
How do the oddsmakers view the upcoming Warriors season?
It is both exciting and terrifying to say that we’re about a month away from another season of Golden State Warriors basketball. The Dubs will kick things off on Oct. 19, when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers on the first night of the 2021-22 NBA season.
And then we’ll be off.
Once the ball is tipped for that game, the Warriors will be on a quest to do all sorts of things: win that game, win lots of games, make the playoffs, win the conference, win a championship. Along the way their various players will also be on an accomplishment quest, seeking out individual awards and recognition.
By next summer will know where everything stands. Until then, we only have opinions, speculation, and projections.
Oh, and odds.
Curious how the oddsmakers view the Warriors heading into the season, three seasons removed from their last NBA Finals appearance, but welcoming Klay Thompson back into the fold after Steph Curry finished third in MVP voting a year ago? Well, we’ve got you covered.
Different sites have different odds, but I’m opting for the offerings from DraftKings.
Team odds
Despite missing the playoffs a year ago, and having a handful of question marks, oddsmakers are pretty optimistic about a (hopefully healthy) trio of Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green. And can you blame them? The Warriors have made the Finals the last five seasons that those three have been healthy.
The Dubs have the fourth-highest odds to win a championship, at +1000, trailing only the three prohibitive favorites: the superstar-stacked Brooklyn Nets (+220), the flashy Los Angeles Lakers (+380), and the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks (+900).
In line with that, the Warriors have the second-best odds to win the conference at +450, trailing only the Lakers (+180). Yet the oddsmakers are higher on the Warriors chances of having postseason success than regular season success, perhaps because Thompson is set to miss the first two or so months of the season. Golden State is only third in the odds when it comes to winning the division at +425, behind the Lakers (+105) and Phoenix Suns (+220).
Player odds
Let’s start with the big one: MVP. Curry has the fourth-best odds to take home some hardware, sharing the odds (+800) with fellow two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The favorite is Luka Dončić (+380), with Joel Embiid and Curry’s former teammate Kevin Durant next up at +700.
Curry’s odds are a bit better to lead the league in scoring, at +600, third-best in the league behind Bradley Beal (+275) and Dončić (+425). Not surprisingly, Curry is a massive betting favorite to lead the league in threes made at -170, with Damian Lillard next up at +380.
Green is tied for eighth in the league in Defensive Player of the Year odds at +2000, sharing the spot with Matisse Thybulle and Jrue Holiday. And speaking of being tied with Thybulle, that’s where Jordan Poole finds himself in the Sixth Man of the Year odds, at +2800, sharing the spot with not just Thybulle but also TJ McConnell and Miles Bridges. Those odds are 15th in the league.
But the oddsmakers are Steve Kerr fans, as his +1100 odds of winning Coach of the Year are tied with Quin Snyder and Monty Williams for fourth-highest in the league.
That said, they know that Kerr has games to win, and is thus unlikely to play his youngsters to much. As such, Jonathan Kuminga is tied with James Bouknight for eighth in Rookie of the Year odds at +2800, with Moses Moody coming in at 17th, with +4500 odds, tied with Ziaire Williams, Ayo Dosunmu, Corey Kispert, and Cameron Thomas.
Go win some things, Warriors.