The Knicks haven’t stopped celebrating their NBA title win as they prepare to ride up the Canyon of Heroes in New York City. While it may be too early, even for them, to look forward to next season, sportsbooks have already told us what they think.
The Spurs and Thunder — supposedly the “real” NBA Finals teams —find themselves atop the betting odds board as co-favorites to win the 2027 NBA championship after stellar seasons that fell short.
The choice echoes a sentiment that many in the sports world believe to be true despite the outcome we just witnessed: the Western Conference is the league’s superior conference. That narrative isn’t new.
NBA talking heads have clung to the idea that the Eastern Conference is the junior varsity of the NBA for more than two decades (read: since Michael Jordan retired … the second time) despite evidence that the league is more balanced than ever before.
We know the last eight NBA champions have all been different, but what isn’t discussed as much is the fact that the Eastern Conference has won four of those championships: Raptors in 2019, Bucks in 2021, Celtics in 2024, and Knicks this season.
Yet bet365 sportsbook has the Western Conference listed as a -185 favorite to produce next year’s champion, while the Eastern Conference is listed at +145. Those odds translate to a 61 percent chance for the West and a 39 percent chance for the East.
We haven’t even reached the NBA Draft, let alone the free agency and trade season that will come later in the summer, but after watching the Finals, it feels like the sportsbooks are undervaluing the East’s contenders and overvaluing teams in the West.
Yes, the Thunder and Spurs are young and likely to get better with internal growth alone, but the rest of the conference can’t say the same.
The Nuggets, Lakers, and Rockets all have rosters built around aging superstars and have major holes to fill if they hope to compete with the teams at the top.
The Timberwolves appear to be at a crossroads with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert as the next best players behind Anthony Edwards. The rest of the conference can’t be considered legitimate threats unless they make major improvements in the offseason.
The East has talent at the top and more interesting depth in the middle. Clearly, the Knicks are the best team in the conference, but the Celtics and Pistons are legitimate contenders as well.
The Magic, flawed as they are, were dangerously close to pulling a series upset against the Pistons, and Orlando tapped former Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney to be their head coach. Their team is already talented and could be a top-four team in the conference next season.
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Then there’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is rumored to be interested in the Heat and Celtics as trade destinations. Wherever Antetokounmpo lands, he will instantly make his new team more formidable, if he can stay healthy.
Again, it’s extremely early to be talking championships when Broadway hasn’t yet been cleaned up from the ticker-tape parade. But if this season has taught us anything, it’s that the league is more balanced today than it was in the 2010s.
Right now, you can make the case for more teams winning the championship than ever before, and it just so happens that more of those teams are east of the Mississippi.
The Pick: Eastern Conference to win NBA championship (+145, bet365)
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Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
