The Phoenix Suns shocked the basketball world by acquiring Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. The move comes just three days after the Nets sent Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks in another blockbuster deal.
And shortly after the Durant trade was reported, the NBA championship betting odds saw significant movement.
The Suns now have 5-1 odds to win the 2023 NBA title, according to Caesars Sportsbook (via SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN). That’s a huge jump from their title odds of 18-1 odds before the trade happened.
The Boston Celtics (+360) are still the NBA title favorites. The Milwaukee Bucks have the third-highest title odds (7-1), followed by the Denver Nuggets (8-1), Philadelphia 76ers (9-1), Golden State Warriors (12-1), Los Angeles Clippers (12-1), and Memphis Grizzlies (12-1).
The Suns are currently 30-26 and the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference (the No. 4 Mavericks and No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers are also 30-26), 8.5 games behind the top-seeded Nuggets.
Durant joins a Phoenix team that already has Devin Booker (26.8 points per game), Chris Paul (8.7 assists per game), and Deandre Ayton (18.4 points, 10.3 rebounds per game).
The Suns lost the 2021 NBA Finals in six games to the Bucks, and they followed that up with a heartbreaking conference semifinals exit in seven games vs the Mavericks in 2022. But they’re going all-in with the hopes of finally getting over the hump in 2023, and oddsmakers give them the best chance to win a championship of the Western Conference teams.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.