The Celtics closed out the Mavericks at home in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston clinched its unprecedented 18th title and first since 2008.
The Boston Celtics just won their 18th NBA title.
But it's never too soon to start looking ahead to next season -- even before the draft and free agency get underway.
Now that Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics have gotten over the hump, they are favored to repeat as champions.
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There are sure to be new challenges next season when it comes to health, matchups and other unknown factors. But the Celtics are atop the mountain for now, and each of their top eight rotation players are under contract for next season. No team has repeated since the Warriors in 2017-18, though.
Here are the full odds and a tiered breakdown, provided by Fanatics Sportsbook:
The favorites
- Boston Celtics, +300
- Denver Nuggets, +750
- New York Knicks, +750
- Minnesota Timberwolves, +850
- Oklahoma City Thunder, +900
- Dallas Mavericks, +1000
- Milwaukee Bucks, +1100
Boston obviously headlines this group, but a division rival and four Western Conference teams should be in the mix yet again.
The Knicks catapulted up the list after going all-in on Mikal Bridges in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets and re-signing OG Anunoby.
Out west, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be eager to reach the heights that Brown and Tatum did in 2024.
Then there's Milwaukee, who will enter the second season of the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard pairing with a full year of Doc Rivers as head coach.
The fringe contenders
- Philadelphia 76ers, +1400
- Los Angeles Clippers, +2200
These two teams could look drastically different by October.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are the only players with guaranteed money for the Sixers next season, so they could splurge on a completely new core. The Clippers run the risk of losing free agent Paul George (potentially to Philly).
The aging cores
- Phoenix Suns, +2500
- Cleveland Cavaliers, +3000
- Golden State Warriors, +3000
- Miami Heat, +3000
- Los Angeles Lakers, +3500
The Suns have their core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal locked up, but they struggled relative to expectations last season and will have a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer. Steph Curry's team lost in the play-in for the second time in the last four seasons as the dynasty continues to fall.
The most drama, fittingly, comes out of Los Angeles. LeBron James is a free agent, Bronny James could get over-drafted to keep him and they still don't have a head coach as of June 18. Down in Miami, the Heat continue to come up short with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo as their lead duo -- so they could be in the star-hunting market.
The Cavs, meanwhile, don't have so much of an aging core as a possible changing core. The team has a looming decision to make on top player Donovan Mitchell.
The young cores
- Memphis Grizzlies, +4000
- Indiana Pacers, +5000
- New Orleans Pelicans, +5000
- Sacramento Kings, +5000
- Orlando Magic, +7000
- San Antonio Spurs, +8000
- Atlanta Hawks, +10000
- Houston Rockets, +15000
Most of these teams are young and unproven, but several stand out of the pack.
The Pacers are fresh off a Cinderella run to the Eastern Conference Finals and expect to bring back their core. The Grizzlies, if healthy and out of trouble, could return to their winning ways with Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart and No. 9 overall pick Zach Edey. New Orleans and Orlando both made the playoffs last season and should continue improving.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are perhaps the most intriguing team here. Even though the reigning Rookie of the Year is ready to take over the NBA, he needs a team around him. The Spurs went 22-60 last season.
The rebuilders
- Chicago Bulls, +20000
- Toronto Raptors, +25000
- Brooklyn Nets, +50000
- Portland Trail Blazers, +50000
- Utah Jazz, +50000
- Charlotte Hornets, +50000
- Detroit Pistons, +50000
- Washington Wizards, +50000
It would take a lot of maneuvering for any of these franchises to win the 2025 title. The Bulls have been a play-in team for the past two seasons, and leading scorer DeMar DeRozan is a free agent. The Trail Blazers, Jazz, Hornets, Pistons and Wizards all made top-10 draft picks. And the only reason the Nets and Raptors didn't is because they traded them away.
