Lately, teams led by the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James have fooled people into believing that winning in basketball is easy. I don’t blame basketball fans either; it is a sport built on dynasties throughout its history. The Lakers and Celtics are the greatest teams in this sport because of the success they have had since the beginning of the sport.
Since those ancient dynasties, the sport has changed enormously, mainly thanks to Grant Williams as president of the players’ association and the establishment of the second apron. When a team is above the apron, the construction of the squad is very delicate and the owners are reluctant to pay exorbitant amounts of taxes.
Between the second apron and the way max contracts are awarded, we’ve seen a level of parity in the NBA that we haven’t seen since the ’70s. This is why it’s so stupid that sportsbooks are offering a three-peat Thunder bet at just +750.
I understand why the bet is offered. This is why Vegas is made of gold, and because of bets like this. Since 2019, we haven’t seen a single team repeat as conference champion, so seeing the Thunder win the next two titles with such low odds is insane.
This is no disrespect to the Thunder either. If I had to pick a team to win the final this year, I’d definitely bet on them, but they’re not close to being invincible. Last season, they played seven games against a Pacers team that almost no one picked to win the series, or even get there.
Then, in the West, the Nuggets finally add some talent around Nikola Jokic, and the Spurs start to look like a team that can compete. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the reigning MVP, but I think he might be the third best player in the West, and you could easily argue he’s lower than that. There is far too much talent in the West right now for just anyone to win.
Look at the Celtics, they were the favorite to win the championship last season, but they were easily handled by the Knicks, Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon, and now they are fighting for a lottery spot with all the turnover they have had this season. The Thunder are young, they have tons of draft capital and have the depth to stay under the second apron. I just wouldn’t bet on them starting a dynasty without seeing more from this group of guys.
