Betting on next year's NBA champion right now looks … difficult. Sure, the new-look Lakers are the frontrunners, but free agency could change that in a snap — not to mention their +300 preseason odds are tied as the highest for preseason favorites over the past several years.
Betting on who will not win the NBA championship next year, well that sounds a hell of a lot easier. Of course, you'll have to lay a pretty big number on even the championship contenders as it's a much more likely bet to win.
As for just what those high numbers are, Circa Sportsbook has released "yes/no" odds for each team to win next year's NBA Finals.
2020 NBA Championship Yes/No Futures
At -405 to not win the championship, you'd have to think the Lakers have less than a 19.8% chance to win to feel good about making that bet. At the other end of the spectrum, betting against the Cavs would require 99.6% confidence that they won't win it all — plus a willingness to tie up a measly $25K for the next 11 months (if you were looking to make $100).
What's also interesting about the "no" option is that it somewhat forces fair odds on the "yes" side. Grounded by their "no" odds, some of the mid-tier options are actually listed at better odds to win the championship than can be found across the rest of the market.
As always, be sure to shop for the best line when placing future bets as they can vary pretty drastically from book to book.
Follow along through free agency as our experts will analyze all the major moves, as well as what they'll mean for the futures market and how they might be shifting betting value.
