- The 2000-2001 Los Angeles Lakers are the biggest NBA Finals favorites ever at -2000.
- A Kevin Durant and Steph Curry super team led the 2017-2018 Golden State Warriors to -1075 odds to win the NBA Finals.
- Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had -950 odds to win the 1996 NBA Finals.
DENVER – The Denver Nuggets closed with -430 odds to win the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, but were they biggest favorites in NBA Finals history? Not even close.
The 2000-2001 Los Angeles Lakers hold the title as the biggest USA online gambling favorite ever for the NBA Finals, closing with -2000 odds to win the 2001 NBA Finals. Their favoritism was well-deserved, as the Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal swept each 2001 NBA Playoffs series to advance to the Finals.
The Phil Jackson-led squad won the 2001 NBA Finals 4-1, finishing their playoffs run 15-1 in one of the most dominant playoffs runs of all time. Los Angeles was also -800 to win the finals in 2000 and -750 to win it in 2002, as California online gambling sites posted short odds through the Lakers three-peat as NBA Champions.
2017-2018 Golden State Warriors
Following Kevin Durant’s successful arrival with a 2017 NBA Finals victory, NBA gambling sites listed -1075 odds for the Golden State Warriors to repeat as NBA Champions in the 2018 NBA Finals. Durant won a second consecutive NBA Finals MVP as the 2017-2018 Golden State swept the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their third title in four years.
1995-1996 Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan and the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls has -950 odds to defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals. The victory secured the first championship of another Chicago Bulls three-peat stretching from 1996 to 1998.
Jordan and the Bulls crushed their preseason win total projection of 59.5, finishing the 1995-1996 NBA season with a 72-10 record. The then NBA-record for wins in a season was passed by the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors who went 73-9.