
For a certain set of NBA fans – read: anyone who roots for a team other than the Golden State Warriors – the league’s trade deadline serves as the best day of the year. Here’s a look at the updated 2019 NBA title odds.
Bloated contracts can be shipped out in exchange for precious salary cap relief, coveted draft picks can be obtained from contenders in need of a veteran rental, and superstars might just swap jerseys in a blockbuster deal.
The 2019 NBA Trade Deadline came and went yesterday afternoon, and although several teams made major moves to improve for the playoff chase, the most highly anticipated deal never went down.
LeBron James and his scuffling Los Angeles Lakers (28-27) were widely expected to sell the farm – including prized assets like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and several first-round draft picks – to land All-NBA center sensation Anthony Davis. But in a surprising stalemate, the New Orleans Pelicans (24-31) elected to keep the “Brow” in the Big Easy until the offseason, secure in the knowledge that he can’t enter free agency until 2020.
While the ballyhooed Davis deal wound up being fool’s gold for NBA enthusiasts, the league’s landscape definitely changed on deadline day.
With that in mind, basketball bettors will find the latest updated 2019 NBA title odds below, courtesy of online sportsbook Bovada:
Warriors Stand Pat and Still See Favorite Status Improve
The Golden State Warriors (38-15) have stood pat at the trade deadline every year since 2014, and this season was no different.
Winners of 15 out of their last 17 contests – not to mention three of the last four NBA Finals – the Dubs dynasty remains in full force. Golden State opened the year as obscene (-175) favorites to claim their fourth championship of the Steph Curry era, and it’s only been up from there.
The Warriors have integrated offseason pickup DeMarcus Cousins to perfection, forming a “Five All-Star” lineup that lives up to its reputation. Accordingly, the most talented squad since the “Dream Team” sat at (-220) ahead of the deadline and are currently odds-on (-230) favorites on the 2019 NBA title odds.
Eastern Conference Contenders Go All-In on Finals Run
With the Warriors standing atop the Western Conference as per usual, and LeBron playing in Los Angeles, legitimate contenders out East are eager to make a Finals appearance.
The Eastern-leading Milwaukee Bucks (40-13) already have all-world talent Giannis Antetokounmpo and veteran point guard Eric Bledsoe powering the league’s most efficient team (+10.2 point differential). But taking down the Warriors will require a full arsenal, so the Bucks traded Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson, and four future second-round picks to the Pelicans for power forward Nikola Mirotić.
As a result, the Bucks – who already steamed from an (+5500) opening number to (+1100) before the deadline now offer a (+950) price.
The Boston Celtics (35-20) were one game away from the Finals last year, and that was with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward down with injuries. Both scoring snipers are back at it, so the Celtics stood pat this year, with their odds improving ever so slightly from (+1000) to (+950).
The Toronto Raptors (40-16) are the closest team to Milwaukee in the Eastern standings, and they offer the best non-Warriors odds at (+750). That number bumped up a bit from (+800) before the deadline after Toronto sent Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles, and a 2024 second-round pick to Memphis for center Marc Gasol.
Check the table below to see your favorite NBA squad’s opening 2019 NBA championship odds, where they stood one day before the trade deadline, and how the league’s championship hierarchy lines up today:
2019 NBA Title Odds: Where Every Team Stands
Team | Odds One Day After Trade Deadline | Odds One Day Before Trade Deadline | Opening Odds on 7/3/2018 |
Golden State Warriors | -230 | -220 | -175 |
Toronto Raptors | +750 | +800 | +4500 |
Boston Celtics | +950 | +1000 | +600 |
Milwaukee Bucks | +950 | +1100 | +5500 |
Los Angeles Lakers | +1100 | +1100 | +750 |
Houston Rockets | +1300 | +1300 | +750 |
Philadelphia 76ers | +1400 | +1600 | +1200 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | +2000 | +2000 | +5500 |
Denver Nuggets | +2000 | +2200 | +6000 |
San Antonio Spurs | +7000 | +7000 | +5000 |
Utah Jazz | +7000 | +7000 | +6000 |
Portland Trail Blazers | +8000 | +7000 | +10000 |
Charlotte Hornets | +12500 | +10000 | +25000 |
Miami Heat | +12500 | +10000 | +6000 |
Detroit Pistons | +12500 | +12500 | +10000 |
Indiana Pacers | +12500 | +12500 | +7000 |
Los Angeles Clippers | +12500 | +12500 | +12500 |
Minnesota Timberwolves | +15000 | +12500 | +7000 |
Washington Wizards | +15000 | +12500 | +10000 |
Brooklyn Nets | +15000 | +15000 | +25000 |
Dallas Mavericks | +15000 | +20000 | +12500 |
New Orleans Pelicans | +17500 | +17500 | +7000 |
Sacramento Kings | +20000 | +25000 | +15000 |
Orlando Magic | +25000 | +25000 | +15000 |
Memphis Grizzlies | +35000 | +25000 | +30000 |
Atlanta Hawks | +20000 | +200000 | +20000 |
Chicago Bulls | +30000 | +300000 | +25000 |
New York Knicks | +300000 | +300000 | +9000 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | +300000 | +300000 | +8000 |
Phoenix Suns | +300000 | +300000 | +8000 |