Training camp doors have officially opened around the NBA in advance of the 2021-22 season. And that, as you know, means that it is time to drop our 2022 NBA Finals champion predictions.
Below is a look at the latest NBA Finals betting odds, courtesy of the folks over at BetOnline:
| NBA Title Pick |  |
|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | +300 |
| Phoenix Suns | +390 |
| Boston Celtics | +460 |
| Miami Heat | +550 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +650 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | +1000 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +1600 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +1600 |
| Utah Jazz | +6000 |
| Toronto Raptors | +12000 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +16000 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +16000 |
Remember, as always, to confirm these NBA odds before settling on your NBA Finals picks. Preseason lines are going to move at BetOnline and other top online sportsbooks as news breaks and, inevitably, the actual season play out.
2022 NBA Finals Picks
Part and parcel of delivering NBA Finals predictions is first determining which squads we believe are going to make it through to the championship round. And that demands we begin with the potential winners from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.
Though sportsbooks are presently providing NBA conference champion odds for every team, we are narrowing down our list of options from each section to make for a more pointed discussion. Because, let's face it, there's no intellectual value in talking about the Western Conference champion odds for the Oklahoma City Thunder (+15000) when they're so laughably far away from being good.
Let's head out East before moving on to the West. And after selecting our two conference champions, we'll be free to roll out our championship pick.
Eastern Conference Champion Prediction
Here are the odds on the main contenders for the 2022 Eastern Conference crown:
| NBA Title Pick | |
|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | +300 |
| Phoenix Suns | +390 |
| Boston Celtics | +460 |
| Miami Heat | +550 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +650 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | +1000 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +1600 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +1600 |
| Utah Jazz | +6000 |
| Toronto Raptors | +12000 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +16000 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +16000 |
More so than the Western Conference, the East appears clearly divided into two tiers. At the top you have the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks (+425) and the Brooklyn Nets (+110), and then there's everyone else.
Betting on a squad beyond one of those two actually feels foolish right now. It's too hard to trust the Philadelphia 76ers (+850) until they resolve their Ben Simmons situation. The Miami Heat (+1200) look great on paper, but their offense wants for shooting. The Atlanta Hawks (+1800) are still relatively young. And so on.
Dark-horse bettors would do well to take a look at the Toronto Raptors (+4000). They feel highly undervalued unless you believe they're going to blow it up midseason.
Overall, though, this should be a Milwaukee-or-Brooklyn proposition. And we're inclined to go with the Nets. The aggregate star power they have in Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving is almost unprecedented. We're talking about two top-five players (Durant and Harden) on the same team and three top-15 players in sum. That's wild.
Injuries could derail this roster. Brooklyn's three stars all have iffy health bills. But they have more than enough depth to navigate one absence should they suffer it.
OSB Prediction: Brooklyn Nets (+110)
Western Conference Champion Prediction
Check out the current odds on the top contenders to secure the 2022 Western Conference throne:
| Western Conference Pick | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | +190 |
| Golden State Warriors | +525 |
| Phoenix Suns | +650 |
| Utah Jazz | +650 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +850 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +1200 |
| Denver Nuggets | +1200 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | +2800 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | +4000 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +4000 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +8000 |
| Sacramento Kings | +12500 |
| San Antonio Spurs | +12500 |
| Houston Rockets | +15000 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | +15000 |
Figuring out the Western Conference pecking order is much tougher. There are genuinely five to seven teams we can talk ourselves into.
Oddsmakers might be sleeping on the Denver Nuggets (+1200), though they will be missing Jamal Murray, their second-best player, for much of the year. The Los Angeles Clippers (+850) feel a touch overvalued unless you believe Kawhi Leonard will return from his torn ACL. Both the Utah Jazz (+650) and reigning conference champion Phoenix Suns (+650) are laying borderline dark-horse odds.
Many bettors will gravitate toward the Golden State Warriors (+525). We'd advise against it. Klay Thompson's return date remains up in the air, and they desperately need more shot creation.
Investing in the Los Angeles Lakers (+190) is of course a justified decision. But they are trying to integrate Russell Westbrook beside LeBron James, a star partnership that is rife with combustible pitfalls.
For our money, we like Utah or Phoenix. And currently, we ever so slightly lean toward the Suns given how much internal improvement they stand to get from their youngsters.
OSB Prediction: Phoenix Suns (+650)
2022 NBA Finals Winner
So, we've shrunk the NBA Finals field down to the Nets (+225) and Suns (+1600). Sometimes, this decision isn't as easy as the odds imply. In this case, it's different.
Truth told, the Nets are the closest thing the NBA presently has to a championship formality. If they are healthy, no one is beating them four times in seven tries during a playoff series. It's that simple. They might be the best offensive team in NBA history for crying out loud.
Doubting their ability to stay healthy is fair. But it also doesn't make sense to bet against them until injuries actually become an issue. And right now, leading into the start of the 2021-22 NBA season, the Nets are healthy—and therefore terrifying.
OSB NBA Title Prediction: Brooklyn Nets (+225)
Check out this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one to use for all your NBA betting:
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