX Sports\u2019 odds table + Polymarket) still say the MVP race is being priced around SGA and Jokic at the top, with Brown sitting well behind them for now.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tErik Anderson<\/a> is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, MLB and NFL for Heavy.com. He also focuses on the trading card market. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Celtics\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t