NBA
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic named NBA Players of the Week
Joe Lyons is a sports writer and basketball expert for Basketball Insiders. Joe has a keen eye for the betting markets within the NBA and a great passion for the game of basketball. also been published by Nottingham Forest FC, working with the academy and senior teams to produce content on matchdays. He formerly covered the Premier League and EFL as an on-site reporter during the 2020/21 season for Prost International. He is an expert in a range of other sports including soccer, horse racing darts and American football. Joe specialises in long form SEO content alongside news, tips and betting.
All posts by Joe LyonsUpdated24 hours ago on January 07, 2025
MVP candidates Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokic have been announced as the NBA’s Players of the Week.
Week 11 sees both Jokic and Tatum earn their second Player of the Week honors of the season ahead of their primetime match-up in Denver on Tuesday.
Jokic averaged 36.5 points, 16.5 rebounds and 11.3 assists while Tatum tallied 25.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists with both players going 3-1 on the week.
As per the best online sportsbooks, Jokic (+150) and Tatum (+200) are two of the leading four candidates to win league MVP alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-150) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1800).
Jokic and Tatum are set to go head-to-head for the first time this season in front of the national TV cameras tonight, with the Celtics currently favored by 5.5 points on the early morning lines.
Tatum has a record of 7-6 against Jokic in his career and this could be an early preview of the 2025 Finals if both sides can make it out of their respective conferences in the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 11 of the 2024-25 season (Dec. 30 – Jan. 5). pic.twitter.com/IHn6rIFecY
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 6, 2025
Oddsmakers give Celtics-Nuggets Finals a +1400 chance
Before the Nuggets crashed out of the 2024 playoffs at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games, many of us expected them to meet the Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Somewhat fortunately for the Celtics, they were handed an easier clash with the Dallas Mavericks and made light work of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in five games to win their first title since 2008.
Aaron Gordon will miss Tuesday’s game through injury while the Celtics have a rare clean slate to look forward to, aiming to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Denver have won each of their last three outings against Boston in the regular season but a motivated Celtics unit are fancied to reverse the form and get back in the win column.
