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Why Ja Morant MVP bettors can rip up their tickets following his suspension

Betting odds for the 2024 NBA MVP haven’t been available all that long considering the 2022-23 season just ended Monday. But for those who pounced early and took a gamble on Ja Morant to win next year’s award, the latest news of his suspension is a huge blow.

On Friday, the NBA announced a 25-game suspension for Morant, citing conduct detrimental to the league after he posed with firearms in two separate live-streamed videos.

The suspension will sideline the Memphis Grizzlies guard for nearly a third of the season, leaving him available for a maximum of 57 games. Under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, players have to reach a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards.

That means no matter how good Morant plays when he returns, he can’t be MVP.

In a normal season, Morant’s MVP odds would presumably be amongst the best. He was likely a top-10 candidate last season before serving an eight-game suspension for the first gun incident. Now, his odds aren’t even listed at popular sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings. BetMGM has him all the way down at +6600 next to players like Pascal Siakam and Karl-Anthony Towns.

There are conditions to the NBA’s 65-game minimum that could potentially leave the door open for Morant, such as “bad faith circumstances,” as reported by The Athletic. But it’s unclear whether those apply to suspensions. For now, there doesn’t appear to be a path for Morant to win MVP in 2024.

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