When most people were sleeping on Friday night, the Clippers made a couple of moves that shook the basketball landscape. It was announced that they not only signed Kawhi Leonard, but that they also traded for Paul George. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN documented how Leonard was able to convince George to ask for a trade and join him in Los Angeles.
Those two moves have now made the Clippers the betting favorite to win the 2019-20 NBA Championship according to FanDuel. Here are the updated odds on FanDuel for each team to win it all next season.
The favorites
- Los Angeles Clippers +290
- Los Angeles Lakers +480
- Milwaukee Bucks +600
- Philadelphia 76ers +900
Staples Center should be rocking throughout the entirety of the 2019-20 season as the home of both Los Angeles teams. The true favorite of the two may come down to ending up with the better supporting cast beyond their big twos (Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for the Clippers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the Lakers).
The Bucks return much of the same team that had the best record in the regular season in 2018-19 (lost Malcolm Brogdon, added Robin Lopez). Philadelphia did a superb job after losing two starters in the offseason (Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick) replacing them with Al Horford and Josh Richardson.
Dark-horse candidates
- Golden State Warriors +1200
- Houston Rockets +1400
- Utah Jazz +1600
- Boston Celtics +2300
- Brooklyn Nets +2300
- Denver Nuggets +2300
The Lakers and Clippers can’t be penciled into the Western Conference Finals with some of the excellent teams out West in this grouping.
The Nuggets bring another year of experience together after finishing with the second-best record in the West last season.
The Jazz have taken a step forward in acquiring Mike Conley, and the Rockets have come just short of beating the Warriors in the playoffs two straight seasons.
Not very-likely to be champions (including the reigning champion)
- Toronto Raptors +3200
- Portland Trail Blazers +3500
- Indiana Pacers +4900
- Dallas Mavericks +5500
- New Orleans Pelicans +5500
- San Antonio Spurs +6500
- Miami Heat +8500
- Oklahoma City Thunder +8500
It’s crazy to see 10 teams with better odds than Toronto to win next season’s NBA title less than a month after the Raptors won it all this past season, but a steep decline is expected with the loss of Kawhi Leonard.
Other than Toronto, some interesting teams in this group include the Trail Blazers (made the Western Conference Finals last season), the Pacers (return of Victor Oladipo at some point), and the Pelicans (rookie season of Zion Williamson).
Do you believe in miracles?
- Orlando Magic +11000
- Sacramento Kings +13000
- Detroit Pistons +15000
- Atlanta Hawks +18000
- New York Knicks +18000
- Chicago Bulls +21000
- Charlotte Hornets +25000
- Cleveland Cavaliers +25000
- Memphis Grizzlies +25000
- Minnesota Timberwolves +25000
- Phoenix Suns +25000
- Washington Wizards +25000
The most interesting team in this group of extreme long shots is the Sacramento Kings who showed much improvement last season. De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley III are young players who could take a step towards becoming All-Star talents. They have also added Trevor Ariza, Dewayne Dedmon, Cory Joseph, and Richaun Holmes via free agency.
