On the eve of the NBA restart, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and LA Clippers are the top three betting favorites to win the 2020 championship. The Lakers are 9/4 odds favorites to win the NBA title, according to an update by oddsmakers at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The Bucks have the best record in NBA, but they head into the restart the second-best in odds as 11/4 favorites to win the championship.
The Clippers are right behind the Lakers and Bucks at 3/1 odds. After those top three teams, there’s a big drop off in odds.
The three-team chase pack – the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Houston Rockets – are each 16/1 odds to win the title.
2020 NBA RESTART CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Los Angeles Lakers 9/4
Milwaukee Bucks 11/4
Los Angeles Clippers 3/1
Boston Celtics 16/1
Denver Nuggets 16/1
Houston Rockets 16/1
Toronto Raptors 20/1
Philadelphia 76ers 25/1
Miami Heat 40/1
Dallas Mavericks 50/1
Oklahoma City Thunder 60/1
Utah Jazz 80/1
New Orleans Pelicans 80/1
Portland Trail Blazers 100/1
The defending champion Toronto Raptors are 20/1 odds to repeat as NBA champs. They’ll be tasked with defending their title without Kawhi Leonard this postseason. Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers in the offseason. Could Kawhi lead back-to-back teams to a championship during his first year with each team?
Chase Pack: Defending Champs, Nugs, and Shamrocks
The Celtics were saved by the bell. They dropped four out of their last six games before the NBA shut down on March 10. The team is refreshed, especially Kemba Walker, who nursed a sore knee in March. The combo of Jayson Tatum (23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds) and Walker (21.2 points, 4.9 assists) will be fun to watch in the postseason.
A slimmed-down Nikola Jokic impressed his teammates. He also faded a bout with coronavirus after testing positive in Serbia shortly before he returned to Colorado for the Nuggets’ training camp. The Nuggets (43-22), the third-best team in the west, offer up tremendous value from the chase pack at 16/1 odds to win the championship.
The Raptors (46-18) posted the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at the time of the shutdown. They won four in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA, before the league suspended games.
The Philadelphia 76ers came into this season with high expectations. They had one of the best starting five squads in the NBA, including Joel Embiid. However, they were a split personality when it came to home/away games. The Sixers were nearly unstoppable at home in Philly with a 29-2 record, but were atrocious on the road with a 10-24 record.
With all games played inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando, Florida, the Sixers lost their home-court edge, which is why their odds slipped to 16/1.
Miami Jimmy, Rip City Value, Zion Hype
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are a year ahead of schedule. Can Butler and the Young Heat make a run in the postseason? Guess we’ll find out if Butler can play the role of spoiler. The Heat currently sit in the #4 seed. You can find them at 40/1 odds to win the title.
Follow the money, and the money loves Zion Williamson. Over the last month, the New Orleans Pelicans moved up from 100/1 to 80/1 odds to win the title. That seems a little far-fetched, considering the Pelicans aren’t even a lock to make the playoffs. Zion and the Pels are slugging it out on a stacked Western Conference bubble that also includes the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers.
Damian Lillard got tapped to appear on the cover of NBA 2K for next season. But he still has on-the-court business to attend to with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard didn’t want to return to action unless the Blazers had a legit shot at the postseason. They’re currently on the western bubble, and trail the Grizzlies by 3.5 games.
Can Lillard and the Blazers make a run in eight games? They have a difficult restart schedule that includes Memphis, Boston, Houston, Denver, the LA Clippers, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Brooklyn.
Long Shots, Hail Marys, Sick Nets, Oladipo Opt Out
The championship long shots range from 300/1 to 10,000/1 as the redonkulous Hail Mary bet on the board. If you plan on wagering on the Washington Wizards (24-40) at 10,000 to 1 odds, you should say an extra rosary in your prayers. You’ll need all the extra divine intervention you can get.
The Indiana Pacers dropped from 80/1 to 300/1 after losing Victor Oladipo. He missed the majority of this season after returning from a knee injury. He missed more than half of last season as well. Oladipo opted out of the restart citing numerous injuries, along with an overall heightened level of discomfort with playing inside the NBA Bubble. The Pacers will also have to play without their stud, Domanta Sabonis.
NBA CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS – LONG SHOTS
Indiana Pacers 300/1
Orlando Magic 500/1
Memphis Grizzlies 1000/1
Brooklyn Nets 1000/1
Sacramento Kings 2000/1
San Antonio Spurs 5000/1
Phoenix Suns 5000/1
Washington Wizards 10000/1
The Nets saw their NBA title odds plummet from 40/1 to 1000/1 after losing Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan to COVID-19 infections. The Nets will most likely stumble into the postseason, and slip from the #7 to the #8 seed.
The Washington Wizards were a one-outer to make the postseason as the worst team invited to the restart. And that was before they lost their top two scorers. Sharpshooter Davis Bertans opted out and Bradley Beal will miss the restart with a lingering shoulder injury.
