NBA Odds: Celtics Now NBA Title Favorites, Alongside Suns — For Now

The NBA championship futures market for next season is extremely fluid, but right now, the Celtics are getting plenty of respect in the betting market.

After a sleepy start to free agency, Brad Stevens and company have had a busy Friday. Most notably, Stevens improved Boston’s rotation in a big way by reportedly acquiring Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers.

Boston might not be done, either, with Danilo Gallinari reportedly hoping to land with the Celtics, and big man Thomas Bryant is also reportedly in the crosshairs.

The dust is far from settled, though. The future of Kevin Durant is the single-biggest domino still left to fall, but oddsmakers have made their position quite clear. The Celtics, along with the Phoenix Suns, are currently the favorites to win the 2022-23 NBA championship, per BetMGM.

The Celtics are +650 on Friday morning before the Brogdon news, and they’re now +550.

Here’s a quick rundown of the top of the board.

Boston Celtics +550
Phoenix Suns +550
Milwaukee Bucks +600
Golden State Warriors +650
Los Angeles Clippers +650
Miami Heat +900
Los Angeles Lakers +1100
Philadelphia 76ers +1200

The Suns are reportedly one of Durant’s top choices after the former MVP requested a trade from Brooklyn, so it’s no surprise they’re atop the list with the revamped Celtics. Some are even wondering whether Boston might make a run at Durant. The Celtics have arguably the most attractive collection of assets, but they also just reached the NBA Finals without Durant. Would they want to blow up the roster for a player they beat on the way to the Finals?

Again, these lines are very subject to change, and they’ll likely be outdated within no time especially given the NBA’s silly season. No one really had Brogdon-to-Boston on the radar Friday morning and then that happened.