2023-24 NBA Title Odds and Betting Primer

The Celtics and Bucks are co-favorites to win the Finals with the defending champion Nuggets and Suns tied for the next-best odds.

The Celtics and Bucks, the two teams that made blockbuster trades just weeks before the start of the season, enter the 2023-24 campaign as co-favorites to win the NBA Finals. Both Eastern Conference contenders own better title odds than the Nuggets, the defending champions, who are tied with the Suns for the next-best odds.

Boston, Milwaukee, Denver, and Phoenix are the only teams with title odds shorter than +1000. The Lakers and Warriors fall in line after the top four before there’s a sharp drop-off to the likes of the Cavaliers and Grizzlies, who are part of a large tier of tertiary contenders.

Here’s where the championship odds stand for all 30 teams in the Association with the start of the season less than a week away:

2023-24 NBA Championship Odds

Boston Celtics +380
Milwaukee Bucks +380
Denver Nuggets +550
Phoenix Suns +550
Los Angeles Lakers +1300
Golden State Warriors +1400
Cleveland Cavaliers +2400
Memphis Grizzlies +2400
Dallas Mavericks +2500
Los Angeles Clippers +2700
Philadelphia 76ers +2700
Miami Heat +3000
New Orleans Pelicans +4200
New York Knicks +4600
Sacramento Kings +5000
Minnesota Timberwolves +5500
Oklahoma City Thunder +8500
Chicago Bulls +13000
Toronto Raptors +13000
Brooklyn Nets +13000
Atlanta Hawks +13000
Indiana Pacers +26000
Portland Trail Blazers +50000
Washington Wizards +50000
Charlotte Hornets +50000
Utah Jazz +50000
Orlando Magic +50000
San Antonio Spurs +50000
Houston Rockets +50000
Detroit Pistons +50000

The Celtics shook things up with the additions of Jrue Holiday, who is coming off an All-Star season, and Kristaps Porzingis, who just had the best -- and one of the healthiest -- years of his career. These acquisitions came at the cost of Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III, but this consolidation of talent should have Boston poised for another deep playoff push. A run to the conference finals has become an annual expectation for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, though they fell short of a return to the NBA Finals last May.

Damian Lillard wanted to be traded to a playoff contender, and his presence on the Bucks makes them a co-favorite to win it all

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s musings about leaving the Bucks prompted immediate action from the front office. It seemed that Damian Lillard to Miami was a done deal for much of the summer, but Milwaukee swooped in to pair one of the game’s best perimeter scorers with their two-time MVP. It came at the cost of Holiday, a key cog in one of the NBA’s best defenses, but Lillard unlocks a level of offense that was previously unimaginable. The Bucks won an NBA-best 58 games a season ago, but since winning the franchise’s first championship in 2021, they haven’t made it past the second round. Now they’ll try to do so with a first-year head coach at the helm in Adrian Griffin.

The Nuggets are running it back with the same starting five that helped them hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June, though they did lose two rotation players when Bruce Brown and Jeff Green walked in free agency. Denver’s depth will be tested as Christian Braun and Reggie Jackson assume larger roles for the defending champs, but few teams have a starting five that can contend with Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokić.

The Suns joined the Celtics and Bucks in shuffling the deck this summer. Case in point: Devin Booker is the only remaining player from the 2021 Finals run. Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton are both gone with Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkić taking their place in the starting five. Phoenix also lost several rotation players and its biggest move to address those depth concerns was the acquisition of Eric Gordon. Frank Vogel takes over for Monty Williams, who won the most games in the NBA over the last three seasons. Ultimately, the success of this team will come down to the health of Kevin Durant.

After those top four teams, there’s a hefty drop-off to the Lakers and Warriors, both of whom reinforced their star-heavy lineups. Los Angeles kept together the core that it assembled on the fly last season and added Gabe Vincent, Christian Wood and Taurean Prince to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Golden State’s big move was swapping out Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, who joins Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Big 3 he couldn’t get past when he was in Houston.

After those six teams, there are enough questions about the rest of the league that each team’s odds stand at +2400 or longer. The Cavaliers (+2400) flamed out in the first round after a 50-win season and the Grizzlies (+2400) will be without Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the season with Marcus Smart taking his spot in the starting five.

The Mavericks (+2500) went just 5–11 with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving on the floor and missed the postseason for the first time since Dončić’s rookie year. The Clippers (+2700) are a year older and are still heavily reliant on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, neither of whom have played 60 games in a season since 2018-19.

The 76ers (+2700) swapped out head coach Doc Rivers for Nick Nurse but the James Harden situation complicates things. And then there’s the Heat (+3000), who not only missed out on Lillard but also lost Max Strus and Vincent. But as long as Jimmy Butler, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley remain in Miami, this team cannot be counted out.

Further down the list are some intriguing teams with longer odds, such as the Kings (+5000) and Thunder (+8500), two young teams who made notable leaps last season but still might be a few years away from true contention.

Remember, this time last October, the Nuggets had the 10th-best title odds at +1600, behind both the Nets and Clippers. A lot can — and will — change between now and June.