"The Oklahoma City Thunder were underdogs in only three games last season en route to winning the franchise's first NBA championship. Oddsmakers are expecting a similar campaign this season. The Thunder, who tip off their title defense Tuesday against the Houston Rockets, are commanding favorites to win another championship, listed at 2-1 at ESPN BET."
"Those are the shortest title odds entering a season since the powerhouse Golden State Warriors in 2017-18. "They're head and shoulders above [everyone], and they'll be favored in just about every game, unless there's something unforeseen," Jeff Sherman, a veteran NBA oddsmaker for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, said of the Thunder."
"While Oklahoma City is the overwhelming favorite, the Thunder's short odds have bettors looking elsewhere. At ESPN BET, nearly 50% of the money that had been bet on the odds to win the NBA title was on the Nuggets. Denver also had attracted the most bets and most money to win the title at BetMGM. The Nuggets' title odds moved from around 15-1 down to +650 this offseason, as the team retooled around Nikola Jokic."
The Oklahoma City Thunder enter the season as overwhelming favorites to repeat as NBA champions, listed at 2-1 at ESPN BET. The Thunder were underdogs in only three games last season while winning the franchise's first title and will open their title defense against the Houston Rockets. Those are the shortest preseason title odds since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors. Cleveland and Denver are next at +650, New York at +1000, and Houston and Los Angeles at +1500. Betting patterns show heavy interest in Denver, which moved from about 15-1 to +650 after retooling around Nikola Jokic. Jokic leads MVP odds at +215, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at +250 and Luka Dončić at +440.
Read at ESPN.com
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