Updated NBA Championship Odds Ahead of 2020-21 Season Opening Night Tip-Off
- The Los Angeles Lakers are the heavy favorites to repeat as NBA champions heading into opening night of the 2020-21 season at +270
- Milwaukee, Brooklyn and the LA Clippers are among the next group of contenders on board, with future odds ranging from +550-to-+650
- See below for the best bets as we handicap the teams with the best chance to win it all
The Los Angeles Lakers begin defense of their latest NBA title Tuesday night against their Staples Center roommates, the LA Clippers, at 10 p.m. ET.
LeBron and co. are vying for what would be a league-record 18th championship in the 2020-21 season, which would break the current tie with the Boston Celtics. They enter the 72-game slate as prohibitive favorites at +270.
The Purple and Gold have consistently been atop he NBA Championship odds during this abbreviated offseason, never falling below the +350 threshold since defeating the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Oct. 11.
Meantime, the biggest riser in that timeframe has been the Brooklyn Nets as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have gone from +1200 ten weeks ago to +600 now. The biggest faller has been the Boston Celtics. With Gordon Hayward departing to the Charlotte Hornets via free agency, the C’s have seen their odds drop from +1200 to +2200.
2021 NBA Championship Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | +270 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +550 |
| Brooklyn Nets | +600 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +650 |
| Denver Nuggets | +1600 |
| Miami Heat | +1600 |
| Boston Celtics | +2200 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +2200 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +2200 |
| Toronto Raptors | +2200 |
Odds taken Dec. 22nd on FanDuel
Let’s analyze the movement heading into Opening Night and handicap the teams with the best chance to win it all.
Retooled and Reloaded
The Lakers look every bit the favorite to capture another Larry O’Brien Trophy. They locked up their superstars in James and Anthony Davis (along with key players Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) and improved their supporting cast.
LeBron said that, in these unique circumstances, the things the Lakers can control as the regular season starts are their defensive effort, their rebounding and transition push, and sharing the ball on offense. The rest will come along.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 19, 2020
The franchise said goodbye to veterans JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard and Danny Green and hello to a group of hungry up-and-comers like reigning Sixth Man of the Year (and former Clipper) Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroder, Marc Gasol and Wesley Matthews.
By almost every metric, Frank Vogel’s team improved their shooting (Matthews), creativity (Schroder), floor spacing (Gasol) and pick-and-roll presence (Harrell). While the team might miss Rondo’s savvy or Green’s big-shot ability, this new group of fresh faces should be core players for years to come.
Plus, getting Harrell to change Staples locker rooms is addition by subtraction, since the Clippers are one of the biggest threats – if not the biggest threat – in the Western Conference to the defending champs.
After going 4-0 in the preseason and watching the emergence of Talen Horton-Tucker, there’s no reason to think the Lakers shouldn’t defend their title in the upcoming season.
Net Gain
With similar question marks heading into this season as the Lakers did last year, the Brooklyn Nets face some uncertainty in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
While Milwaukee has slightly better title odds and the two-time defending league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston may have the league’s best coach in Brad Stevens, and Miami is the reigning conference champs.
The Nets, based on the talent of their two superstars (like the Lakers) are my pick to win the East.
Final preparations. pic.twitter.com/svpBZTB8IH
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 21, 2020
Kevin Durant appears to be fully recovered from the Achilles tear that cost him an entire season. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving, who played just 20 games last season, is also back to run the point. The team also returns a supporting cast that reached the postseason and got invaluable experience last year from guys like Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen.
If Phoenix Suns fans are having flashbacks to the mid-2000s when they look at Brooklyn’s bench, you can forgive them. Two-time league MVP Steve Nash (who served in the Warriors front office most recently) is the head coach. Nash’s staff includes his former Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni and teammate Amar’e Stoudemire. This should be fun.
Redemption Tour
The team I’m most intrigued by heading into this season is the team many thought would win it all last year: the Clippers. At +650, Kawhi Leonard and co. are highly-motivated to put the way last year ended (surrendering a 3-1 series lead in the Conference Semifinals to the Nuggets) behind them.
All the moves the Clippers made in free agency:
• Paul George: 4-year, $190M extension
• Marcus Morris 4-year, $64M deal
• Luke Kennard: 4-year, $64M extension
• Serge Ibaka: 2-year, $19M deal
• Nicolas Batum: 1-year, $2.65M deal
• Patrick Patterson: 1-year, $3M deal— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 21, 2020
With new head coach Tyronn Lue’s championship pedigree, the Clippers will be interesting to watch now that Doc Rivers is in Philly.
And with Lue saying he’s planning on using the ultra-talented Leonard in triangle sets similar to the ones Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played out of, the Clippers have the talent – and hunger – to win a title.
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
