2024 NBA Finals Odds: Denver Nuggets Favored to Repeat – Bet On That
Hate to break this to you non-Nuggets fans, but you just started watching the next NBA dynasty.
That’s right: Denver.
If you saw how the Nuggets romped through the playoffs this season culminating with their domination of Miami to win its first championship since joining the NBA in 1976, you should know what’s coming next.
Sure it took 47 years – the longest stretch in league history – for Denver to end its drought, but this could be the first title of several for these Nuggets.
It doesn’t hurt that your head coach is already talking about next season and back-to-back crowns.
"Pat Riley said something many years ago," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "I used to have it up on my board when I was a head coach in Sacramento. It talked about the evolution in this game and how you go from a nobody to an upstart. And you go from an upstart to a winner and a winner to a contender and a contender to a champion, and the last step is, after a champion, is to be a dynasty.
So we’re not satisfied. I've got news for everybody out there. We're not satisfied with one. We want more."
And, boy howdy, are the Nuggets equipped to repeat. They’re a young, tight-knit group that has finally found its collective groove.
Plus their entire starting five – Nikola Jokic (28 years old), Jamal Murray (26), Aaron Gordon (27), Michael Porter Jr. (24) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (30) – will be back.
They went 16-4 in the playoffs in 2023 when many experts thought it would be a much tougher run to a championship.
It wasn’t.
The Nuggets have nine players under contract heading into the 2023-24 season. They’ll do their best to retain versatile guard-forward Bruce Brown but that’s going to be difficult because he’ll be in such high demand (read: big bucks) following an outstanding postseason.
Consider, too, that the West suddenly doesn’t look nearly as wildly talented as was touted at the start of this past season. Heading into this next season (first game is October 24), the Grizzlies have a major Ja Morant problem (his huge suspension will be announced soon), while the Suns weren’t the juggernaut everyone thought they’d be, and who knows if Chris Paul is returning. Elsewhere, the Clippers can’t stay healthy, the Warriors are getting old quickly, the Lakers and LeBron James are running out of gas, the Mavericks are a mess, and the Kings, who took the Warriors to seven games in the first round before falling to the defending champs, are probably a year or two away from getting to where Denver is now.
I think the Nuggets, barring injuries, of course, are a lock to get back to the Finals as West champs.
In the East, both the Bucks and Celtics will likely keep their core rosters intact with a bit of tinkering, although Milwaukee must figure out how to keep both Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. To me, those are the only two teams (Sorry, Sixers and Knicks fans) that will pose a threat to a Denver repeat.
As far as Miami, can the Heat build around Jimmy Butler? Maybe, but a ballooning payroll may prevent that. They’ll have to get creative. I certainly don’t think they’ll duplicate their magical and historic playoff run to the Finals in 2024.
However, free agency starts June 30 and there are plenty of aging, household names on the market, led by James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Draymond Green. The Heat, as well as other large-market teams (Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Nets), will likely make headlines with big-deal summer signings.
Let’s take a look at the latest odds to win the title per FanDuel, one of our favorite gambling sites out there along with BetMGM, DraftKings, and many more, the odds look like this:
2024 NBA Champions
Denver Nuggets +460
Milwaukee Bucks +500
Boston Celtics +500
Phoenix Suns +700
Golden State Warriors +1200
Philadelphia 76ers +1300
Los Angeles Lakers +1500
Cleveland Cavaliers +2100
Los Angeles Clippers +2300
Miami Heat +2700
Dallas Mavericks +2700
Memphis Grizzlies +3000
New Orleans Pelicans +3600
Sacramento Kings +4500
New York Knicks +5000
Toronto Raptors +6500
Minnesota Timberwolves +6500
Atlanta Hawks +10000
Chicago Bulls +12000
Brooklyn Nets +12000
Portland Trail Blazers +13000
Oklahoma City Thunder +13000
Utah Jazz +16000
San Antonio Spurs +16000
Washington Wizards +25000
Houston Rockets +25000
Charlotte Hornets +50000
Orlando Magic +50000
Indiana Pacers +50000
Detroit Pistons +50000
Look, +460 odds aren’t great, but that’s still a solid return on investment.
What you could do, though, instead is put a little on Denver, Boston and Milwaukee. Even betting on all three of those three teams, I still think by the season’s end, you’ll still be ahead.
Because unless the Lakers, Clippers or Suns do something dramatic – much could hinge on where Harden, Irving and, possibly, Damian Lillard wind up – I just don’t see any other team winning it all next June.
I’m saying Nuggets again and another Rocky Mountain high in the summer of 2024.
