The Los Angeles Lakers have been installed as early favorites to repeat as NBA champions in 2021.
Fresh off their win over the Miami Heat in Game 6 on Sunday night to win the franchise’s 17th title, the Lakers were listed as 2021 favorites by most sportsbooks, including PointsBet (+375) and SportsBetting.com (+400). Their city showdown against the Clippers never materialized in the bubble with the Clippers eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals. But the Clippers are still the second betting favorites for next season at +425 by PointsBet and +600 by SportsBetting.com.
The Milwaukee Bucks also suffered an early exit, as the heavy Eastern Conference favorites entering the playoffs were bounced by Miami in the semifinals. Giannis Antetokounmpo is coming off his second consecutive league MVP award and the Bucks are being offered at +650 by PointsBet.
That’s just ahead of the Golden State Warriors (+750), who missed the playoffs this year but are anticipating the healthy return of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson next season. The Warriors also hold the No. 2 pick in next month’s NBA draft and are expected to land one of a handful of highly-rated prospects or potential trade the pick to land an experienced veteran to pair with Curry and Thompson.
The expected bounce-back by the Warriors has them being offered at +700 by SportsBetting.com, ahead of the Bucks (+1000).
The Brooklyn Nets are being offered at +1000 by PointsBet and +1200 by SportsBetting.com as they prepared for the return of Kevin Durant, who sat out his first season in Brooklyn while recovering from a torn Achilles. That puts them in the thick of the Eastern Conference hunt, with the Boston Celtics (+1200) and Heat (+1300) right behind Brooklyn in PointsBet’s title odds. The Western Conference again figures to be a tight battle. DraftKings is offering the Lakers as +175 favorites to win the conference again, followed by the Clippers (+225), Warriors (+400) and Nuggets (+900).
The Bucks top the Eastern Conference odds at +200, followed by the Nets (+300), Heat (+350) and Celtics (+400). Meanwhile, the once-proud New York Knicks can be had at +30000, tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons for the longest Eastern Conference winner odds by the sportsbook.
2021 NBA title odds (PointsBet)
Los Angeles Lakers: +375 Los Angeles Clippers: +425 Milwaukee Bucks: +650 Golden State Warriors: +750 Brooklyn Nets: +1000 Boston Celtics: +1200 Miami Heat: +1300 Toronto Raptors: +1700 Denver Nuggets: +2000 Houston Rockets: +2200 Dallas Mavericks: +2500 Philadelphia 76ers: +3000 Portland Trail Blazers: +3500 Utah Jazz: +4000 New Orleans Pelicans: +5000 Oklahoma City Thunder: +6600 Phoenix Suns: +6600 Atlanta Hawks: +10000 Chicago Bulls: +10000 Indiana Pacers: +10000 Memphis Grizzlies: +10000 Washington Wizards: +15000 Minnesota Timberwolves: +20000 Orlando Magic: +20000 Sacramento Kings: +25000 San Antonio Spurs: +25000 Charlotte Hornets: +30000 Cleveland Cavaliers: +35000 Detroit Pistons: +35000 New York Knicks: +35000
–Field Level Media ()