The pre-season warm-up matches are in full swing and it’s not long to go until the start of the new 2023/24 NBA season. And with the season fast approaching, the off-season trades are now starting to make headlines and also alter the betting to be the 2024 NBA Championship winners. Two big-name trades to shake up the NBA betting are Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, and here we look at the impact their moves have had on the latest NBA futures markets.
Kevin Durant’s trade into the Phoenix Suns at the start of the year saw the franchise leap from one of the outsiders to win the 2023 NBA Championship into one of the three betting favorites.
Just signing one big name can have a massive impact. And that’s exactly what the Bucks and the Celtics have done in recent days.
This off-season, we’ve seen more big-name trades and ones that have shaken up the betting to win the 2024 title.
Yes, Damian Lillard finally made his move from Portland. But it wasn’t to his rumored destination of Miami. He has only gone and joined Giannis Antetokounmpo at the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks were one of the favorites before the trade. But they were far from regarded as the team to beat. That was until they went out and landed the signature of Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Bucks have always been over-reliant on Antetokounmpo. If the Greek Freak could be stopped (which was far from easy), then so could the Bucks. This is why the signature of Lillard is so significant. Finally, the Bucks have someone to help take all the burden off the considerably strong shoulders of Antetokounmpo.
The move resulted in the best NBA betting sites making the Bucks their new favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship.
The Bucks (+400) and the Celtics (+425) have been trading places at the top of the betting in recent days. Defending champions, the Denver Nuggets (+550) are also in the mix, as are the Phoenix Suns (+600).
The Nuggets started the off-season at +400, with the Celtics at +650 and the Bucks at +800. They were the three favorites. The trio still are leading the betting, but the order has significantly changed.
Outside of the betting favorites are the – now to be taken seriously again – LA Lakers (+1000) and the Golden State Warriors (+1200). The Warriors have won four titles since 2015, but only one of those wins has come (2022) in the last five seasons.
Last season’s beaten finalists, the Miami Heat, are +2000, alongside the Philadelphia 76ers.
More 2024 NBA winner betting is on our Basketball betting table. The odds used are from the best NBA finals betting sites. You can read more about these betting sites on our online sportsbook reviews page.
| 2023/24 NBA Championship Winner Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Bucks | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Boston Celtics | +425 | +425 | +425 |
| Dener Nuggets | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Phoenix Suns | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| LA Lakers | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Golden State Warriors | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Miami Heat | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
As can often be the case, one huge trade can have a knock-on effect and lead to other big-name moves.
And this is what has happened in the case of Jrue Holiday. The arrival of Lillard from Portland resulted in Holiday, Deandre Ayton, and Toumani Camara heading to the Trail Blazers.
The upshot of this was Jrue Holiday being traded to the Boston Celtics just four days later, in a move that immediately resulted in the Celtics becoming the new favorites to win the NBA Championship.
The markets have settled down again, and the Bucks are back as favorites.
But this was the downside for Milwaukee in pulling off such an audacious swoop. There was always likely to be a downside to signing a player like Lillard.
In strengthening their roster, the Bucks have also improved Boston’s. And the Celtics are their biggest rivals in the race to win the Eastern Conference. As things stand, the two franchises are both +175 to win it in the futures betting with BetOnline.
When we wrote our way too early futures to win the Eastern Conference back in July, we felt the Bucks were the best bet. We see no immediate reason to change that, although the arrival of Holiday at TD Garden may have made the Bucks job more difficult. For now, we will stick with Milwaukee.
Further down the line, we still don’t see anybody knocking the Denver Nuggets off top spot. Nikola Jokic was unplayable at the end of last season, and if he performs like that again, it will take one hell of a team to stop him. And better still, the Nuggets are now out to +550 after the recent trading activities.
Check below for our list of the top sportsbooks where you can wager online:
About the Author
Dean is primarily a fan of English football who regularly attends games, and combining his hobby with his job, he is now a full-time sports betting writer. Rather than going down the educational route into sports journalism, Dean learned his trade by writing for his English football betting website since 2009, where he now boasts nearly 15 years of experience. After writing about football daily for years, Dean has taken the skills he learned and now uses them to great effect writing for numerous affiliate sites across the internet. A general all-around sports enthusiast with a passion for English football and cricket, Dean is also well able to turn his hand to writing about golf, tennis, F1, boxing, snooker, darts, and North American sports. Combining his extensive knowledge and experience with British humor and wit, Dean has developed into a trusted voice within the sports betting industry.
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