One year ago, the Nuggets blew through the Western Conference Playoffs with a 16-4 record and raised the organization's first-ever NBA championship banner.
This year, Denver once again serves as a powerhouse, but the path to a title — or even the Western Conference championship — seems much bumpier this time around.
MORE BETTING: Updated Finals odds
The West has been stacked all season long, so it's no surprise that BetMGM's NBA championship odds out of the Western Conference look as wide-open as ever.
The Thunder, the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history, check all the boxes. The Timberwolves, the most stifling defense in the Association, make things difficult for every opponent.
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Even the Western Conference teams with longer NBA championship odds make for scary postseason opponents. The Mavericks, one of the deadliest offenses in the league when their stars catch fire, will be difficult to bounce out of a best-of-seven series.
Let's take a look at the NBA championship odds on BetMGM, specifically diving into the Western Conference Finals odds, best bets, and top value picks.
Western Conference playoff odds: Predictions, picks to reach NBA Finals 2024
| Team | Odds |
| Nuggets | -135 |
| Mavericks | +250 |
| Wolves | +750 |
| Thunder | +900 |
Western Conference Finals winner: Best bet
Denver Nuggets (-135)
The same has been said on Sporting News' betting pages all season: Denver remains the strongest team from top to bottom in the Western Conference.
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is a maestro and the Nuggets' offense is his perfect symphony. Good luck winning four-of-seven against Michael Malone's squad, which plays the best team basketball we've seen in the playoffs in a very long time.
Western Conference Finals winner: Top value bet
Oklahoma City Thunder (+900)
The Nuggets' biggest obstacle in the West could be the Thunder, who split their season series with Minnesota 2-2 and now owns home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs. OKC also won all three of its four meetings with Denver during the 2023-24 regular season. This squad is young, confident, well-coached, and extremely talented on both sides of the floor — it just needs to get through the scrappy Mavs.
Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault has a team that checks off a ton of boxes. The Thunder have an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a rim protector in Chet Holmgren, a powerful No. 2 star in Jalen Williams, and a dominant perimeter defender in Lu Dort. They also get hot quick from beyond the arc, and their clutch scoring has been a problem for opponents all season long.
NBA playoff bracket 2024
