Sportsbooks establish Celtics as favorites for 2025 title

Field Level Media|published: Mon 17th June, 23:57 2024

NBA: Finals-Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics

Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates with forward Oshae Brissett (12) after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in game five to win the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics, fresh off winning their first NBA championship since 2008, are the favorites to emerge on top again next year.

The previous champions, the Denver Nuggets, are the second choice behind the Celtics.

DraftKings has Boston as a +280 favorite to capture its 19th championship next year, while the Celtics have +300 odds at FanDuel and +350 odds at BetRivers.

The Nuggets, who fell in the conference semifinals to the Minnesota Timberwolves last month, have +750 odds at FanDuel, +700 at DraftKings and BetRivers.

The next tier of betting favorites contains four teams: Minnesota, the reigning Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.

FanDuel puts the Timberwolves at +850, followed by the Mavericks at +900 and the Thunder and Bucks both at +1000.

DraftKings' payouts for those teams are +800 for the Thunder, +850 for both the Timberwolves and the Bucks, and +900 for the Mavericks.

BetRivers lists the Timberwolves, Thunder and Bucks at +900, with the Mavericks at +1000.

The Thunder fell in this year's Western Conference semifinals to the Mavericks, while the Bucks were ousted in a first-round Eastern Conference series against the Indiana Pacers.

Next at the books are the Philadelphia 76ers next (+1200 DraftKings, +1600 FanDuel and +1400 BetRivers) and the New York Knicks (+1400 DraftKings and BetRivers, +1600 FanDuel).

The odds differ significantly for the Los Angeles Clippers, who are listed at +1800 at DraftKings, +2500 at BetRivers and +2800 at FanDuel.

At the other end of the board, FanDuel and DraftKings list the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz at +100000. FanDuel also has Toronto at +100000, while DraftKings puts the Raptors at +90000.

The longest odds at BetRivers are +50000 for the Jazz, Raptors, Trail Blazers, Pistons, Hornets at Wizards. The Nets and Chicago Bulls are at +25000.

--Field Level Media