Who Will Be The 2021 NBA Champions? One Team Given Almost No Chance At All

As nearly every NBA team deals with serious injuries, one of the healthiest rosters remaining is actually given the worst chance to win the championship. Of the seven teams still alive in the 2021 playoffs, only the Atlanta Hawks are not viewed as a legitimate contender.

The latest betting odds suggest that everyone but Atlanta has a realistic chance to win the NBA Finals. The Hawks rank dead last at various sportsbooks, including BetMGM, which gives Atlanta 50/1 title odds. No other team has worse than 11/1 championship odds at BetMGM.

The Los Angeles Clippers, who might be without Kawhi Leonard for the rest of the postseason, have 11/1 odds to win a championship for the first time. Despite Chris Paul’s reported COVID-19 diagnosis, the Phoenix Suns are third in the NBA at +450. The favorite Brooklyn Nets even saw their odds improve to 2/1 Wednesday as Kyrie Irving continues to miss games with a sprained ankle and James Harden is vastly limited with a hamstring injury.

The Philadelphia 76ers are tied 2-2 in their second-round series with the Hawks. Joel Embiid is battling a knee injury and missed all 12 of his field-goal attempts in the second half of Philadelphia’s Game 4 loss in Atlanta. The 76ers have 7/1 championship odds.

Philadelphia starter Danny Green is out for the series with a calf strain. Hawks starter De'Andre Hunter is done for the playoffs with a knee injury.

Atlanta is the lowest seed that has yet to be eliminated from the playoffs. After going 41-30 in the regular season, the No. 5 seed Hawks quickly dismissed the New York Knicks in five games in their first-round series without home-court advantage.

Trae Young leads all players that are still in the postseason with 10.7 assists per game in the playoffs. Young is fourth among the remaining players with 28.3 points per game.

Atlanta has received its share of support from bettors. Late in the regular season, there were $10,000 bets made on the Hawks to win the conference and the title. If those wagers hit, they will pay out a total of $2 million in profit.

The Hawks are in the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Atlanta last reached the conference finals in 2015.

Since moving to Atlanta from St. Louis in 1968, the franchise has never made it to the NBA Finals.