Who Will Win The 2017 NBA Finals? Warriors, Cavaliers, Spurs Among Favorites

For the third consecutive year, the Golden State Warriors enter the NBA playoffs with the best championship odds. The No.1 seed in the Western Conference is the favorite to win the 2017 NBA Finals 10 months after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Golden State has been the NBA’s betting favorite all season long. After setting an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins, the Warriors added Kevin Durant in free agency. Adding the league’s second-best player didn’t help Golden State put together a more impressive regular season, but it will make them extremely difficult to beat in the playoffs.

READ: First-round predictions, betting odds for every NBA playoff series

Kevin Durant played in Golden State’s final three games, though he missed the team’s previous 19 contests. After struggling to win without their star forward, the Warriors went on a 14-game winning streak, losing just once in the last month. As a result, Golden State is an odds-on favorite to win the NBA Finals with 1/2 title odds, via the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.

That means LeBron James and the Cavaliers find themselves in the position of being underdogs, once again, with 7/2 championship odds. Cleveland struggled in the second half of the season, suffering 10 losses in March and dropping to the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference. But even though the Boston Celtics have home-court advantage until the finals, their 20/1 championship odds indicate that they would be heavy underdogs in a series against the Cavs.

The San Antonio Spurs have 9/1 odds to win the NBA Finals, though they might be the biggest threat to the Warriors. San Antonio finished second in the league with 61 wins, and Kawhi Leonard had his best career season after finishing second in the MVP race last season. The Spurs are the only team in the NBA that ranks ahead of the Warriors in defensive efficiency.

Aside from the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers, no other team is considered to be a real threat to win the 2017 championship. The Houston Rockets have 25/1 title odds, and it would be stunning for them to upset the Spurs, Warriors and Cavaliers on their way to a championship. The Los Angeles Clippers have 25/1 odds as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan head back to the playoffs, but they are no sure thing to beat the Utah Jazz in the first round.

The No.4 seed Washington Wizards have 35/1 odds, and the No.3 Toronto Raptors come in at 40/1. The Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder both have 100/1 odds.

The Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks are all tied with 200/1 odds. With a daunting first-round matchup against Golden State, the Portland Trail Blazers are dead last with 300/1 odds to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.