2016 NBA Title & MVP Futures – Don’t Be Shocked by a Finals Rematch

And so we can officially put a stamp on the 2014-15 NBA season after the Golden State Warriors won their first title since 1975 in the house that LeBron built (or at least helped redecorate). While Golden State holds their parade and the Oakland area enjoys some long-awaited athletic success, we shift our attention towards next season.

This Finals marked a changing of the guard for the NBA: it was the first Finals match up in the new millennium to not feature the Lakers, Heat or Spurs. But since the NBA has become such a star-driven league, it’s easy to imagine that Steph Curry’s Warriors and LeBron’s Cavaliers will be the new mainstays for the Larry O’Brien Trophy (until James decides to leave again).

But these two will have some fierce competition to get back to the NBA’s biggest stage, particularly the Warriors in the West, where the Rockets will want revenge, the Clippers will look to put their disappointing exit behind them, the Thunder will try to bounce back from an injury-riddled year, and the ageless Spurs will aim to collect a ring for the opposite hand.

Their is still much to be decided through free agency and the draft, but here are the current favorites to win the NBA’s biggest hardware next year.

2015-16 NBA Futures:

Odds to win the 2016 NBA Title:

• Cleveland Cavaliers: 4/1
• Golden State Warriors: 4/1
• San Antonio Spurs: 7/1
• Houston Rockets: 9/1
• Oklahoma City Thunder: 9/1
• Los Angeles Clippers: 12/1
• Memphis Grizzlies: 12/1
• Chicago Bulls: 15/1
• Dallas Mavericks: 15/1
• Atlanta Hawks: 18/1
• Portland Trail Blazers: 18/1
• Washington Wizards: 22/1
• Toronto Raptors: 26/1
• Milwaukee Bucks: 26/1
• Miami Heat: 32/1
• Boston Celtics: 32/1
• New Orleans Pelicans: 38/1
• Brooklyn Nets: 50/1
• Phoenix Suns: 50/1
• Indiana Pacers: 60/1
• Sacramento Kings: 80/1
• Charlotte Hornets: 80/1
• Denver Nuggets: 90/1
• Los Angeles Lakers: 100/1
• Detroit Pistons: 100/1
• Minnesota Timberwolves: 120/1
• Orlando Magic: 120/1
• Utah Jazz: 200/1
• Philadelphia 76ers: 200/1
• New York Knicks: 500/1

Odds to meet in the 2016 NBA Finals:

• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors: 7/3
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs: 4/1
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: 6/1
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets: 6/1
• Chicago Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors: 9/1

Odds to win the 2015-16 NBA MVP:

• LeBron James (Cleveland): 4/1
• Steph Curry (Golden State): 9/2
• Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City): 5/1
• James Harden (Houston): 7/1
• Anthony Davis (New Orleans): 7/1
• Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City): 10/1
• Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers): 14/1
• Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs): 18/1
• Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls): 18/1

(Photo credit: Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA (20090930-6029) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo may appear cropped.)