76ers Team and Players Drawing High Handle at PA Sportsbooks

Is “The Process” about to reach the pinnacle? NBA bettors seem to think so. At FanDuel, the 76ers are the most bet team to win the NBA Championship (20% of the bets) and the Eastern Conference (44% of the bets).

Three 76ers players lead the way in their respective markets at FanDuel.

MVP: Joel Embiid, 20% of the bets.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Simmons, 37% of the bets.
6th Man of the Year: Shake Milton, 26% of the bets.

The 76ers are FanDuel’s biggest liability in the NBA Championship market and the Eastern Conference.

FanDuel’s Director of Publicity Kevin Hennessy commented to PlayPennsylvania:

“FanDuel Customers love backing the 76ers. It sure helps that they are performing well and the favorite team in two of our biggest markets in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.”

NBA 2021 odds: Favorites, shifts and 76ers

At Pennsylvania online sportsbooks, the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets opened the season as favorites to win the NBA Championship. A January trade that sent James Harden from the Houston Rockets to the Nets moved the Nets to the second-best odds to claim the NBA title.

At the halfway point of the season, those four teams still have the lowest odds at sportsbook apps. The Utah Jazz have seen the largest odds shift in the NBA Championship outright market. The Jazz opened at +4200 and are now +950.

With the NBA All-Star Break approaching on March 5, the Sixers are 23-12 (18-15-2 ATS). They are a stellar 15-3 at home.

76ers 2021 odds tracker

	Preseason	March 2	Start of NBA Playoffs	Start of round 2	Prior to Game 7
NBA Championship	+2500	+1200	+650	+1000	+600
Eastern Conference	+900	+550	+300	+400	+350
Atlantic Division	+400	+150	n/a
Embiid MVP	+4000	+300			+850

Tracking 76ers futures markets:

DraftKings set the Sixers’ season win percentage at 58.5%. It is currently 65.7%.
Embiid scoring average was listed at 24.5. Currently, 29.8.

DraftKings NBA betting splits at midpoint of season

NBA Championship betting splits at DraftKings by handle %:

37%: Lakers
28%: Nets
9%: Sixers

NBA MVP betting splits by handle %:

34%: LeBron James
17%: Joel Embiid
9%: Kevin Durant
9%: Nikola Jokic

Embiid’s MVP climb

Joel Embiid might want to troll bookmakers who put him at +4000 to win the NBA MVP before the season started.

Perhaps he doesn’t have to unleash his ire via social media since he is letting his play on the court to the talking. In 29 games, Embiid has averaged 29.8 points, 3.3 assists, 11.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks.

On Feb. 20 against the Chicago Bulls, Embiid had a career-high 50 points along with 17 rebounds.

Here is how Embiid’s MVP odds dropped (odds via William Hill):

Preseason: +4000
January 6: +2500
Jan. 12: +1200
Jan. 23: +500
March 1: +400 but it was as low as +350

The Sixers’ big man has also attracted the largest MVP wager thus far at William Hill. A Nevada bettor placed $5,000 on Embiid +500 for a total potential payout of $30,000.