NBA Futures Betting Odds, Predictions and Best Bets Today from Betway Insider USA

We are just going to come out and say it: We like the Los Angeles Lakers to win the championship, because we are big believers in the greatness of LeBron James, the 39-year-old all-time leading NBA scorer. It means nothing that they are a play-in team. They have two superstars in James and Anthony Davis, who are able to spend regular seasons on cruise control because they know that everyone remembers who won the title in a particular year as they grow old and start telling stories to their kids and grandchildren. Pop quiz: What is more meaningless than an NBA regular-season game in December? If you guessed a regular-season game in January, you are a winner. So, take that win all the way to the bank and do yourself a favor and wager at least $25 on postseason play and be eligible for $150 in bonus bets from Betway.

Every NBA season ends the same way. There are 29 teams that fail to win the championship, and one team that will set up its fans for a championship parade. A year ago, Nikola Jokic enjoyed a whole bunch of beer atop a fire truck in Denver.

Every player who finished the season wearing a jersey that did not say “Nuggets” watched in envy.

That envy will be fuel to some players this spring as the NBA playoffs take place. Technically, the play-in round does not count as the “playoffs” but can safely be called the postseason.

In one week, we will be down to 18 teams after all of the matchups are set. All we know now is that the Dallas Mavericks will play the Los Angeles Clippers in a 4-5 matchup in the West, the Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Orlando Magic in the East’s 4-5 matchup, the Minnesota Timberwolves will play the Phoenix Suns in the West’s 3-6 matchup, and the Milwaukee Bucks will play the high-scoring Indiana Pacers in the East’s 3-6 matchup. Our advice between now and the NBA Finals is to not hold your breath. This is a two-month process that will not be concluded until the end of June, and fans of 28 teams will be spending the better part of June looking at NBA Mock Drafts and holding out hope that the franchise savior will be coming aboard that way.

Here are the championship futures odds on the Betway board:

Odds to win the Eastern Conference:

Boston Celtics -181
Milwaukee Bucks +550
Philadelphia 76ers: +700
Miami Heat: +1200
New York Knicks +1200
Cleveland Cavaliers +1400
Indiana Pacers: +5000
Orlando Magic: +6600
Chicago Bulls: +30000
Atlanta Hawks: +50000

Odds to win the Western Conference:

Denver Nuggets +130
Los Angeles Clippers +600
Oklahoma City Thunder +600
Dallas Mavericks: +750
Minnesota Timberwolves +800
Phoenix Suns +900
Los Angeles Lakers +1400
New Orleans Pelicans +3500
Golden State Warriors +4000
Sacramento Kings +8000

What are NBA Futures?

NBA Futures are the odds on teams or players achieving certain accomplishments. The futures market that gets the most attention is the championship futures market, and the Lakers at +1400 gives you a chance, if it hits, to turn $100 into $1400 or $1000 into $14000 or $10000 into $140,000.

You would get to have LeBron James playing for your household, which is nothing to shake a stick at.

NBA futures betting

Aside from championship futures, popular markets involve NBA players awards including Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man Award and Clutch Player Award. Futures markets in those individual categories will be posted over the summer after the 2023-24 races were not all that competitive, especially with French wunderkind Victor Wembanyama running way with the rookie award after a season that gave fans of the San Antonio Spurs hope for the future.

Over the summer, the 2024 Olympic Games will be contested in Paris, and Wembanyama will likely be a part of the French national team, which is the host nation. We will be all over the wagering opportunities for that event as the summer rolls around.

Another popular futures market is odds to win the Eastern Conference or the Western Conference, which allows you to pick one of the teams that will reach the championship round without having to predict the winner.

Popular NBA Future Bets

Everyone wants to brag to their buddies that they picked the eventual winner at long odds, which is why we want you to roll with LeBron at +1400 before the hoi polloi catch on at much shorter odds.

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals match the winner of the Eastern Conference finals against the winner of the Western Conference finals, with all the marbles at stake. Every NBA player knows that when his career is all said and done, he will ultimately be remembered for how many championships he won over the course of his career. There is a reason why Robert Horry is revered. “Big Shot Rob” won seven NBA titles from 1994 through 2007 playing for the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Before online sports gambling was legal in most of the United States, sharp gamblers would travel to Nevada just to lay down championship futures wagers on whatever team Horry was playing for.

