The NBA Finals are upon us, with the Golden State Warriors facing off against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth straight year.
Despite the heroic effort of James to get the Cavaliers to the Finals, the outcome feels like a foregone conclusion. ESPN asked 24 analysts for their prediction on the series, and all 24 picked the Warriors to prevail, and just two of them projected the series to even make it to seven games.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched basketball this season. Cleveland has been the LeBron show more than ever, so much so that "The Other Cavaliers" earned a skit on "Saturday Night Live" earlier in the postseason. Meanwhile, Golden State employs two of the best five basketball players on the planet and four of the top 20. Unless a radioactive basketball bites Jeff Green and JR Smith in the next three days, it doesn't feel like the Cavs have much of a chance.
That said, there are still plenty of reasons to watch the NBA Finals! First and foremost, it's always a delight to watch the best in the world excel, and the Warriors will undoubtedly put on a show on their way to the title. And if LeBron somehow pulls off the upset, he'll cement his legacy as the Greatest of All Time even further than he already had.
Also, there's money to be made! Plenty of good bets are available for anyone looking to invest a bit of their finances to keep them engaged in the series. Take a look below at our best bets to make before tip-off of the NBA Finals.
All lines come courtesy of Sportsbook.ag.
Warriors to win the NBA Finals (-1100)
A Warriors win may feel like it's predestined, but if you're willing to put your money where your mouth is, there's a good chance for brave bettors to score a payday.
At -1100, Golden State are the biggest Finals favorites in 16 years — you have to bet $1,100 on them to win the series to win $100. While that may feel like too significant a risk for the potential reward, there's plenty of other money-making endeavors that would rejoice at the prospect of a 10% return on investment in just a week's time.
If you have faith that the Cavaliers find a way to win, there's plenty of money to be made for you as well — Cleveland is +700 on the series, meaning a $100 bet will earn you $700.
Warriors to win the NBA Finals in five games (+160)
Thankfully, there are plenty more ways to bet the final two weeks of the basketball season than picking a team to win the best-of-seven series, and the more specific you get, the better your odds become.
If you feel like the Warriors are taking this series but don't want to lay the -1000 odds, you can instead pick the exact result of the series for a much better price — Warriors in 5 (+160) and Warriors in 4 (+215) are the two heavy favorites.
While it's certainly a harder bet to hit, it's a good chance to get positive odds on a Warriors win.
Stephen Curry wins NBA Finals MVP (+160)
Finals MVP is a fun bet for anyone who loves following the narratives of the NBA.
There are plenty of good candidates for the award this year. Reigning Finals MVP Kevin Durant (-150) is the favorite, and if you have faith in LeBron James (+625) to take the series to seven games, he's a nice value to win the honor that he's already taken home three times in his career.
That said, I think this year Stephen Curry (+160) is the clear bet to win Finals MVP. The Warriors have already won two titles with Curry as the face of the franchise, but the star shooter missed out on the award after Andre Iguodala impressed with his defense in 2015 and Kevin Durant went wild last year.
Look for Curry to be a leading scorer throughout the series, left generously open by a Cleveland defense that doesn't go too deep beyond James.
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