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These Teams Were the Biggest Underdog Winners This Decade in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL

Ryan Metivier

by Ryan Metivier in News

Updated Mar 31, 2021 · 1:55 PM PDT

Aaron Jones Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33) in action during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
  • The St. Louis Blues went from worst-to-first in the NHL this year
  • Were the Toronto Raptors the biggest longshot to win an NBA title this decade?
  • See the top five biggest underdog winners this decade across the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL

As we close out 2019 we take a look back at some of the most profitable futures bets of the decade across the four major sports. That being which championship team in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL would’ve returned the biggest payouts this past decade had you bet them prior to their respective seasons.

Read on to see the biggest underdog to win in each league as well as the top five overall. All odds are courtesy of SportsOddsHistory.com and rankings are based on odds taken at the end of preseason or start of regular season, depending on odds availability.

NFL

1st: 2017/18 Philadelphia Eagles (+4000): The Eagles had finished the 2016 regular season a pedestrian 7-9 and last in the NFC East Division. It’s safe to say few expected them to be lifting the Lombardi Trophy when the next season began.

They were 60-1 odds when 2017 began in January and had settled at 40-1 as the regular season got underway as of September 4, 2017. By Week 7 those odds had shortened all the way down to single digits at +800 as the Eagles had started the year 5-1.

They would go on to win the division with a 13-3 record. Despite a late-season ACL injury to QB Carson Wentz, Nick Foles galvanized the team throughout the playoffs and helped them defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl 41-33.

2nd: 2011/12 New York Giants (+2200)

3rd: 2009/10 New Orleans Saints (+2000)

4th: 2012/13 Baltimore Ravens (+1800)

5th: 2010/11 Green Bay Packers (+1100)

NBA

1st: 2014/15 Golden State Warriors (+2800): This season’s injury-ravaged team notwithstanding, the Golden State Warriors have become a model franchise in the NBA in recent years and annual contenders to be playing spring basketball each season.

While they may now be champions in three of the past five years, entering the 2014/15 season the franchise had not won a Larry O’Brien Trophy since 1975. That was also the last time they even reached the NBA Finals. The Warriors were strong in 2013/14 with a 51-31 record but didn’t last past the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The following year, oddsmakers had them listed as high as 28-1 prior to the season on October 28, 2014. Those odds quickly shortened to 8-1 on December 1 and continued to do so as Golden State finished an NBA record 73-9. The Dubs were overwhelming -220 favorites in the finals against the Cavaliers and won in six games.

2nd: 2010/11 Dallas Mavericks (+2000)

3rd: 2018/19 Toronto Raptors (+1850)

4th: 2013/14 San Antonio Spurs (+1200)

5th: 2015/16 Cleveland Cavaliers (+280)

MLB

1st: 2019 Washington Nationals (+2200) Still fresh in our minds is this fall’s Washington Nationals. The Nats finished 2018 with a near-.500 record of 82-80 and a full eight games back of the Atlanta Braves in their division. They were just the 16th-best team in baseball and missed the playoffs.

Little was expected of Washington with 22-1 World Series odds as of May 1, 2019. A slow start dropped them to +6250 on June 1 and they were still a whopping 25-1 on September 1. A September record of 17-11, including an eight-game winning streak to close the regular season, saw them enter the Wild Card at odds of 12-1.

From there they defeated the Brewers 4-3, the Dodgers in five games, the Cardinals in four games and finally the Astros in a thrilling seven-game series. Considering they fell behind three games to two after taking the opening two games in the series, the comeback was just the cherry on top of this underdog story.

2nd (Tied): 2011/12 San Francisco Giants (+2000)

2nd (Tied): 2010/11 St. Louis Cardinals (+2000)

4th: 2009/10 San Francisco Giants (+1800)

5th: 2012/13 Boston Red Sox (+1600)

NHL

1st: 2018/19 St. Louis Blues (+3000): It would seem this decade ended with a bang for bettors looking to cash longshots and the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues were one of the biggest longshots of them all. The Blues missed the playoffs in the 2017-18 season coming up one point short of the eighth-place Avalanche.

As the 2018/19 season began, the Blues were 30-1 odds to lift the Cup as of October 4, 2018. If you think those are long odds, they had plummeted to 100-1 at the All-Star Break and one bettor even placed a wager on his hometown Blues at 250-1 odds.

St. Louis was dead-last in the NHL as of January 3, 2019, but had a remarkable turnaround to end the regular season and finished fifth in the Western Conference. From there they defeated the Jets, Stars, Sharks and Bruins to win their franchise’s first Stanley Cup in its 52-year history.

2nd (Tied) 2011/12 Los Angeles Kings (+1600)

2nd (Tied) 2010/11 Boston Bruins (+1600)

4th: 2015/16 Pittsburgh Penguins (+1300)

5th: 2013/14 Los Angeles Kings (+1200)

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