NBA Championship

Whoever emerges as the last team standing gets bragging rights during pickup games that take place all around America, as well as bragging rights at the Olympics, when players are representing their home countries rather than their NBA franchises. Some European players have been known to play harder over the summer than they do during the NBA season.

NBA Player Awards

Futures markets are available every season on Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man, Coach of the Year and Clutch Player. For the 2024-25 season, those will go up over the summer after the draft is held and free agency plays out over the first 10 days of July.

Best Odds to win NBA Championship

The shortest championship odds belong to the Boston Celtics at +150 after they rolled through the regular season and finished with an NBA-best record of 64-18. Next lowest in odds to win the NBA Championship is the Denver Nuggets at +300 because they were clearly the class of the NBA last June when they captured the title.

NBA Divisions Predictions

This is a popular market among sharp bettors because the odds are slow to adjust from time to time because the focus leaguewide is on who will finish Top 10 and qualify for the postseason or the Play-in tournament,

NBA Central Division Predictions

The Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons comprise the Central Division, and the Bucks have won the division each of the past six years. Check out Central Division odds.

NBA Northwest Division Predictions

The Northwest Division is comprised of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Thunder won the division for the first time in 2024 in a three-way tiebreaker with the Nuggets and Timberwolves. Check out NBA Northwest Division odds.

NBA Southeast Predictions

The Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards comprise the Southeast Division, and the Magic captured that division in 2024 for the first time since 2019. Check out NBA Southeast Division Odds.

NBA Eastern Conference Predictions

The Boston Celtics have won the NBA Eastern Conference more times than anyone else, and they entered the 2023-24 season as the favorites to emerge from the East despite being knocked off in the first round by Miami in the 2023 playoffs. Wagering on the Eastern Conference winner allows gamblers to pick one of the two NBA Finalists without having to predict the winner of the title. Check out NBA Eastern Conference odds.

NBA Western Conference Predictions

Before LeBron James came aboard, the Los Angeles Lakers were always considered the class of the Western Conference after being led by Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan and others. The Lakers have won the conference 19 times; the Golden State Warriors are second with seven. Check out the odds to win the NBA Western conference and the NBA Western conference favorites.

NBA MVP Predictions

The Most Valuable Player award is determined by a vote of 125 writers and broadcasters who cover the league on a regular basis. Every voter has his/her own criteria for what constitutes “most valuable,” and when wagering in this futures market to is advisable to use “valuable” as the operative word and pick a player or players who have a good chance of helping their team exceed expectations. Check out NBA MVP odds.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Predictions

The Defensive Player of the Year is often the player who led the league in blocked shots, but there have been exceptions when perimeter players were so good at locking down opponents that they were given the award despite not leading the league in the two most popular defensive categories, blocked shots and steals. Check out NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds.

NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Predictions

This is a terrific futures market to wager on over the summer as everyone looks ahead to the upcoming season and every layer on the board has enticing odds. Improvement is most often measured in terms of an increase in scoring, but can also be a reward for an already-good player whose team exceeds expectations. Check out NBA Most Improved Player of the Year odds.

NBA Sixth Man of the Year Predictions

Some players are good enough to start but come off the bench to give their teams an advantage when playing against their opponents reserves. These are the players who gamblers should target when handicapping Sixth Man Award futures odds, because players who subjugate their egos for the good of their teams are hard to find and are invaluable. Check out NBA Sixth Man of the Year odds.

NBA Coach of the Year Predictions

This award goes to the guy in a suit holding a clipboard and pacing the sidelines during the games. There is no job in the NBA with less security than head coach, in part because NBA owners are an impatient bunch, and in part because it is easy to point the finger of blame at the guy who set the team’s rotations. This award annually goes to the leader of a team that vastly exceeded expectations. Check out NBA Coach of the Year odds.

NBA Clutch Player of the Year Predictions

This relatively new award is the only one that involves voters selecting from a list of candidates that is provided by the league office. Clutch means different things to different people, but the NBA loosely defines it as happening in the final 5 minutes of a game in which teams are separated by 5 points or less.

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