Cavaliers Top the 2015-16 NBA Title Futures Board
June 18, 2015
Tuesday night the Golden State Warriors won their first NBA Championship in 40 years. The Warriors used the sharpshooting skills of their backcourt, namely NBA MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson all season to rake up 67 regular season wins and a hard fought NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, the Warriors had celebrated less than 24 hours before sportsbooks offshore posted the futures for the NBA Title in 2015-16.
At the top of the list for next season’s NBA Title is the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers were given a “clear favorite” status by odds makers to win the title of 2015-16 at 9 to 4.
This past season the Cavs reached the sixth game of the NBA Finals before succumbing to the Warriors, despite losing Kyrie Irving their talented All-Star point guard in the first game of the finals, and Kevin Love their talented power forward in the first round of the playoffs.
Love can become a free agent now that the season has ended, but he says he expects to return to Cleveland next season and be ready for the first game of the season.
Even though the Warriors are the newly crowned NBA champions and are expected to have their nucleus of players return next season, they have been listed as co-second place in the betting for next season’s NBA Title.
Both the Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting at 5 to 1. Kevin Durant was sidelined most of last season and that helped cause the Thunder to miss the postseason, but he is expected back completely healthy to start next season.
The odds board for next season reflects the depth and overall strength of the Western Conference, as six teams from the West are listed at 10 to 1 odds or better to win that conference in 2015-16.
In the Eastern Conference, there are only three teams with 10 to 1 odds or less to win their conference with Cleveland heavily favored at 5 to 9. Behind the Thunder and Warriors and rounding out the top 5 for 2015-16 NBA title futures are the Los Angeles Clippers are 10 to 1 and the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls at 12 to 1.
