The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to win the 2020 NBA Finals on Sunday night, and oddsmakers already are looking ahead to next season.
Championship betting lines for the 2020-21 season have been released, and the Lakers are favored to repeat as champions. They also are the last team to win back-to-back titles, accomplishing the feat in 2009 and 2010.
The Lakers will have plenty of competition for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, however.
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The Los Angeles Clippers had a massively disappointing 2020 playoff run during which they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals. Despite the embarrassing early exit, the Clippers still have a great roster and a superstar in Kawhi Leonard who's one of the league's top five players. The Clippers have the second-best title odds.
The Golden State Warriors were decimated by injuries this past season with Stephen Curry missing most of the year and Klay Thompson not playing at all. The Warriors' misfortune could be short lived, though.
Golden State has the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to select a quality player who will team up with Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Thompson and Curry to help bring the Warriors back to prominence. The Warriors have the fourth-best odds to win the 2021 title.
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Oddsmakers also are high on the Brooklyn Nets, who have the fifth-best championship odds. Nets superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant didn't make much of an impact on the 2019-20 season. Irving had shoulder surgery in March and didn't play again. Durant missed the entire campaign recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in the 2019 playoffs. If Durant and Irving are healthy next season, the Nets should be a top contender.
The Boston Celtics were the Eastern Conference runner up this past season and have a bright future led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Boston's title odds are slightly better than Miami Heat's, who beat the Celtics in the conference finals before losing to the Lakers in six games.
Here are the opening 2021 NBA title odds following the Lakers' 2020 triumph.
1. Los Angeles Lakers: +375
2. Los Angeles Clippers: +425
3. Milwaukee Bucks: +650
4. Golden State Warriors: +750
5. Brooklyn Nets: +1000
6. Boston Celtics: +1200
7. Miami Heat: +1300
8. Toronto Raptors: +1700
9. Denver Nuggets: +2000
10. Houston Rockets: +2200
11. Dallas Mavericks: +2500
12. Philadelphia 76ers: +3000
13. Portland Trail Blazers: +3500
14. Utah Jazz: +4000
15. New Orleans Pelicans: +5000
All other teams have +6600 odds or worse
Odds provided by our partner, PointsBet