Under 20 games remain in this year’s NBA regular season, but much remains undecided, with just one team locked into a playoff spot and only two teams officially eliminated. If you are looking to bet on which team will take home the 2023-24 NBA Championship, make sure to check out the best betting sites that your country has to offer. With that being said, let’s breakdown the top four most likely teams to take home the 2023-24 NBA Championship.
Boston Celtics
The 2021-22 runner up Boston Celtics sit atop the NBA standings and are the odds-on favourite to win it all this season. They have truly dominated all year, losing consecutive games in regulation only once and recently recording a league high 11 straight wins.
The Celtics were league favourites for the majority of last season as well but missed out on a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance by one game, losing in game 7 to the Miami Heat. The team responded by adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holliday over the offseason, which has clearly paid significant dividends.
Boston is on pace to win 65 games, which would be the fourth best finish in franchise history and the most wins since their 2008-2009 season. Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, and Jason Tatum are each averaging over 20 points, with Tatum leading the way with 27 points per game, ranking fifth in MVP odds. A Championship would give the Celtics the most Championships in NBA history over the Los Angeles Lakers, who they are currently tied with at 17.
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are looking to repeat as NBA Champions, and they are well positioned to do so with the best record in the Western Conference and second-best record in the NBA.
Nikola Jokic is having yet another special season and remains the heart and soul of the Nuggets, leading the team in points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals. The center ranks 13th league wide in points, fourth in both assist and rebounds, and eighth in blocks, making him the odds-on favorite for the league MVP. He remains at minus money to win the award for the third time in the past four years.
Jamal Murray, coming off a career year, has managed to put together an even better season statistically across the board. He missed 14 games to injury between November and December, and the team hovered around .500 during those two months, proving how valuable he is as the only player other than Jokic averaging above 20 points per game.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers come in as the third most likely team to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship despite failing to reach the NBA finals in 53 seasons as a franchise. After acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in 2019, they reached the Conference Finals for the first time in team history just one season later, but it has been a disappointing stretch since. They failed to make the playoffs the following year and are coming off a first round exit where they were dominated by the Phoenix Suns.
Los Angeles finally has the truly dominant top three they have been searching for, after acquiring James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers at the beginning of the season. This was the team’s second blockbuster trade in the calendar year, acquiring Harden to play a role they hopped Russel Westbrook would be able to fill. Westbrook has been reduced to a bench role, while Harden is the team’s starting point guard and ranks sixth league wide in assists.
While Harden has been a difference maker for the Clippers, he is not quite the same player he once was, experiencing a steady decline in production over the past four seasons. Kawhi Leonard has been the true key to this team’s success, having his healthiest season since 2018-19 when he won his second NBA Championship with the Toronto Raptors.
Milwaukee Bucks
The 2020-21 NBA Champions are looking for a better result than last season after they were dominated in the first round by the Miami Heat. This was the first time in the past five seasons the Bucks had failed to make it out of the first round, and they chose to respond in the offseason. Milwaukee let Jrue Holliday walk in free agency, replacing him with eight-time all-star Damien Lillard at the point guard position.
Lillard’s overall production has decreased this season, dropping from 32.2 points per game to 24.4, but he was an All-star once again, and has proven to be a significant upgrade over Holiday who is averaging just 12.9 points. The Bucks are an excellent bet to remain within the top three in the Eastern Conference, which would allow them to avoid playing the Celtics until the Conference Finals.
