NBA Championship Futures: Latest Title Odds, Trends

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The NBA playoffs start in a little over a month on May 22, meaning we’re hitting the home stretch of the 2020-21 regular season.

So far this season among the 30 teams, we’ve seen some major surprises, big disappointments and even a change in NBA championship favorite at William Hill Nevada.

“I still think it’s so wide-open this year,” said Nick Bogdanovich, Director of Trading for William Hill US. “Look at the Jamal Murray injury, one contender is already knocked out. Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and LeBron [James] have all had injuries. Can those guys hold up for four straight playoff series? I really think there are a lot of teams that can win it all.”

The Nets currently lead the way at +150, which is the lowest championship odds they’ve had all season. The Nets became the sole championship favorite at +220 on Mar. 20, after the Lakers’ odds increased from +200 to +220. Brooklyn was moved down to +150 on Apr. 11.

The Lakers are still second at +260 after being lowered from +300 today. Two more Western Conference foes are next: the Clippers and Jazz. The Clippers had the fourth-lowest odds at +750 earlier today before moving into the third spot at +700. After being listed at +450 since Feb. 26, the Jazz saw their odds jump to +700 on Apr. 11 and then another slight bump to +750 today.

The biggest odds change today, though, is the Nuggets. The Nuggets were tied for the fifth-lowest odds at 12/1 with the Bucks before star Jamal Murray suffered a torn ACL in yesterday’s loss to the Warriors. Now Denver has shot all the way up to 50/1, the 11th-lowest odds and in between the Mavericks (45/1) and Celtics (60/1).

But when it comes to which teams William Hill bettors are wagering on to win the title, there are two teams that stand alone.

“We have about twice as much liability with the Nets compared to the Lakers,” Bogdanovich said. “The Nets winning the title is easily the worst-case scenario for us. We get banged up pretty good with both teams. I’m not completely sold on the Lakers or the Nets, but the liabilities are there so you have to respect it.”

The Lakers are tops in total number of tickets (19%) and total dollars wagered (34%), while the Nets are right behind them in both categories at 15% and 32% respectively. That is highlighted by one Nevada bettor who put down $100,000 on Nets +250 for a total potential payout of $350,000, which is the largest 2020-21 NBA championship future taken thus far at William Hill.

The Jazz are third in both total number of tickets (7%) and total dollars wagered (5%). After Utah, there are four teams that have collected 6% of the total number of tickets (Suns, Warriors, 76ers and Bucks) and four teams that have drawn 4% of the total dollars wagered (Bucks, Warriors, Clippers and Nuggets).

Check out William Hill Nevada’s latest odds and trends for 2020-21 NBA championship futures below.

TEAM TO WIN 2020-21 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP @WILLIAMHILLNVCURRENT ODDS (4/13/21)
BROOKLYN NETS +150
LOS ANGELES LAKERS+260
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS  +700
UTAH JAZZ +750
MILWAUKEE BUCKS+1200
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS+1300
PHOENIX SUNS +1500
MIAMI HEAT +3500
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS  +3500
DALLAS MAVERICKS  +4500
DENVER NUGGETS +5000
BOSTON CELTICS +6000
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS+7500
ATLANTA HAWKS +12500
INDIANA PACERS+30000
CHICAGO BULLS  +30000
TORONTO RAPTORS +30000
CHARLOTTE HORNETS +30000
NEW YORK KNICKS +35000
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS  +50000
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES +50000
WASHINGTON WIZARDS +50000
SAN ANTONIO SPURS +75000
SACRAMENTO KINGS +100000
DETROIT PISTONS  +500000
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES +500000
ORLANDO MAGIC+500000
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER+500000
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS+500000
HOUSTON ROCKETS+500000

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