Jrue Holiday Trade: How Celtics, Bucks Odds for NBA Championship Changed

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The final domino to fall as a result of the Damian Lillard trade has calcified.

Jrue Holiday has been traded to the Celtics in exchange for Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, the Warriors' first rounder and a 2029 unprotected pick. Holiday had been traded from the Bucks to the Trail Blazers as part of a package for Lillard earlier this week.

The Bucks remain favorites to win the Eastern Conference — and the NBA title — despite the trade. But the Celtics leapfrogged the Nuggets on the leaderboard.

While the Nuggets had been second in line behind the Bucks prior to this trade, DraftKings now lists the Celtics as the second-most likely candidate behind the Bucks.

The same is true at FanDuel, where the Bucks (+370) lead the Celtics (+380) by a slight edge on the odds board. The Nuggets (+550) and Suns (+550) round out the candidates with better than a +1200 chance.

The move didn't affect the NBA MVP market at all. Nikola Jokic (+430) remains the favorite in that marketplace, though Giannis Antetokounmpo (+550) led this race briefly after the Lillard trade. Since then, the market equilibrium has placed Giannis second or third on the odds board, with Luka Doncic (+550) a threat, too.

About the Author
Avery Yang is an editor at the Action Network who focuses on breaking news across the sports world and betting algorithms that try to predict eventual outcomes. He is also Darren Rovell's editor. Avery is a recent graduate from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has written for the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, (the old) Deadspin, MLB.com and others.

Follow Avery Yang @avery_yang on Twitter/X.

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