The Boston Celtics step in as the defending champions after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023-24 NBA Finals. Will they repeat? Will the Mavericks find their way back? Will a new champion be crowned? A new season always open a plethora of new questions.
With the possibilities being quite endless, our experts partake in our annual tradition of providing their favorite bets to win the 2024-25 NBA Championship. From a few familiar faces that have experience in the long journey it takes to become a champ to teams that are seeking that feeling after getting so close, but haven't quite gotten to the end of the road.
Take a look at what favorite title bets are in store below.
Phoenix Suns
+3000
By Matt Moore
This number is patently absurd. The Suns have Mike Budenholzer and seem to have bought in on his schemes, which I was worried about. Their roster was top-heavy and disjointed but another year of continuity with some key additions like Tyus Jones at point guard will make the machine work smoother. I project them at 55-plus wins and think this number will be under 10-1 by the time the playoffs roll around.
Oklahoma City Thunder
+700
By Joe Dellera
The Thunder enter the season as the clear projected No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after shedding Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Couple that with what I estimate to be the addition by subtraction where both SGA and Jalen Williams should see a bump without Giddey and there is reason to project internal improvement.
The floor is very high and the pieces they’ve added complement their style of play. DraftKings has a team specials market for Jalen Williams to average 20+ and OKC to win the title (+1000) which is the best way to be this market given the growth I expect from Williams and the significant uptick he saw in raw output without Giddey.
Denver Nuggets
+1100
By Albert Nguyen
There’s been a lot in flux since the Nuggets won their inaugural championship in the 2022-23 NBA season. Players like Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and a few others have since departed that title team, which have hurt their versatility and depth. But it feels like this is exactly where head coach Mike Malone and superstar Nikola Jokic want their team to be in terms of national perception.
They currently have the 6th best betting odds, mainly due to the offseason acquisitions (and subsequent hype), by teams such as the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. However, the cornerstone pieces are still there for Denver to make a serious run in the playoffs – the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic, is still just 29 years old and in his prime. Barring major injuries, they are probably one elite “3 and D’ guy away from seriously contending for another championship, but if I can back the best player on the planet at 11 to 1, I’m going to do it every time.
Cleveland Cavaliers
+6000
We're going to keep sleeping on these dudes because they're Cleveland — I get it.
But the Cavs are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. This team, if healthy, is good enough to be a regular season No. 2 seed. And while they're still young, this is a transformational year for this group.
Donovan Mitchell, I think, is going to have his best season yet regarding impact on winning, while scoring at a high, efficient clip. Darius Garland is now being overlooked after having a weird, rumor-filled off-season. Evan Mobley will absolutely make a leap under Kenny Atkinson, who was an excellent head coaching hire, who will know how to maximize Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert.
Additionally, the Cavs were a top-10 defense last season, and they’ll take a collective jump offensively with Atkinson’s pace-and-space vision.
It's +6000, so this is more of a "Why Not?" than "They absolutely will win the title," of course, but I think they have a shot at the Eastern Conference Finals, which is good enough for me to take a small swing at this, even if they might be a year or so away.
Oklahoma City Thunder
+700
NBA Champions are usually a top 3 seed, really dominant on one side of the ball, and have an MVP. Recent champions have also had at least three good to elite defensive players on their roster and have also not made the conference finals the prior year.
The Thunder meet all of these criteria. Their defense will be hyper elite, adding in Alex Caruso who was the best guard defender in the NBA last year, and another rim protector in Isaiah Hartenstein. They are also the only team in the NBA with enough defensive weapons to slow the Celtics. The best way to bet this is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finals mvp at +1000 on DraftKings, as he would be the clear choice, and likely coming off a regular season MVP (or runner-up) as well.
Dallas Mavericks
+1100
By Sean Little
Luka is truly a force of nature. The only question mark for me throughout the years has been his conditioning. Fresh off a Finals appearance, physically, he’s now felt what it’s like to play ball in June. Per his media day flicks, instagram workout posts and flashes of him on the bench during the pre-season, he looks to be the slimmest he’s been since the bubble. That’s extremely encouraging.
Folks forget, prior to the playoffs, the new look Mavs didn't play much together. The 4 player lineup of Luka, Kyrie, PJ Washington & Dereck Lively only played 17 regular season games together. They now had an entire off-season to gel on the back of getting pivotal playoff experience. Say what you want about Klay Thompson but if he’s catching the rock stationary, he’s still dangerous. He may take 10 dribbles all season. Don’t sleep on a now healthy Quiton Grimes making an impact and Oh, Kyrie is Kyrie. Give me Dallas at to represent the West again and have a shot to win it at +1100
Cleveland Cavaliers
60-1
By Chris Baker
Bounced in the 2nd round each of the past two years but I have them as the 2nd best team in the East entering the season. This team was tied up 1-1 with the Celtics heading back home to Cleveland in the semis last season before losing Donovan Mitchell for the rest of the series. The Cavs had awful injury luck last season, especially in the playoffs where Dean Wade, Mitchell, and Jarrett Allen all missed significant time.
With the emergence of Wade, Sam Merrill, and Craig Porter Jr. this team is quietly one of the deeper ones in the NBA. With Kenny Atkinson entering as head coach he should be able to improve upon what Bickerstaff built and this team should be right back in contention for a title. The bottom-line is your getting a team that ranked 2nd in adjusted net-rating in 2022-2023, who suffered from terrible injury lucky last season, but is still fundamentally the same team if not better given Mobley development and the additions of Strus, Wade, and Coach Atkinson. Best longshot champion on the board in my opinion.
Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo To Win Finals MVP +2000
I don’t really trust the Bucks and I don’t want regular season futures while they figure this out, but here are the facts: Milwaukee significantly upgrades its roster around the stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo can still be the best player in any series or entire playoff run, and Damian Lillard remains the ultimate wildcard with potential to be the top second banana in the NBA.
If Dame is still Dame for a playoff run, the Bucks can have the best TWO players in any game any given night. The Bucks are my second most likely champion because it’s the Celtics are the only hurdle in the East and now you’re in the Finals against a West bloodbath winner. I prefer to bet Giannis as Finals MVP at 20-1 to Bucks +1400 title in the market because he would be an overwhelming favorite in a Milwaukee win.
New York Knicks
+750
By Eric Gaston
The New York Knicks have been gearing up for this season. Trading for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges signifies that they are all in on trying to win a championship. With Jalen Brunson as their franchise player, and also one of the best postseason players, the time is now. Last postseason, injuries plagued the team and they didn’t get the chance to play the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is a new and better team.
Of course, it will take some time to build chemistry, but that’s expected. If the Knicks can find a way to be healthy in the postseason, they have a great opportunity. Brunson has complete trust from the franchise to lead the way, and Towns is right back in an area where it all started for him, being the ultimate compliment to Brunson’s game . Bridges and Anunoby are two of the best defenders in the game that can also get a bucket, and Hart is the jack of all trades. That all explains why the Knicks have the third best odds.
Memphis Grizzlies
+4000
By Alex Hinton
Last season, Memphis had some of the worst injury-luck in recent memory. However, over the previous two seasons, it won 107 games and made the Western Conference Semifinals in 2022. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. are now more seasoned and motivated after last season.
The battle-tested Marcus Smart, tantalizing potential of GG Jackson, and Rookie of the Year favorite Zach Edey among others complements their Big 3. The Western Conference is loaded but these odds are too long for a team that I believe is more likely to make the conference finals than miss the playoffs.
