NBA Finals 2018 Odds After Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade Join Championship Contenders

Carmelo Anthony OKC Thunder — Carmelo Anthony, pictured posing for a photo during media day at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sept. 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, doubled the Oklahoma City Thunder's betting odds to win 2018 NBA Finals. Getty Images

Some of the best teams in basketball are making significant moves with just a few weeks remaining until the start of the 2017-2018 NBA season. While the Golden State Warriors remain favored to repeat as champions, their competition has gotten better than it was at the end of the summer.

More than two months after trading for Paul George, the Oklahoma City Thunder improved their betting odds to win the 2018 NBA Finals by acquiring Carmelo Anthony in a trade. The Cleveland Cavaliers reunited LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, though the Eastern Conference champs didn’t see their odds improve by adding the veteran shooting guard.

Oklahoma City now has the same title odds as the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder saw their championship odds go from 25/1 to 12/1 with the arrival of Anthony. Before landing George, Oklahoma City was a longshot to win the Finals with 66/1 odds.

Cleveland remains the favorite in the East. That will likely last as long as James is with the team and still the best player in the league. But the acquisition of Wade didn’t have nearly the impact that the team’s decision to trade Kyrie Irving to their main competition did.

Before the start of free agency, Cleveland had 15/4 title odds and Boston had 14/1 odds. Over the next few weeks, the Celtics added Irving and Gordon Hayward, sending Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder to the Cavaliers. With the two teams set to kick off the season on Oct. 17, Boston is closing the gap with 8/1 odds and Cleveland’s odds are down to 9/2.

That makes Boston the biggest threat to prevent a fourth straight matchup between the Warriors and Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. After taking Cleveland to five games in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, Boston nearly has a completely different roster, returning just four players.

It’s still unclear if any of the moves made by the top teams in the West will do anything to make Golden State’s path to a third championship in four years any more difficult. The Houston Rockets have slightly worse title odds than Oklahoma City or San Antonio, though they traded for Chris Paul before the start of free agency.

There is a clear separation among the NBA’s top six teams and the rest of the league. The Minnesota Timberwolves have the next best championship odds, and it would be a stunning development for them to make any kind of title run.

Here are the latest betting odds for the 2018 NBA Finals, via Bovada.lv:

Golden State Warriors -160

Cleveland Cavaliers +450

Boston Celtics+800

Oklahoma City Thunder +1200

San Antonio Spurs +1200

Houston Rockets +1600

Minnesota Timberwolves +2800

Washington Wizards +5000

Toronto Raptors +7500

Milwaukee Bucks +6600

Philadelphia 76ers +6600