Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant #35, Draymond Green #23, Stephen Curry #30, Klay Thompson #11, and DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors pose for a group picture during the Golden State Warriors media day on September 24, 2018 in Oakland, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

For a third straight year, it would be surprising if the Golden State Warriors didn’t win the NBA Finals. The back-to-back defending champions are, once again, odds-on favorites to win the title at the start of the season.

Golden State begins the 2018-2019 season with nearly 1/2 championship odds after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s finals. They’ve won three of the last four championships and eight of the last nine NBA Finals’ games.

It’s almost certain that the Warriors will face a different opponent if they win the Western Conference for a fifth straight season. Now that LeBron James has left the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics are the favorites in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland defeated Boston in both the 2017 and 2018 conference finals.

Boston has better odds than the Houston Rockets, who nearly upset Golden State in last year’s postseason. The Rockets led the NBA in wins and had a 3-2 series lead over the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals before Houston lost the final two games without the injured Chris Paul.

The Warriors, Celtics and Rockets are the only three teams with better than 10/1 odds to win the 2019 NBA Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers have exactly 10/1 title odds in LeBron James’ first season with the team.

L.A. won 35 games last year, posting their best record in five years. James has reached the NBA Finals in eight straight years, though there’s a good chance that streak will come to an end now that he no longer plays in the East.

The Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers both have better than 20/1 title odds. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only other team with better than 75/1 championship odds.

More than two-thirds of the league has 100/1 odds or worse. Nearly half the teams have 250/1 odds or worse.

Cleveland has 450/1 odds after reaching the NBA Finals in four straight years. No one has worse championship odds than the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies.

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