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The Oklahoma City Thunder shook the NBA world with a deal that brought New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony to town. After the monster trade, it not only adds additional firepower to a talented team which already featured Russell Westbrook and Paul George, but it certainly increased their betting odds of winning the NBA Championship next season.
The question was, how much would the odds improve with the addition of Anthony? As Bookmaker.eu points out, they jumped up quite a bit, making the Thunder one of the top favorites to win the title in the 2017-18 season.
Here’s a look at the current NBA Championship odds, courtesy of Bookmaker.eu.
2017-18 NBA Championship Odds
- Golden State Warriors -230
Cleveland Cavaliers +560
Boston Celtics +935
Houston Rockets +1250
Oklahoma City Thunder +1750
San Antonio Spurs +2200
Minnesota Timberwolves +3200
Washington Wizards +6300
Milwaukee Bucks +7000
Philadelphia 76ers +12000
Miami Heat +12500
Toronto Raptors +14000
Los Angeles Clippers +15000
New Orleans Pelicans +15500
Utah Jazz +20000
Denver Nuggets +20000
Los Angeles Lakers +24000
Portland Trail Blazers +25000
Memphis Grizzlies +32500
Charlotte Hornets +32500
Dallas Mavericks +35000
Detroit Pistons +50000
New York Knicks +65000
Indiana Pacers +75000
Atlanta Hawks +80000
Phoenix Suns +80000
Chicago Bulls +85000
Sacramento Kings +100000
Orlando Magic +100000
Brooklyn Nets +120000
Obviously, landing behind only the Warriors, Cavaliers, Celtics and Rockets is pretty impressive. There’s even an argument that could certainly be made that they have as strong of a starting five as any team on the list, maybe short of the Warriors.
What’s really incredible, though, is what Anthony’s addition meant for these odds. While the Thunder are +1750 to win the title currently, they were +3100 before the trade, according to Bookmaker.
The Thunder are going to have a tough task to win the title, as they’ll have to navigate a Western Conference which seems to be quite a bit stronger than the East. Not only do the Rockets have James Harden, but also made the huge acquisition of Chris Paul as well, and the Warriors are still the favorites, for obvious reasons.
Time will tell, but a trio of Westbrook, George and Anthony could be tough to beat in a seven-game series, even against any of those teams listed above.
