The NBA season is just around the corner, which means it’s time to dive into some championship odds.

Yesterday, we took a look at who Vegas thinks are the frontrunners for NBA Rookie of the Year, and today we will dive into who they think will take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers lead the pack at +325 to repeat as NBA champs, while Kevin Durant and his Brooklyn Nets have the second-best odds at +500.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers both had disappointing second-round exits last season, and both currently sit at +550 to write their storybook ending of a championship this year.  The Golden State Warriors round out the top five as the last team with odds of 10/1 or better at +1000.

James has been the definition of consistent over the last decade in the NBA. The 35-year-old has made the finals in nine of the past 10 seasons, and you have to go all the way back to the 2008-09 season, when his Cleveland Cavaliers team was +1000 to win the title, if you want to find a James-led team sitting outside of the top three for odds at the start of the season.

All signs point to Anthony Davis re-signing with the Lakers, and the recent acquisition of Dennis Schröder is a sign of good things. If LeBron stays healthy, this Lakers team will be right in the thick of things come playoff time. This should come as no surprise.

A Brooklyn bet involves more uncertainty. How will the Durant and Kyrie Irving experiment work? Will the Nets be able to land James Harden? These are questions you need to answer before trusting the Nets at +500.

The Nets squeaked into the playoffs last season and were quickly swept by the Toronto Raptors in the first round. But they did that without their two star players, and reports show that they’re looking to add a third.

Even if they don’t add Harden, the championship pedigree of Durant and Irving is good enough to give the Nets franchise it’s best odds to win a title at the start of the season ever, topping 2003-04 when they were +800.   

After winning a championship with the Raptors in 2019, Kawhi Leonard packed his bags and went home to join the Clippers. The addition of Leonard and Paul George made the Clippers instant title favourites and they had the best odds at the start of last season.

Fast-forward one year and most of the team remains together. But after blowing a 3-1 lead in the second round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets, head coach Doc Rivers was let go and Tyronn Lue took over.

If you liked the Clippers last year and think they can get over the hump this season, then +550 should be a number you love.

A lot remains in the balance for this Milwaukee Bucks team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible to sign his five-year supermax contract at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20.

The team has already shown that they’re all in for this season by sending Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, three first-round picks and a pair of pick swaps to the New Orleans Pelicans for point guard Jrue Holiday.

Milwaukee has been the team to beat in the regular season the last two years, but that success hasn’t translated to the playoffs.  

The Bucks were two games away from making the NBA Finals in 2019 when they held a 2-0 lead over the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals but lost the next four games. Last season Milwaukee didn’t make it out of the second round.

Rounding out the top five we have the Golden State. The Warriors have already been dealt a massive blow this season with star shooting guard Klay Thompson going down for the season.

Golden State went 15-50 last season, not making the finals for the first time since 2014 and putting an end to seven consecutive years of playoff appearances.

Still, after playing just five games last season, Steph Curry is back with a supporting cast that includes Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins from last season, and the team moved a 2021 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Kelly Oubre Jr.

On top of the Oubre Jr. addition, the Warriors had the second-overall pick fall into their lap and used it to select James Wiseman out of Memphis. The seven-foot centre could fill a massive role on this team as he transitions to the NBA. 

Outside of the five favourites, you have the Boston Celtics at +1400, the Miami Heat at +1600 and the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors at +1800.

Toronto surprised oddsmakers last season when they entered the season at +5500 to win the title.

The Raptors defended their title by going 53-19 in the regular season, finishing with the best single-season win percentage in franchise history. The season put the league on the notice and Toronto entered the playoffs with the fifth best odds at +1200.  But Toronto’s efforts fell short in the second round to the Boston Celtics.

While oddsmakers have more faith in the team this season, the Raptors have a lot of question marks going into this year.

The team needs to resign Fred VanVleet and figure out the front court as both Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol are free agents. Pascal Siakam will also have to bounce back after a disappointing end to his season.

Fortunately for Toronto, time is on their side, and if they make the right moves in free agency this number of +1800 could lower before the season tips off.

The opportunity for Toronto to have a big off-season makes them an intriguing value play as we good forward.