2024-25 NBA championship odds: Celtics favored to repeat

On Monday night, the Boston Celtics earned the franchise's 18th NBA title with a statement win in Game 5 over the Dallas Mavericks. After building a 3-0 lead in the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mavericks stepped up in Game 4 to avoid a sweep but were sent back down to earth in the best-of-seven series when Boston sent Dallas packing with a 106-88 victory inside TD Garden.

With the win, the Celtics broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA titles in history and are now favored in the early 2024-25 NBA championship futures to secure a 19th title next season. Boston is the +290 choice to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy in the summer of 2025, followed by the Denver Nuggets (+800), who were knocked out in the Western Conference semifinals by the No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. The 2023 NBA champions became the fifth consecutive defending champion to fail to make it to the conference finals when Denver fell in Game 7 to Minnesota, who went on to lose in five games to Dallas in the Western Conference Finals.

Dallas' road to the Finals also saw them oust No. 1 seed Oklahoma City, who's the +850 third choice to triumph in the 2025 NBA Finals. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 30.1 points per game in the regular season, the Thunder were the third highest-scoring team in the league (120.1 points per contest) and owned the best 3-point percentage in the NBA (38.9%). They also ranked third in opponent field-goal percentage, allowing opposing teams to shoot 45.5% from the field.

The top defense in the NBA belonged to the Celtics, who also claimed a league-best 64-18 regular-season record. Including the postseason, Boston finished with an 80-21 mark and a .792 win percentage, which ranks second in franchise history behind Boston's 1985-86 championship team, which went 82-18.

The Thunder and Nuggets were tied for the second-best regular-season record in the NBA, at 57-25, followed by the Timberwolves (56-26) and Los Angeles Clippers (51-31). The Clippers boast +3000 odds to win an NBA championship next season and looked primed for a deep postseason run before injuries derailed the hopes of the second oldest team in the NBA. Trade acquisition James Harden led L.A. in scoring (21.2 points per game) but with Kawhi Leonard limited in the first round of the postseason, the Clippers went home early with a 4-2 series loss to the Mavericks.

The oldest team in the NBA this season, the Milwaukee Bucks are the +950 fifth choice to earn the franchise's third title. The Bucks also endured an early exit in the playoffs, when they were beaten by the No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the opening round. The Pacers (+5000 to win the 2025 NBA title) were the sharpest shooters in the postseason, averaging 50.7% from the field and 113.9 points per playoff game. The feisty sixth seed made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals but were ultimately swept by the Celtics, who never needed more than five games to win any best-of-seven series in each round of the 2023-24 postseason.

Teams with the worst odds to win the 2024-25 NBA title

As for the teams we are unlikely to see in next year's Finals series, the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and Brooklyn Nets are each listed at +100000 on the current odds board to win the NBA title. All seven teams finished below .400 in the 2023-24 season, with the Pistons owning the league's worst record, at 14-68.

The Pistons will get the fifth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, set for Wednesday, June 26. Atlanta, who had just a 3% chance to win the lottery, ended up with the No. 1 overall pick back in May.

The following is the complete order of the first round:

1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Washington Wizards
3. Houston Rockets (from Brooklyn)
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Charlotte Hornets
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto)
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Utah Jazz
11. Chicago Bulls
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Houston)
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Golden State via Boston and Memphis)
15. Miami Heat
16. Philadelphia 76ers
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Orlando Magic
19. Toronto Raptors (from Indiana)
20. Cleveland Cavaliers
21. New Orleans Pelicans (from Milwaukee)
22. Phoenix Suns
23. Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans)
24. New York Knicks (from Dallas)
25. New York Knicks
26. Washington Wizards (from LA Clippers via Dallas and Oklahoma City)
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Denver Nuggets
29. Utah Jazz (from Oklahoma City via Toronto and Indiana)
30. Boston Celtics