The 2021-22 NBA season kicked off this week, sending waves of excitement throughout the basketball world. As usual with any season, people are already starting to predict early award winners and, of course, which team will walk away with the 2022 NBA Championship.
BetOnline has published its championship odds list and is currently favoring the Brooklyn Nets (+250) to end the season as NBA Champions.
It’s no surprise to see the Nets ranked this high when it comes to 2022 NBA Championship odds. Even with Kyrie Irving being unable to play for the team until he’s vaccinated, it’s hard not to like the roster that Brooklyn has assembled. Kevin Durant and James Harden are the obvious focal points, but it goes so much deeper than that.
The Nets still have one of the best 3-point shooters in the league with Joe Harris, solid veterans in the likes of Blake Griffin and Patty Mills. The team even got a boost when LaMarcus Aldridge was cleared to come out of retirement to help the team after he was forced to stop playing last season.
Brooklyn made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, only to be eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks (more on them later) in seven games. You can bet that the Nets are hungry from that elimination and now the team has had an extra year to gel together. If the team can get Irving back on the court or at least acquire useful pieces in exchange for him, there’s no reason why Brooklyn won’t be a contender throughout the season.
2022 NBA Championship Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Wednesday, October 20
- Brooklyn Nets (+250)
- Los Angeles Lakers (+400)
- Milwaukee Bucks (+700)
- Golden State Warriors (+900)
- Utah Jazz (+1400)
- Phoenix Suns (+1600)
- Los Angeles Clippers (+2000)
- Philadelphia 76ers (+2000)
- Denver Nuggets (+2200)
- Dallas Mavericks (+2500)
- Miami Heat (+2500)
The complete odds list for all 30 teams is available on BetOnline.ag.
Lakers Championship Odds
After a busy offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have the second-best odds (+400) to win the 2022 NBA Championship. After winning a title two seasons ago, the Lakers were one of the favorites to win last year. Unfortunately, injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis down the stretch caused the team to tumble down the standings, eventually leading to a first-round elimination at the hands of the Phoenix Suns (+1400).
Now, James and Davis are healthy and the Lakers appear to have a much stronger roster after their offseason additions. Obviously, the biggest one was none other than former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook. It might take some time for Los Angeles’ “Big 3” to create the perfect chemistry, but if anyone is capable of that, it’s them. Besides, the Lakers have one of the deepest teams in the league and everyone knows how important depth is to go on any sort of NBA Finals run.
With that being said, if the Lakers’ stars can stay healthy and all of the role players contribute, the sky is the limit when it comes to their 2022 NBA Championship aspirations.
Bucks 2022 NBA Championship Odds
The Milwaukee Bucks shocked a lot of people last season when they finished the year as NBA Champions. Now, they have +700 odds to make lightning strike twice.
It may come as a surprise to see the Bucks owning the third-best odds, however, that’s likely because of them making minimal offseason changes. After all, there’s no point in ruining something that worked. Still, that could mean oddsmakers hesitated to make them the favorites since they didn’t make any major moves like the Nets and Lakers did.
Still, the Bucks proved that they didn’t need to make any changes by defeating the Nets, 127-104, on opening night. Giannis Antetokounmpo proved why he was last year’s Finals MVP, torching Brooklyn for 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. If that’s the version of Antetokounmpo that Milwaukee gets all year, oddsmakers might quickly change their minds on how they view the Bucks.
At the end of the day, Milwaukee has found a formula that works for the team and there’s no reason to stray from that. Even if they aren’t as flashy as big market contenders like the Nets and Lakers, that doesn’t mean the Bucks can’t win back-to-back NBA Championships for the first time in franchise history.
