Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, right, battles for possession under the basket against Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green during the first half in Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals May 18, 2016, in Oakland, Calif.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 | 2 a.m.
Related Coverage
Kevin Durant’s selection of the Golden State Warriors in free agency on Monday quickly changed the landscape of the NBA. It also changed the betting odds in Las Vegas.
The Warriors have advanced to consecutive NBA Finals and are coming off the best regular season in league history with a 73-9 record. Now, they add one of the league’s unquestioned best players in Durant.
Before Durant decided, the Warriors were already the favorites to win the 2016-17 championship at 3-2 odds (receive $30 for every $20 wagered). After Durant’s announcement, the Warriors became minus-150 favorites, meaning every $1.50 wagered pays $1.
In a prop bet at William Hill US, the Warriors are minus-150 to win the championship against the league’s other 29 teams. The field is plus-130.
Even though the Warriors may have gotten better, oddsmakers still don’t think they can top last year’s record-breaking 73-win season. At Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, Golden State is +400 to win 74 or more games in 2016-17, while bettors can wager minus-500 that they won’t top last season’s mark.
The Warriors regular season win total is set at a staggering 66.5 at William Hill. Only 12 teams have won more than 66 games in NBA history, but Golden State has done it each of the last two seasons.
Bettors can also wager on who will average more points per game next year between Durant and Curry. At William Hill, Durant opened as the favorite at minus-175 while the two-time reigning MVP Curry is currently at +155.
The changes to the odds for Durant’s former team were even more dramatic.
Prior to his departure the Thunder were 8/1 to win the championship, but immediately skyrocketed to 30/1.
Only weeks after holding a 3-1 lead over the Warriors in the conference finals and exits by Durant and Serge Ibaka, the Thunder have the sixth best odds to win next year’s title behind Golden State (2/3), Cleveland (5/2), San Antonio (7/1), the Los Angeles Clippers (20/1) and Boston (20/1).
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy