NBA Season Review & 2022/23 Odds
The potent taste of excitement from the NBA Finals still lingers in the back of our palates, and the roar of the crowd echoes faintly from the moment those Golden State Warriors were crowned 2021-22 champions. The Warriors’ monumental rise to the top wasn’t foreshadowed by the sportsbooks at this time last year – nor was that of the Celtics, their finals opponents – but the season has earned them excellent NBA betting odds at Bodog for the year ahead.
Like all great and memorable seasons, this one delivered on the action with its share of plot twists and turns. We saw several strong contenders, including the enduring favourites Brooklyn Nets, get dunked out early on in the competition. While Nets fans were left to grapple with that post-mortem, it was better news for two relative underdogs who were gifted a long-awaited chance to battle it out in the biggest basketball bout of the year.
No season recap would be complete without highlighting the meteoric fall of the LA Lakers, either, who began the year as favourites, but delivered only broad disappointment. By failing to gel as a unit, they showed that a rockstar lineup just isn’t enough, and with just 33 season wins to their name, the Lakers saw the season out from 11th place in the west.
NBA Odds: Favourites For Next Season
The joy is fresh on the faces of the Warriors for now, but before their smiles get a chance to fade, an emerging championship side will already be hitting the courts to sharpen their game in hopes of securing glory next season. Bodog is already on the case with basketball betting futures, and below, we’ve picked our top teams as early favourites to win the NBA championship in 2023.
Golden State Warriors (+500)
The Golden State Warriors have earned a spot on this list thanks to their superb return to form. After a solid run of NBA Championship victories in 2015, 2017, and 2018, alongside conference titles in 2016 and 2019, the Warriors began to display a slump in performance.
But back in San Francisco, and in the wake of a mini-rebuild, they made a fult-tilt return to the NBA Finals for 2022. After taking the win in the final game, Steve Kerr’s team made a very clear statement that Golden State is not just back in form, but they mean business.
Finishing 53-29 in the regular season and following it up with a strong playoff run was always going to make the Warriors a favourite going into 2022/23. Add an NBA Championship to the mix and it’s not surprising they’re one of the strongest contenders for the coming year.
Boston Celtics (+650)
The Boston Celtics hold far superior NBA odds than they did 12 months back, having topped the list of the most impressive underdogs of 2022. After finishing the 2020-21 regular season 36-36, they shot up in the Eastern Conference to end in second place with a 51-31 record behind the Miami Heat.
Boston last won the NBA Championship in 2008 and hadn’t even made it to the finals since 2010, so this year’s playoffs were a cause for celebration and reinvigoration for the Celtics players, their management and their diehard supporters – regardless of the final score.
During the post-season, the team completely destroyed the Brooklyn Nets before knocking out the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat to dominate the Eastern Conference Championship.
Defying all expectations, the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals and held their own against the Warriors, with a first-match victory that set the tone for the rest of the series. After finishing second this year, Boston is certainly in contention again for 2022/23.
Brooklyn Nets (+700)
It’s deja vu with the Brooklyn Nets starting out as one of the early favourites again. They remained in the top spot for most of the season until they had one of the most disappointing, anticlimactic falls from grace in the recent NBA history.
The end of January was when things fell apart. An 11-game losing streak saw their stats tumble and even put the Nets’ place in the playoffs at risk. Without Kevin Durant, the Nets struggled to make an impact, and to make matters worse, Kyrie Irving was only available for half the team’s games, adding even more drag on their performance.
After managing to secure a slot in the post-season tournament, the Nets were left red-faced by the Boston Celtics who bulldozed right through them with a 4-0 record, the most decisive in the entire 2022 playoffs.
But with Irving now able to play at home again and Durant likely to be fully recovered by the start of the new season, the factors that made the Nets look strong last year make them big contenders again now – that is, if they can hold on to them.
Los Angeles Clippers (+750)
The Los Angeles Clippers were another team looking promising going into the 2021/22 season. And yet, the wheels also fell off for this west-coast wagon as the team missed out on the playoffs after losing against the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in round.
Their 42-40 regular-season record was distinctly average and wouldn’t even have been enough to earn a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
Losing Kawhi Leonard to a knee injury was a big blow for the team. This was compounded by the fact that Paul George also missed much of the season after also hurting himself, leaving two big holes in the roster. But even after he’d returned, George still took a while to wind back up to full performance, only to be ruled out again with illness.
The Clippers have had a couple of decent chances in recent seasons, and with new additions like Norman Powell and Robert Covington, they may finally be able to build a cohesive mixture that takes them to the next level.
Toronto Raptors Chances
The Toronto Raptors had a much better season in 2021/22 than the year previous, when Canada’s only team finished 12th in the Eastern Conference after a dismal 27-54 record. This time around, they rocketed up the table, finishing fifth and earning a well-deserved spot in the playoffs.
Sadly, they were defeated 4-2 by the 76ers in the first round, but displayed strong signs of improvement that could bode well for their 2022/23 campaign.
With that said, the Toronto Raptors’ odds of +6000 show they are still distant longshots at present. However, a strong performance in the regular season and a good run in the playoffs could make it a tremendous value bet.
We might be several months from the start of the new NBA season, but now is the time when the best odds are locked in, so don’t wait to get your skin in the game with NBA betting on the 2023 championship.