If you’re thinking about betting on the 2021 NBA Champion, now would be a good time to do so. All the major contenders are relatively healthy and we’re still more than a month away from the trade deadline. The odds won’t get any better for longshots like the Utah Jazz (+1600) or Philadelphia 76ers (+1400) unless something bad happens to them.
Before you throw down that wager, there is one thing you need to know about betting on the 2021 NBA Champion. This is especially important if you want to get a little crazy with your bet.
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Know this before betting on the 2021 NBA Champion
LeBron James. Kawhi Leonard. Steph Curry. And for shits and giggles, let’s throw in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. It has been nine seasons since the NBA title was won by a team that didn’t have at least one of those five players. You have to go back to the 2011 Dallas Mavericks to find a champion free of those guys.
Fun fact, no one from that Mavs team is even playing in the NBA right now. Ian Mahinmi and J.J. Barea were in the league last season, but that’s it.
Realistically speaking, Curry isn’t leading the Warriors to the Larry O’Brien trophy this year, but the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets are all very much in play. Betting against them would be foolish.
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Avoid the contrarian betting trap
If you bet against something long enough, eventually you will win. That’s not a great strategy, though. No matter how good the odds seem or how well a team may be playing, sometimes it is wise to keep your powder dry until a trend ends.
Think about it another way. Every year people predicted the end of the New England Patriots dynasty. And if they bet on the Pats to not make the playoffs, the one year of being right doesn’t offset the decade of losing bets it took to get there.
Don’t fall into the contrarian betting trap when wagering on the 2021 NBA Champion. There is no reason to think any team without one of these five players will win the title until it actually happens, or they all decline to a level where they’re no longer effective. Betting on anything else to happen would be a waste of money.
