Warriors among favorites to win 2021 title

In an extremely early look forward to next NBA season, the Golden State Warriors are among the betting favorites to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2021.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who captured their first title in a decade Sunday night, have the shortest odds at the 2021 championship, opening at the Caesars Sportsbook at 15-to- 4 odds. But not far behind them are the Warriors at 8-1, good for fourth among all teams.

The Warriors expect to have their All-Star trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green back on the court together for the first time since the 2019 NBA Finals. Since that time, they’ve lost superstar Kevin Durant, replacing him in the starting lineup with Andrew Wiggins — and they’ll also have the No. 2 pick in next month’s draft, provided they don’t swap the pick for a current player who they expect to help more immediately.

Eastern Conference favorites include the Miami Heat, this year’s East representative in the Finals, at 15-1. But listed ahead of Miami are back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks (6-1), the young Boston Celtics (12-1) and Durant’s Brooklyn Nets (10-1).

In ESPN’s way-too-early 2021 NBA power rankings released Monday, the Warriors sit sixth behind the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.

Here’s the top 10 favorites as they opened at the Caesars Sportsbook:

Lakers 15- 4; Clippers 4-1; Bucks 6-1; Warriors 8-1; Nets 10-1; Celtics 12-1; Heat 15-1; Nuggets 20-1; Raptors 20-1; Rockets 20-1.

The Pistons and Knicks at 300-1 and Cavaliers and Hornets at 400-1 bring up the rear.