Every NBA Team's Odds to win the NBA Championship After In-Season Tournament
By Peter Dewey
The NBA is about a quarter of the way through the 2023-24 regular season, and the league has already crowned an In-Season Tournament champion -- the Los Angeles Lakers.
That hasn't had a massive impact on the latest NBA Finals odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, as the Lakers are +1800 (sixth in the odds) to win the title this season.
There are four clear favorites in the eyes of oddsmakers (Boston, Denver, Milwaukee and Phoenix), but the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks are the current top three seeds in the Western Conference.
Here's how each team stacks up in the odds with less than two weeks until Christmas Day:
Every Team's Odds to Win the NBA Finals This Season
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NBA Finals Odds: Who Should You Bet?
Things haven't changed much in the top of the NBA Finals odds since the start of the season, but Minnesota and Oklahoma City have seen large jumps in their odds.
I bet Oklahoma City at +8000 before the season, and the team has since moved to +4500 at FanDuel Sportsbook after getting off to a 15-7 start.
The In-Season Tournament allowed for bettors to see how some teams would perform in a playoff atmosphere, but I'd caution against using that to bet on the Finals right now. There are still teams with nearly 60 games to play in the regular season, and a lot can happen from injuries or simply an uptick or downturn in play from now until the playoffs.
If anything, a team like the Lakers showed that it has the depth to compete long term, but can it withstand an injury to LeBron James or Anthony Davis? Probably not. Almost every team would struggle if its best player or players went down.
For now, I'm sticking with my early season bets, which included futures on the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Lakers, Miami Heat, Thunder and New York Knicks.
If you're looking to add a team right now that is a long shot, I'd consider the New Orleans Pelicans (+6000) given their star trio, but they also have shown an inability to stay healthy.
With the odds for the top teams staying rather constant, bettors may just have to take the price they're at now and hope that they don't fall back over the course of the next few weeks.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.