The 2018-19 NBA season tips off Tuesday night. The season is an inevitable slog with a predetermined final result: the Golden State Warriors will end up as champions again.
When ring-chasing-burner-account-having-uber-sensitive-rabbit-eared Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, the team basically broke basketball. Nobody really stands a chance if they’re at full strength.
While the Houston Rockets were a Chris Paul injury away from possibly upending the Warriors title run last year, they’ve taken a few ticks back this season. Nobody stacks up to Golden State. They’ve made the season irrelevant.
And they’re ruining NBA futures betting, too.
Basketball outright handle at an all-time low
The Warriors enter the season at -200 to three-peat. According to Sportsoddshistory.com, no other team in the past 30 years has been a pre-season odds-on favorite to win the championship. The Warriors have been a preseason favorite three years in a row.
This is impacting the overall handle on basketball outrights (future bets taken on winning the title).
It’s gotten so bad that handle on NHL futures EXCEEDS that of the NBA in Las Vegas. What the puck!?
Parity is the problem
The NBA is a star-driven league. A couple of superstars joining forces significantly shift a team’s championship odds. The Warriors have five potential Hall of Famers in their starting lineup (and maybe seven overall if Boogie Cousins gets his body and head right, or Andre Iguodala grinds out another Finals MVP). Their outright dominance kills the action.
Parity reigns supreme in the NHL, and to varying degrees in the NFL and MLB as well.
Unless you’re an obnoxious Golden State fan, their dominance has taken the fun out of the NBA season. They say money talks, and the lack of wagering on NBA futures backs it up.
Having said that, one bettor was willing to place a $67,736.25 wager on the Warriors to make the playoffs at -10,000 odds … so in six months he can cash in a whopping $677.35 return on that investment.
The Warriors start the season as 13-point favorites against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder title odds clock in at anywhere from +3000 at some Vegas sportsbooks to +3400 on FanDuel Sportsbook in New Jersey.
NBA outright title odds in NJ
| DraftKings | BetStars | FanDuel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State | -225 | -205 | -210 |
| Toronto | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Milwaukee | +1100 | +1000 | +1200 |
| Philadelphia | +1200 | +1300 | +1200 |
| Boston | +1200 | +1100 | +1400 |
| Houston | +1400 | +1500 | +1300 |
| LA Lakers | +2200 | +2200 | +3300 |
| OKC Thunder | +2200 | +2800 | +2600 |
| Denver | +3000 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Portland | +5500 | +10000 | +10000 |
| San Antonio | +6000 | +4000 | +10000 |
| Utah | +6000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Indiana | +10000 | +12000 | +18000 |
| Minnesota | +10000 | +10000 | +18000 |
| LA Clippers | +10000 | +20000 | +21000 |
| Charlotte | +10000 | +30000 | +25000 |
| Detroit | +10000 | +30000 | +21000 |
| Miami | +10000 | +30000 | +25000 |
| Washington | +12500 | +50000 | +25000 |
| Brooklyn | +12500 | +15000 | +22000 |
| New Orleans | +15000 | +12500 | +18000 |
| Dallas | +15000 | +50000 | +25000 |
| Sacramento | +15000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Memphis | +30000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Orlando | +200000 | +200000 | N/A |
| Atlanta | +200000 | +500000 | +40000 |
| Chicago | +300000 | +500000 | N/A |
| NY Knicks | +300000 | +500000 | N/A |
| Phoenix | +300000 | +500000 | N/A |
| Cleveland | +300000 | +500000 | N/A |
