NBA Divisional Winners Odds: Who Has the Best Value?
Trade Deadline Madness Creates Valuable Markets

Plenty to Play For in Both Conferences
The NBA is approaching its unofficial midway point as teams look to reset during the All-Star week festivities in Salt Lake City. Let’s take a look at the NBA Divisional Winners Odds to see where we can find some value in the marketplace in the run to the end of the regular season.
Atlantic Division
The Boston Celtics have been an absolute juggernaut through the opening few months of the season and currently hold a 4.0 game lead over their closest division rivals, Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers had the chance to move to within 2.0 games when they faced a depleted Celtics team last week, but a tough loss has now put them in a tough position considering they trail their seasons series 0-2.
Boston currently sits at -1600 to win the Atlantic Division after sitting at +135 prior to opening night. Their depth is as good as anyone in the league and they’re one of the few teams who rank in the top-10 in both offensive ratings and defensive rating.
That said, the 76ers do present some value at +900 given it’s very much a two-horse race from here on out but they face an uphill battle to steal a division title. Philadelphia own the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA after the All-Star break. The Brooklyn Nets are currently +10000 and have fallen out of the picture after seeing Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant leave town.
They were the closest team to Boston in the pre-season markets, starting the season at +200 in the marketplace.
The New York Knicks are currently at +30000 and the Toronto Raptors are +60000.
Central Division
The Milwaukee Bucks are the hottest team in the NBA right now and it seems their stranglehold on the Central Division will continue for at least another season.
The Milwaukee Bucks are currently -1000 to hold another division banner after closing as the shortest priced pre-season division favorite when they went off at -278 odds.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only real challengers in this division and are currently +600 to win the division. The Cavs are just 3.5 games behind the Bucks and they own the third easiest remaining schedule to close out the regular season.
We’ve seen Milwaukee’s head coach Mike Budenholzer take steps to ensuring minutes are managed down the stretch heading into the playoffs and if that happens again that might keep the door ajar for the young Cavs.
Cleveland have made it known that they value home court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs and we would expect them to continue pushing through to the conclusion of the regular season – especially if there’s potential to win a division title.
The Chicago Bulls are next in line, currently sitting at +50000 as they continue to disappoint and play below their talent expectations. The Bulls were +650 heading into opening night but are currently 13.0 games behind and facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs.
The Indiana Pacers are currently +60000, while the tanking Detroit Pistons are +400000 as they chase the best possible lottery odds.
Southeast Division
The Southeast division might be the most intriguing division in the Eastern Conference given the way these teams line up in the NBA standings.
The Miami Heat are currently -275 favorites to win the division and sit 3.0 games clear of their closest division rivals. The team has one of the best records in the NBA since Christmas Day but their bottom-tier offense remains problematic and raises questions over the sustainability of their current streak of clutch wins.
The Heat are currently 26th in Offensive Rating and have the 4th toughest Strength of Schedule remaining to close out the regular season. Given the history of injuries for star player Jimmy Butler this is another team that will undoubtedly prioritize health over results in the closing stages of the regular season.
The Atlanta Hawks are shaping up to be their biggest division threats, currently sitting 3.0 games behind and being listed at +250 in the market.
An inconsistent month put them in a tough spot but they’ve seemingly turned a corner of late and are racking up wins behind an efficient offense that ranks in the top-10 over the past three weeks. The deadline day acquisition of Saddiq Bey gives them much needed wing depth and scoring off the bench and the team does own a more favorable schedule down the stretch.
The Washington Wizards are still in contention as they sit just 5.0 games behind the Heat in the division and are +1400 in the marketplace. Washington does have the advantage of owning the easiest remaining schedule of the top three teams in the division, but their inability to beat teams above them makes it a tough ask for Wes Unseld Jr and his team.
The Orlando Magic are currently +25000 and may still be an outside chance at a play-in spot, but are almost no chance at winning the division while the Charlotte Hornets are +50000 as they look to bottom out in the chase for lottery odds.
Pacific Division
There is no division in the NBA that is more tantalizing than the Pacific Division. It’s also the only division where the current leaders are not the market favorites.
The Sacramento Kings are just 2.0 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the #2 seed in the Western Conference and despite owning a 2.0 game advantage in their division they’re still +400 to win the Pacific.
The trade deadline drama that saw the Phoenix Suns acquire Kevin Durant certainly skewed the marketplace here as they moved to -180 favorites to win the division. Durant remains sidelined and the team is still adjusting to losing two key rotation pieces in his absence so the current market price does provide opportunity elsewhere.
The Suns own the 5th toughest remaining schedule, but that’s still better than two of their biggest division rivals.
The Kings own the 3rd toughest remaining schedule and their bottom-10 defense is a problem that will seemingly catch up with them down the stretch as teams are better prepared for their new-look offense that has certainly caught the league by surprise through the opening few months. The LA Clippers, who are currently +375 to win the division, own the 2nd toughest remaining schedule and are already 2.5 games behind the Kings.
Coach Ty Lue has already said that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would go back on minutes restrictions in the lead up to the All-Star break and that will almost certainly be the case again in the remaining weeks of the regular season.
Those priorities make it impossible to side with them to take out such a tightly contested division. The Golden State Warriors are 4.0 games behind and sit at +2500 but the absence of Steph Curry for an unknown period and their continued insistence on not worrying about seeding makes them an easy pass as well.
The LA Lakers got drastically better at the deadline but it’s tough to see them making up the 6.5 games when LeBron James is nursing an ankle injury and Anthony Davis has a history of missing games down the stretch. They’re currently +8000 to win the Pacific.
Northwest Division
The Denver Nuggets are -25000 as they run away with this division, currently owning a 10.0 game lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
There’s no value to be found here as they likelihood of anyone catching the Denver Nuggets in this division are far slimmer than the implied probability that their odds suggest.
The Timberwolves are +8000, while the OKC Thunder are +15000 and both the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are +20000.
Southwest Division
The Dallas Mavericks made a splash acquiring Kyrie Irving and their +375 division odds might be the best value on the board for our NBA predictions.
The Mavs own the 4th easiest remaining schedule in the NBA and have already looked a rejuvenated outfit since Kyrie’s arrival.
The Memphis Grizzlies currently own a 4.0 game advantage over the Mavs but their offensive struggles are becoming a concern as teams find ways to stop them finding success in transition. The Grizzlies are sitting at -450 and still have to face the Mavs three more times in the regular season.
The New Orleans Pelicans own the easiest remaining schedule but were dealt a blow recently with new Zion Williamson suffered an injury setback. They are currently +1400 after sitting as favorites for the division at the start of December.
The San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are both +400000 as they own the two worst records in basketball.
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