National Basketball Association

2023 NBA championship odds: Denver Nuggets favorites to win title

Updated May. 30, 2023 4:51 p.m. ET

The NBA Finals are finally set! The Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets will battle it out for the Larry O'Brien trophy beginning Thursday, and bettors are already getting in on the action for this exciting matchup.

Representing the Western Conference are the Nuggets, who have opened as huge favorites to win the series. Per FOX Sports Research, the Nuggets (+500) opened as the second-heaviest betting favorite heading into the NBA Finals in the past 16 seasons, behind only the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017-18 Finals (-1075 to win the series).

Led by two-time MVP Nikola Jokić, Denver had the NBA's best regular season record in the West. They also handled the West with relative ease during the playoffs. The Joker is a heavy favorite to win the Finals MVP.

On the other side of the league are the Eastern Conference's Heat. Miami, led by Jimmy Butler, is looking to keep its Cinderella story going, as their road to the Finals was a lot rockier than their Western Conference opponents.

Let's dive into the current title odds:

2022-23 NBA title odds*

Denver Nuggets -480 (bet $10 to win $12.08 total)
Miami Heat +330 (bet $10 to win $43 total)

* Odds as of 5/30/2023

Heat rout Celtics in Game 7, advance to 2023 NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics couldn’t complete the historic comeback in a 103-84 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7.

In the first round, Joker & Co. defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, and then they got past the Phoenix Suns in the semifinals in six. However, it was their Western Conference Finals series against the Los Angeles Lakers that caused a shift in the odds and in how bettors started wagering on the squad. Once they swept the Lakers in the best-of-seven series, their title odds shortened drastically.

Miami made it to the playoffs via the play-in tournament, where the squad lost to the Atlanta Hawks but won its game against the Chicago Bulls to secure the No. 8 seed. Butler helped lead the Heat to series wins against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five and against the New York Knicks in six.

Their Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Boston Celtics, though, ended up being the most compelling.

After taking a 3-0 lead over the Celtics, the Heat dropped three consecutive games and had to face Boston in Game 7 in Boston. Not only were the Heat 7-point underdogs going into Game 7, but they also entered that contest with the longest odds of winning the championship. Ultimately, Jimmy Buckets led his squad to the 103-84 victory with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

So who are you throwing some money on to win it all? Stay tuned to FOX Sports for all the updates on the shifting odds as the exciting NBA Finals unfold!

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