Remember when 60 wins in the NBA actually meant something?
Apparently, to today’s betting public, it means zilch.
The top-seeded Pistons reached an exclusive franchise milestone with their 60-22 record to finish the season, a feat last accomplished by the 2005-06 ‘Goin’ to Work’ squad and the legendary Bad Boys teams in the ’80s.
The Pistons made history as the first franchise to reach 60 wins just two seasons after enduring 60 losses.
Despite this achievement, the Pistons’ have 20/1 odds to win the NBA Finals entering the playoffs.
This is the longest championship price for a No. 1 seed since the 2003 Pistons (22/1), 2017 Celtics (27/1), and 2024 Thunder (16/1).
To clarify, none of those three teams went on to capture a title, as both the Pistons and Celtics were eliminated in the East Finals, while the Thunder fell to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in Round 2.
Per bet365, the Pistons trail the reigning champion Thunder (+115) as well as the Celtics (+550), Spurs (+550), Nuggets (+900), Cavaliers (14/1), and Knicks (18/1).
The Pistons have been undervalued all season, but have shown up against main-line contenders.
In fact, Detroit maintained a league-best 17-7 record against top-10 opponents this season, per Cleaning the Glass, finishing with a +5.6 net rating in those games.
This success follows a complete and effective rebuild, propelling Detroit to the top of the East just two seasons after a dismal 14-win campaign.
“The competitiveness in our training camp, the amount of guys who showed what they were capable of and how they could help us on both ends of the court,” J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters following Sunday’s win over the Pacers.
“We knew we had a deep team and we knew we had a bunch of guys committed to playing a style of basketball we thought could be successful.”
The win total for the Pistons to open the season sat at 46.5, which one could’ve grabbed at +105, per Covers Sports Odds History. They cleared that threshold with 17 games to spare in the regular season.
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Cade Cunningham quickly ascended into stardom, averaging a near double-double of 23.9 points and 9.9 assists per game while fighting off a late-season injury scare.
Jalen Duren’s breakthrough season put opposing frontlines on notice. The chemistry between the two when it comes to pick-and-roll is astounding, but not to the betting market.
If the Pistons do succeed in shocking the world, they’ll join the 2011 Mavericks as just the second team in history to win a championship after entering the postseason with odds of 10-to-1 or longer.
While they await the conclusion of the NBA Play-In tournament to determine who they’ll face in Round 1 of the playoffs, if it does end up being LaMelo Ball and the Hornets, we are in store for some serious fireworks.
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Mike Turay is a sports journalist and editor who closely follows the NBA, NFL, college sports and UFC. He has demonstrated expertise in both NBA and NFL player prop bets for nearly three years. Mike is also highly knowledgeable about the sportsbook offer landscape, frequently trying and reviewing the latest apps and sites.
