The dust has barely settled and sportsbooks are jumping at the opportunity to take future bets on the 2024-25 NBA season already. The Boston Celtics won their 18th championship and are the favorites to do it again. There have been six different champions since the Golden State Warriors repeated in 2018, so the Celtics aren’t a lock. Here are some contenders to take home next year’s crown.
2024-25 NBA Championship Odds
BOSTON CELTICS (+300)
The Boston Celtics were also favorites in each of the last two seasons and finally got the job done. Boston finished the regular season at 64-18 and only lost three postseason games before the title-clinching win over the Dallas Mavericks. Boston’s core players will be back and the team is still very young for a championship-caliber squad. Jayson Tatum, who finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double in Game 5, is poised to sign a long term contract, while Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is already locked in through the 2028-29 season. Two-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday just signed a four-year deal in April and Kristaps Porzingis is under contract for the next two seasons. It’s hard to go against this team again.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (+700)
Next on the odds board are the runners-up Dallas Mavericks. Dallas entered the playoffs as a No. 5 seed in the West and went on an impressive run to knock off the Clippers, Thunder and Timberwolves before falling against the Celtics. Superstar Luka Doncic will once again lead the team in 2024-25 and the only notable pending free agent is Derrick Jones, who averaged 9.1 points per game in the playoffs. This team still needs some upgrades before I lay my money on the Mavs. Doncic has no help and Kyrie Irving just isn’t a championship player anymore.
DENVER NUGGETS (+800)
A fully healthy Denver squad with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter, Jr. is probably the best team in the Western Conference. Murray’s injury and Porter’s poor play contributed to the team’s demise in the playoffs. Moving on from Porter could open up a spot to add a significant depth piece and re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will solidify a team that can reach the NBA Finals next year. The Nuggets might actually be the best bet for the money to win their second championship in three seasons.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (+1000)
The Milwaukee Bucks won a title back in 2021 and had Holiday on that squad. As long as Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the court, the Bucks will always have a chance to win a championship. Despite being injured at the end of the year and into the playoffs, he’s coming off a season that saw him average the second-most points per game during the regular season (30.4) and set a new career high in assists per game (6.5) and field goal percentage (.611). Milwaukee also has eight-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard, who just played his first season with the team after spending the first 11 years of his career in Portland. However, as long as Doc Rivers is the head coach, this team’s chances are slim.
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