Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are at the top of the NBA world as the reigning NBA Champions, with Brunson winning the Finals MVP. 

Brunson has been one of the best players in the league over the past few seasons as he's brought stability and a winning attitude to New York after the team fell to irrelevance following the Carmelo Anthony years. 

Despite all of Brunson's accolades and the way he's shifted the culture in New York over the years, he's never really been in the MVP conversation. 

He finished fifth in 2023-24, but didn't receive a first-place vote that season. He didn't receive a single vote last season despite leading the Knicks to the third seed in the East and winning the NBA Cup. 

According to FanDuel, Brunson has the ninth-best odds to win the MVP this upcoming season. 

He trails Victor Wembanyama, two-time and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, and Cade Cunningham in MVP odds. 

Brunson is listed at +3500. Wembanyama is +200 and Cunningham is +2500. 

There's a huge drop after Brunson as Donovan Mitchell is ranked tenth at +10000. 

SGA and Jokic have led the MVP pack the past three seasons, though Wembanyama made a strong push at the end of last season with his play and the Spurs finishing second in the West. As long as those three are healthy, it will be tough for anyone to overtake them. 

A lot would have to go right, but he's on a great team in the Eastern Conference and has the cache of being the reigning Finals MVP. 

He'll likely be knocked for the Knicks being a great team and him not having to carry as much of the load, and he'll need to average closer to 30 points per game. He's been at 26 points per game in each of the last two seasons. 

No team wants injuries, but they do go a long way in shaping the MVP conversation. If the Knicks are without Karl-Anthony Towns for a long stretch, Brunson can enhance his case if the Knicks remain one of the best in the East. 

MVP candidates rarely come out of nowhere, and it takes a lot for a candidate to jump the field to win the trophy. Derrick Rose (2010-11) and Nikola Jokic (2020-21) were both +2500 the year they won the MVP awards. Those are the biggest longshots in recent history to win the award.

If Brunson were to win this year, he would make history.