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2021 NBA Title Odds: Nets Attracting More Money from Bettors Than Any Other Team
May 21, 2021
More money has been bet on the Brooklyn Nets to win the 2021 NBA championship than any other team.
According to ESPN's David Purdum, nearly 50 percent of the total money wagered on teams to win the NBA title has been bet on the Nets at DraftKings' sportsbook in New Jersey, including the two highest wagers at $30,000 and $23,000. Bettors have wagered more than double the amount of money on the Nets than any other team at the DraftKings sportsbook as well.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Nets as the +220 favorite (bet $100 to win $220) to win the title, followed by the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers at +460 and the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz at +600.
Purdum reported that the largest bet on a team to win the NBA championship at William Hill sportsbook was wagered on the Nets for $100,000 as well.
John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook in Las Vegas, discussed the public interest in Brooklyn as well: "Brooklyn is our biggest liability of the teams that I believe can actually win the title. Our No. 1 liability is Atlanta, overall, and our second-largest liability is Golden State."
According to Purdum, the Atlanta Hawks are currently 80-1 and had a $20,000 bet placed on them at 100-1 on DraftKings last month.
While the Hawks have played well down the stretch and could beat the fourth-seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs as the fifth seed, it is difficult to envision them going on a deep run.
Conversely, the Nets have all the pieces needed to go the distance and win a championship for the first time since 1976 when they were known as the New York Nets.
The Nets are led by their superstar trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, and they are coming off a 48-24 record during the regular season, which was good enough to earn them the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
If not for their stars sitting often because of injuries and rest, the Nets likely could have posted a far better record.
Being the No. 2 seed rather than No. 1 is a significant disadvantage in the East since the Nets will likely have to face the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second round.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers should have an easier road to the conference finals against the Knicks or Hawks in the second round.
Ultimately, bettors are banking on elite-level talent winning out, and there is no better superstar trio in the NBA right now than Durant, Harden and Irving.
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