NBA Championship Odds Evolution: Tracking the Title Odds for the Celtics, Nuggets, Lakers, and Heat

The NBA season is coming to a close as the Conference Finals are about to get underway.

The four teams left standing comprise two chalk teams in the Denver Nuggets (the 1 seed from the Western Conference) and the Boston Celtics (the 2 seed from the Eastern Conference) and two outliers: the Los Angeles Lakers (7 seed) and Miami Heat (8 seed).

Unsurprisingly, the pre-playoff championship odds were pretty short for the Nuggets and Celtics and quite long for the Lakers and Heat.

Here's how the NBA Finals odds were -- and are now -- according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

It's no surprise that the Celtics are the favorite. They play the lowest-seeded team remaining in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they trailed only the Milwaukee Bucks (+240) in championship odds entering the playoffs.

The Nuggets were +1000 to win the title, ranking them fifth, entering the playoffs.

The Lakers were actually eighth among playoff teams at +1900 before a big dropoff to three teams at +5500. Before their series with the Golden State Warriors, LA's odds were +1000.

Miami entered the playoffs with just 0.62% implied title odds at +16000 (13th among 16 playoff teams) and are now up to 6.67%. Interestingly, with just four teams remaining, Miami's current odds would have ranked them just seventh among all teams before the playoffs began. It's clear who the underdog is.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.