2023/24 NBA Championship Betting Odds - Basketball Lines

2023/24 NBA Championship Betting Odds

After running away from the competition in the Eastern Conference and eventually the entire NBA, the Boston Celtics are positioned as the NBA futures odds favorite ahead of the playoffs. This isn’t really a surprise since they’ve been perched at the top of the odds board since before the season began and were able to maintain their dominance over six months. The postseason is different and we saw the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals last season earning the No. 8 seed through the play-in tournament.

Injuries shifted the balance of power in the last week of the regular season, especially in the East. The Milwaukee Bucks saw their championship odds spike after two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was floored with a calf strain. They avoided disaster when it was initially feared an Achilles injury. The Freak is expected back once the playoffs begin and will have had nearly two weeks of recovery time. Still, the news was enough for oddsmakers to shift the Bucks odds at more than 10/1 for the first time. With Damian Lillard also missing a late season game, coach Doc Rivers said he’s more concerned about his team’s health rather than their playoff seeding. When the Bucks won the NBA title in 2021 they were a No. 3 seed.

Also, the Philadelphia 76ers saw their futures odds go the other direction upon the return of Joel Embiid. The team put together a winning streak and could be a force as long as the 2023 MVP stays healthy. Embiid missed two months with a knee injury that dropped the Sixers out of the top 6, but they went on a tear once he returned. The defending champion Denver Nuggets battled Oklahoma City and Minnesota for first place in the Western Conference and those teams are hopeful the competition sharpened their game. The Nuggets are the second favorite with the others having 18/1 or shorter odds.

NBA Betting Lines

NBA Championship Betting Odds

*Odds as of Thursday, April 18, 11:00 AM ET

Boston Celtics

Having the best regular season record doesn’t guarantee postseason success. However, this appears to be a difference Celtics squad than the one that reached the East Finals in five of the previous seven seasons. Boston lost four times and the year they advanced to the championship series they were beaten by Golden State. They clinched the top seed weeks ago and the staff has done a good job managing minutes to keep guys like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis fresh.

Los Angeles Clippers

Earlier in the season when the Clippers made a deal for James Harden you knew they were in for the long haul. Another veteran club not really interested in where it’s seeded instead being healthy for the postseason grind. In a recent game against Phoenix starters Harden, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard didn’t play. And Leonard’s injury is a concern forcing him to miss the last seven regular season games. When they’re on, though, the Clips can beat anyone. They had a dominant two-month stretch earlier in the campaign winning 26 of 31 games.

Philadelphia 76ers

The perception was that the Sixers would fall apart in the absence of Embiid. When he was injured in a loss to Golden State in late January, the team was eight games over .500. When Embiid resurfaced the Sixers were six games over .500. While they didn’t completely crumble the Sixers obviously aren’t the same without a guy who averages over 34 points and 11 rebounds. My god who would be? Anyway, they have to feel a lot better about their chances now that Embiid is back with a seamless transition. Embiid averaged 30.4 points and 9.2 rebounds in his first five games back, all Philly wins.

Oklahoma City Thunder

You can talk about playoff experience and how much it matters. Though the Thunder don’t have a lot of postseason games under their belts they’ve been locked into a season-long battle for first in the West, which is worth something. They’ve also locked down homecourt advantage for the first round and got some key players back in the lineup in time for some reps ahead of the playoffs. Leading scorers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams both returned after missing multiple games giving the club a boost.

Denver Nuggets

You can’t count out the defending champs, though a loss to San Antonio with a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West was a shocker, especially since it came two days after beating Minnesota. That’s the uncertainty of the NBA but the playoffs tend to have teams dialed in a bit more. And no team knows what the grind is like more than the Nuggets. They boast a strong starting unit led by Nikola Jokic, who averaged 26.5 points, 12.3 boards and 9.0 assists during the season. Second leading scorer Jamal Murray recently returned from injury and the time off for the play-in tournament will only benefit the group.

NBA Teams

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