LeBron Lifts 76ers to Second-Favorite Status in NBA Futures Markets
The parity era in the NBA could be set to continue, with oddsmakers and bettors appearing to believe that at least one new champion will emerge in 2027.
The latest decision by LeBron James to join the Philadelphia 76ers has seen the team move into the upper tier of favorites in the NBA futures markets.
New York's championship run last month capped an unprecedented run of NBA parity, with eight different franchises winning titles in the last eight seasons. The 76ers are now among the teams with the best odds right now of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy next June.
A look at the teams and their odds, broken down by tiers, shows that the Thunder and Spurs are considered the favorites to win the title in 2027. The Thunder, led by two-time Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are considered a slight favorite to win the title, barely ahead of the Spurs, who have young star Victor Wembanyama.
The Knicks and 76ers have the third- and fourth-best championship odds, respectively, according to most books and prediction markets. The good news for the Knicks is that they're right where they were entering last season, not quite the favorites but ahead of just about everybody in the league when it comes to title odds.
Boston is firmly the No. 5 choice right now according to most books and markets, not quite there with the Thunder, Spurs, Knicks and 76ers, but leading the rest of the pack. The Celtics' decisions this summer, particularly the trading of Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, have faced serious criticism, but bettors don't seem to mind.
The next five teams in the mix are Denver, Toronto, Minnesota, Detroit and Cleveland, all jammed fairly close together. Toronto is the only real rising team in that mix, based on the expectation that the Raptors will eventually close the trade for Kawhi Leonard and bring back the key to their 2019 title run.
Miami is the next team in the race for a top-10 preseason odds spot, with betting opinions varying widely. The acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo to play alongside Bam Adebayo is expected to get the Heat back into the playoffs.
The Lakers lost James, but the odds still say that Luka Doncic's team will be playoff-bound next season. Indiana, which played without Tyrese Haliburton this past season because of injury and plummeted to the bottom of the league, is also expected to return to the playoffs this season.
Houston and Golden State round out the top 15 in current odds, suggesting that the belief is those clubs are postseason-bound as well. Not too far back from there: Atlanta, Orlando and Portland.
Washington, with Trae Young, Anthony Davis and Khris Middleton, is expected to be better but isn't ready to be a playoff team yet. The Wizards, with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, are in a cluster of teams that odds point to as possible play-in candidates, along with Phoenix, Charlotte, Dallas and Utah.
The long shots include the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Sacramento. As it stands now, the playoff picture in the NBA next spring would look like this:
The East playoff teams are New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami, and Indiana. The East play-in teams are Atlanta and Orlando. The West playoff teams are Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, Minnesota, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, Golden State, and Portland. The West play-in teams are Phoenix and Dallas.
Source: Yahoo Sports