With the Dallas Mavericks knocking off the Minnesota Timberwolves on May 30, the 2034 NBA Finals matchup has been set. Three days before, the Boston Celtics punched their ticket into the championship series with a 4-0 sweep of the Indiana Pacers.
Shortly after the matchup was made official, betting odds for Game 1 were released along with series-long props. Most sportsbooks released opening lines for the Finals MVP, series leading scorer, and the series total game spread.
2024 NBA Finals Series Leading Scorer Betting Odds
- Luka Doncic: -205
- Jayson Tatum: +280
- Kyrie Irving: +1000
- Jaylen Brown: +1300
- Kristaps Porzingis: +5ooo
- Derrick White: +5000
- P.J. Washington +15000
Continuing their trend for each series in the playoffs, the Boston Celtics are the favorites to win the 2024 NBA Finals entering Game 1. Through their dominant Eastern Conference run against injury-riddled opposition, the no. 1 seed went 12-2 in the postseason to put themselves in the front seat of another championship.
However, oddsmakers still believe that the leading scorer of the series will be a member of the Dallas Mavericks. Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Luka Doncic is the favorite to be the top point scorer of his third straight series at -205, giving an implied probability of 67.2 percent.
At press time, Jayson Tatum is a distant second at +280, while Kyrie Irving is an even further third option at +1000. Jaylen Brown, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, is fourth at +1300.
2024 NBA Finals Series MVP Betting Odds
- Jayson Tatum: -115
- Luka Doncic: +205
- Jaylen Brown: +650
- Kyrie Irving: +2,200
- Kristaps Porzingis: +3,500
- Derrick White +3,500
- Jrue Holiday: +5,000
- P.J. Washington: +30,000
- Al Horford: +40,000
Though Luka Doncic is the favorite to lead the series in scoring, the Slovenian phenom is not favored to win the coveted 2024 NBA Finals MVP award. Instead, Jayson Tatum has the highest odds to take home the award in June at -115, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Considering the Celtics are favored to bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy, their best player being the frontrunner is not a surprise.
Doncic has the second-highest odds to win the trophy at +205, with Jaylen Brown a far third at +650. In his first playoff series against Boston since unceremoniously leaving the team in 2019, Kyrie Irving is currently third on DraftKings Sportsbook at +2200.
Despite not playing since the opening round of the playoffs, Boston center Kristaps Porzingis is listed as fifth with +3500 odds to win Finals MVP. Derrick White can also be found with the same price tag.
2024 NBA Finals Game 1 Odds
GAME 1 LINES OF THE NBA FINALS ARE OUT 😭
(odds via @fdsportsbook) pic.twitter.com/NwO143Xa5T
— br_betting (@br_betting) May 31, 2024
Unsurprisingly, Boston is expected to win the opening game of the 2024 NBA Finals with sportsbooks giving the Eastern Conference representatives a -5.5 point edge to take a 1-0 series lead. The Celtics are projected to win the series overall at -210 on DraftKings Sportsbook as the championship favorites entering the postseason.
With three additional days of rest and home-court advantage, seeing Boston as the expected triumph has zero shock factor. The team’s preseason acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis proved to be strikingly critical, as Joe Cronin’s plan to burn the Miami Heat with the Damian Lillard trade was an evident success.
If Dallas can pull off the series upset, they will become the first team in NBA history to win the NBA Finals as a no. 5 seed. The 1994-1995 Houston Rockets would still be the lowest-seeded team to become champions as a no. 6 seed but no team at no. 5, 7 or 8 in the playoffs has ever hoisted the trophy at the end of the season.
About the Author
Jaren Kawada is a freelance sports writer from Indianapolis, Indiana by way of Honolulu, Hawaii with a strong passion for MMA and sports betting. Kawada has also written for Sportskeeda MMA, FanSided MMA, and BetSided as a combat sports analyst. Follow on X/Twitter at @jarenkawada1 or on Instagram at @kawadajaren.
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