Golden State Warriors Remain NBA Championship Futures Favorite

The NBA basketball season is into the second half and the Golden State Warriors are still expected to repeat as league champion. The current NBA futures odds make it perfectly clear that in terms of championship potential its the Warriors and everyone else. Currently, Golden State is a -225 favorite to pull off the ‘threepeat’ by winning their third straight NBA title and fourth in the past five years. Should the Warriors manage to make it three for three they’ll be the first triple dip champion in the NBA since the Los Angeles Lakers did it in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Golden State might be the current NBA championship favorite but as of this writing they don’t have the best record in the league. The Warriors are 34-14 and although they lead the Western Conference they’re not free from challengers. The Denver Nuggets are 31-15 and just 2 games behind the Warriors with the Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games back), the Portland Trailblazers (5 games back) and the Houston Rockets (6.5 games back) also in the running for the Western Conference regular season superlatives.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks (34-12) and Toronto Raptors (36-14) are setting the tempo with the Indiana Pacers (2.5 games back), the Philadelphia 76ers (3.5 games back) and the Boston Celtics (5 games back) also in the running. The good news is that NBA regular season play has much more parity than in recent seasons where only three or four teams appeared to be serious championship contenders.

Records notwithstanding, however, the betting marketplace isn’t giving anyone much of a chance of unseating the Warriors. No team is a single digit underdog to the defending champs with the top contenders being the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors all priced at +1000. The most realistic scenario is for an Eastern Conference challenger to knock off Golden State in the NBA Finals. The top Western Conference team in this betting market is the Houston Rockets (+1600) followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder (+2500). The Philadelphia 76ers are also +2500 with no other team priced at less than +3300. 18 of the NBA’s 30 teams are priced at 100/1 or higher.

Of particular interest among the longshots is the Los Angeles Lakers. So far, the Lakers’ have underachieved despite the presence of LeBron James who has recently missed action due to injury. The Lakers are 25-34 on the season and 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the West. Despite not even being in the current postseason scenario the Lakers are +3300 to win the NBA title. By way of contrast, their crosstown rivals the LA Clippers are 26-22 and hold down the #8 and final playoff spot as of today. Even so, they’re a +15000 longshot to take the Warriors’ crown.

Golden State is a -350 choice to win the Western Conference followed by the Houston Rockets (+1000), Oklahoma City Thunder (+1400) and Denver Nuggets (+1600). The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be overvalued here as well available at +1600. In the Eastern Conference, it is a significantly tighter race with the Boston Celtics (+225) and Toronto Raptors (+225) co-favorites. Right behind them is the Milwaukee Bucks at +250. The Philadelphia 76ers are also priced at single digits but are a bit behind the aforementioned trio at +700.

Finally, if you want to bet on the conference that will win the NBA title you can do so now. Not surprisingly, the Western Conference is a solid favorite at -300 to claim the crown. The Eastern Conference is a +250 choice to win the league championship.