Profiling the favorites for the NBA championship.
With the 2021/22 NBA regular season now reaching its conclusion, fans are already placing their bets in play on which teams are favorited to make an appearance in the post season and who will be heading to the Finals for a chance to claim the Larry O’Brien championship.
The NBA Playoffs are now only a few short months away and the race to quest to claim an NBA championship ring is firmly up for grabs as a number of established franchises have made a firm case for being major contenders heading into the final stages of the regular season.
According to the current DraftKings NBA odds, these are the league’s favorites to win the Larry O’Brien championship this season.
- Phoenix Suns (+380):
After falling short to Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020/21 NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns have picked exactly where they have left off and currently occupy the best regular season record in the NBA at this juncture.
With arguably the league’s best backcourt duo of veteran point guard Chris Paul and the superstar caliber two guard Devin Booker, as well as the towering 2018 first overall draft pick DeAndre Ayton at Center, the Suns are looking to remain a force heading into the postseason.
Backed by a tremendous coach in Monty Williams and a sublime supporting cast of great depth and quality, the Suns are sure to remain as the perennial favorites to win the championship this year, which of course would be the first in their franchise’s long history.
- Golden State Warriors (+450):
With the return of the fabled backcourt duo of Klay Thompson and former two-time MVP Stephen Curry, the Warriors have once again returned back to their old ways and are a major contender in the Western Conference even without their defensive stalwart Draymond Green who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
While Thompson is still recuperating from the major issue he suffered back in the 2019 NBA Finals, Curry’s on court dominance is arguably the most offensive polished that it has ever been throughout his hall-of-fame ladened career.
Adding to this has been the development of former first overall pick Andrew Wiggins who made his first All-Star selection this year and a great supporting cast of Gary Payton II, Jordan Poole, Juan Toscano-Anderson and rookie Jonathan Kuminga has left the Warriors with a firm chance of claiming a fourth championship in just eight years.
- Brooklyn Nets (+475):
In spite of the shocking trade for superstar shooting guard James Harden, the Nets still remain a major contender to make a first appearance at the NBA Finals since 2003, especially with the major return of Kevin Durant.
Durant’s injury and Kyrie Irving’s absence’s from home games this season has put a major damper on what was expected to be an exciting regular season for Nets fans, with the team struggling in recent months to uphold a spot in the automatic playoff seeds.
However, with return of Durant and likely Irving in the future as well as adding former All-Star and defensive player of the year candidate Ben Simmons to go along with an experienced supporting cast of LaMarcus Alderidge, Blake Griffin, Goran Dragic and Patty Mills, the Nets are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs should their core remain healthy and remain as firm contenders to lift their first title in franchise history.
- Milwaukee Bucks (+800):
Hot off the heels of their first championship winning season since 1971, the Bucks have continued to make a strong case of completing a first title ‘two-peat’ in franchise history thanks to the continuous excellence of the superstar Power Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who remains hotly in the race to win his third regular season MVP trophy in just four years.
Alongside All-Star forward Khris Middleton and Guard Jrue Holiday as well as a talented supporting cast of Pat Connaughton, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Grayson Allen and the recent additions of defensive commodities Serge Ibaka and DeAndre Jordan has left the Bucks with a stern opportunity to claim another shot at winning the NBA championship this season.
Backed by the respected head coach Mike Budenholzer and an excellent front office, the Bucks will remain a major force throughout the East for years given the dedication and loyalty that Giannis has shown towards one of the league’s smallest market teams, which has paid off immensely.
- Honorable Mentions:
The emergence of the James Harden and Joel Embiid duo with the Philadelphia 76ers has risen them as firm favorites at +650.
With the additions of Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker to compliment the Jimmy Butler led Miami Heat, south beach could make a swift return back to the finals at +1000 odds as they currently occupy the best record in the East.
After earning the top seed in the West with a 60+ win season last year, the Jazz exited the playoffs in the second round at the hands of the feared LA Clippers, but are still major contenders thanks to the efforts of All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert at +1700.