Stephen Curry speaks with Kevin Durant (Photo : Getty Images/Ezra Shaw)
The biggest news in the NBA has finally dropped and after years of waiting and speculation, Kevin Durant has chosen to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
Now, the Warriors are quickly the favorites to win the 2016-17 NBA Championship as Fox Sports reported.
"While the dominoes continue(sic) to fall around the league, Las Vegas Sportsbooks have taken note of this massive power shift and appropriately updated the odds of the 2016-2017 NBA Champion -- making the Golden State Warriors an absolutely ridiculous 2/3 (-150) overwhelming preseason favorite to win the Larry O'Brien trophy."
This is a rare, if not unprecedented occurrence. If you would bet on the Golden State Warriors winning the title, for every $1.50, you will only get $1.00 back. It also means that choosing any of the other 29 teams still makes you an underdog.
Even before the Kevin Durant signing the Warriors were already the prohibitive favorites. They were leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 and it took a superhuman effort from LeBron James to win Game 7 by a slim four points.
Not to take anything away from the deserving Cavaliers, but Vegas oddsmakers still see Golden State as the team with the better chance to win it all next season. Perhaps the "revenge" factor was in play. The humiliation of setting a regular season record and not winning the trophy could motivate them to come back stronger.
Nevertheless, the Warriors are at the top, and The Boston Herald sized up the opposition.
"The Cavaliers are second, checking in at 3-1. They originally opened at 5-2.
All of the Western Conference teams' odds faded after the announcement. The Spurs went from 6-1 to 8-1, the Clippers from 16-1 to 20-1, and the Thunder, the team from which Durant is leaving, went from 8-1 to 30-1," the report stated.
The Oklahoma City Thunder elicited the biggest drop and that was expected. Durant's change of address will surely tilt the balance of power in the NBA. But it seemed that joining Golden State brought the most impact, especially in the West.
There could be more repercussions for the rest of free agency and possibly the offseason. Teams in the West, like the Thunder for example, may make moves aimed at long-term goals than contesting for a title now.
