Warriors enter next season as biggest favourite in sports history, per oddsmaker
The Golden State Warriors are on the cusp of a dynastic situation. After capturing the 2017 NBA championship on Monday, odds makers in Las Vegas gave them a historic price as a preseason favourite to once again hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy in a year's time.
According to several reports, the Warriors are listed as a minus-200 favourite to repeat as champions next year. "They're going to be the highest favourite we've ever had going into a season, any team in any sport," Jeff Serman, an odds maker at the Westgate SuperBook, was quoted as saying by ESPN.
The Cavs have the second highest odds to win next year's championship, at 3-1 at the SuperBook. The San Antonio Spurs (12-1) and Boston Celtics (15-1) have the next best odds. According to Sherman, the Cavs could narrow the gap with the Warriors if they were to pull off a Paul George trade over the summer. "Adding (George) to the mix might be the closest thing we could see to another team challenging (Golden State) next year," Sherman said, before adding that the Warriors would still be the favourites.
Golden State Warriors win second title in three years
The Warriors won the 2015 NBA championship but failed to repeat last year after blowing a 3-1 finals lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, they avenged last year's heartbreaking loss in spectacular fashion Monday by completing a 4-1 series rout of LeBron Jams & Co. in front of their fans at the Oracle Arena.
Before the start of the 2017 NBA Finals, the Westgate SuperBook tipped Warriors as a minus-160 favourite to win next year's championship. However, those odds increased to minus-200 after Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry & Co. ran roughshod over the Cavs en route a historic 16-1 run in the 2017 NBA Playoffs. In the process, the Warriors superseded the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers' postseason record of 15-1.
Meanwhile, Durant was named 2017 NBA Finals MVP for averaging 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists through five games. Curry, who had to take a backseat to accommodate Durant as the team's new alpha dog, praised his new teammate for embracing the Finals stage.
"The way that he embraced the opportunity in the Finals, it was unbelievable. It's kind of crazy to think about the conversations we had this summer and going into the year about how we can both mesh and do what we do and be the players that we are. And (to) see it come to life in this series, it was unbelievable," Curry said in his post-match press conference.
The 2016-17 NBA season completed on Monday. The offseason will now get underway with 2017 NBA Draft on June 22 followed by the 2017 NBA Free Agency period starting July 1.
