Stephen Curry big favorite to win his first NBA Finals MVP

The odds are Stephen Curry will soon have that elusive NBA Finals MVP in his possession — at least if you believe the Caesars Palace Race and Sports Book.

After Golden State’s Game 2 victory evened the series Sunday, the Warriors’ star has been installed as the favorite at -200 to capture MVP honors for the first time in his fifth trip to the Finals.

Raptors star Kawhi Leonard, at +280, is the next best bet to take home the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award. After Curry and Leonard, Caesars’ odds then favor Draymond Green (+650), Klay Thompson (+2,000) and then a tie between Kevin Durant (+3,000) and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam (+3,000).

The irony of Curry becoming the odds-on favorite is that it happened after he went scoreless in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 109-104 victory over the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.

To be fair, Curry, who battled dehydration while scoring 23 points on 6-of-17 shooting in Game 2, was also a huge focal point of the Raptors’ defense Sunday. Raptors coach Nick Nurse, realizing how dangerous Curry is, used the unconventional tactic of utilizing a box-and-1 defense in order to slow down the two-time MVP.

Curry, though, is averaging a team-high 28.5 points through two games. He scored 34 points in Toronto’s Game 1 victory.

Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant (twice) have earned the Finals MVP awards for the Warriors during Golden State’s dynasty of three titles in the last four years. Winning a Finals MVP is about the only thing missing from Curry’s Hall of Fame resume.

Iguodala, whose clutch 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left clinched the Game 2 victory, is still a longshot to win another MVP — the Westgate Las Vegas Sports Book lists his odds at +10,000.

Of course, with at least three more games left in the series, there’s no telling how the odds will fluctuate.