With apologies to Toronto Raptors fans, the odds don’t seem very much in their favour that they’ll be winning the NBA title this year.
The Raptors are one of eight teams with +100000 odds to win it all this year, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Toronto is tied with the Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets at the longest possible shot of a late-season turnaround to a championship contender.
But who will take home the trophy this year? With a different NBA champion every year dating back to 2018, the league is well past its days of being labelled as predictable.
And with the recent Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks, the championship odds have been shaken up once again.
Sure, the reigning champs, the Boston Celtics, might carry the league’s best odds of taking the title home this year, but they’re one of just many teams in the mix a little over halfway through the season.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, 15 teams carry better than +10000 odds to win the NBA title this year. Given that no team lower than a six-seed has ever won the NBA title, anything longer than the +10000 odds is hard to see coming to fruition.
Here’s how the teams shake out:
- Boston Celtics, +210
- Oklahoma City Thunder, +230
- Cleveland Cavaliers, +750
- New York Knicks, +1300
- Denver Nuggets, +1400
- Los Angeles Lakers, +1900 (from +6500 before Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis trade)
- Memphis Grizzlies, +2800
- Milwaukee Bucks, +2800
- Los Angeles Clippers, +3500
- Dallas Mavericks, +3500 (from +2200 before Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis trade)
- Houston Rockets, +4000
- Phoenix Suns, +4500
- Minnesota Timberwolves, +6000
- Orlando Magic, +6000
- Philadelphia 76ers, +6000
The clear top two are Boston and Oklahoma City, the latter of which has the best record in the Western Conference. Cleveland, despite holding the NBA’s top record overall, is currently holding the third-best odds.
That slight dip in odds might be explained by the team’s lack of playoff pedigree: they’ve won just one series in the last six seasons since the departure of LeBron James.
Otherwise, there are some interesting options when it comes to former recent champions, as the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Milwaukee Bucks are all within the top eight of the current odds.
For a list of full NBA championship betting odds this year including all 30 teams, check out FanDuel Sportsbook.
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