October 19th might seem a long way off, but teams are already making preparations for the start of the new NBA season. As for sportsbooks, many released odds for the new campaign the moment the Milwaukee Bucks secured a first championship in 50 years.

And, those odds make for some interesting reading, particularly as there might be some fluctuations in the markets over the coming weeks and months. There are several notable free agents who could be difference-makers, transforming teams from pretenders to contenders. Blockbuster arrival can – and will – move the NBA betting markets.

But as things stand, sportsbooks have stuck their necks out and made the Brooklyn Nets the clear favorites to win the NBA Championship next June. That’s understandable given the talent on the roster, but it’s quite a short price for the Nets (somewhere between +250 to +350 is the price from most sportsbooks). That’s quite a vote of confidence in Steve Nash’s team. For perspective, the Nets were somewhere around +600 to win it all before the start of last season.

Lakers Also Hurt By Injuries

Injuries to the likes of Kyrie Irving played a crucial role in the Nets’ failure to get past the Bucks in the Conference Semifinals. But injuries, and what reporter Mike Trudel called “the resulting of lack of cohesion,” also derailed the LA Lakers’ season. LeBron and Co. are similarly short odds, with a price of +330 that they can win a second championship in three seasons.

As for the champions, the Bucks are an attractive price of +900 with a bunch of sportsbooks, and you can see that being snapped up by fans who think Giannis Antetokounmpo has what it takes to transform Milwaukee into perennial challengers. Those odds suggest that sportsbooks believe the Bucks were somewhat lucky to go all the way. But while they did ride their luck on occasion, particularly against the Nets, you have to admire how deep they dug. That kind of mental fortitude could pay dividends if the core of the team stays healthy next season.

Next up in the odds, we enter a kind of middle-tier of teams who many believe could do well. The Warriors are priced at +1100, the Nuggets and Jazz at +1300, and the Clippers at +1400. The 76ers and Suns also sit in that category, coming in at +1600 and +1800 respectively. You could make an argument for any one of that sextet to come good next season, and free agency could move some of them into the upper tier of challengers alongside the Nets, Lakers, and Bucks.

Hawks Had Unexpectedly Good Season

There’s quite the jump-off to the next bunch of teams, with the Heat and Hawks both priced up at +3300. The latter, of course, really turned things around last season, albeit the Hawks were beneficiaries of the 76ers’ collapse in the Conference Semis. Are they contenders next season? It’s debatable.

Everyone above the Boston Celtics (+4000) comes in at +5000 or more, and it goes right up to +25000 for the Pistons and Rockets, for whom sportsbooks believe a miracle is needed to get into the Playoffs never mind contend for a championship.

Of course, we should take all those odds with a pinch of salt. As Mentioned, a lot could happen between now and mid-October. Moreover, sportsbooks don’t always get it right – in fact, they often get it wrong. The odds are indicative of where a certain team stands now and where it is expected to finish. If there weren’t shocks and disappointments, then we probably wouldn’t bother tuning in at all.