The Cleveland Cavaliers finished the 2015-16 season with a 16-5 straight up and 12-9 against the spread run through the playoffs to win the NBA championship. The Cavaliers will try to defend their title as one of the favorites to win again in 2017.
NBA championship odds 2017: Warriors, Cavaliers early favorites on betting futures
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are the betting favorites to win the NBA title at the sportsbooks for the 2016-17 season.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland is going off at +225 to win back-to-back championships at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. LeBron James was the unanimous MVP of the NBA Finals last season, powering the Cavaliers to their first title in team history while leading the series in every major offensive category. James has owned the Eastern Conference of late with six straight conference titles between his four seasons in Miami and most recent two in Cleveland.
Coming off a historic 73-9 SU regular season, the Warriors are the favorites to win the NBA championship in 2017 going off at +200.
The Warriors appeared to be on their way to a second straight title with a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, but instead became the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 lead in the Finals with three straight losses. Golden State’s elite core will still be in place next season and should have a chip on its shoulder after last season’s disappointing finish.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a big trade on draft day to bring in Victor Oladipo in a package for Serge Ibaka. If Kevin Durant decides to stay with the Thunder, Oklahoma City could wind up being a good value play at +850.
Oladipo joins an excellent group of players including Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter that could entice Durant to stay with the Thunder for one more year.
The San Antonio Spurs (+750 to win the NBA championship) were one of the most dominant teams in the NBA last season with a 73-19 SU and 49-43 ATS record including the playoffs. With a changing of the guard in San Antonio from the older veterans to the new team leaders in Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs figure to remain legitimate title contender for years to come.
Other potential contenders on the NBA betting futures include the Los Angeles Clippers (+2000), Boston Celtics (+2500), Miami Heat (+3300), Toronto Raptors (+2500) and Chicago Bulls (+3300).
