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NBA: Way-too-early deep dive into the consensus top-5 championship favorites

By Ryan McCrary

DENVER, CO - MARCH 8: Nikola Jokic #15 and Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets slap hands after a second half score against the Chicago Bulls at Ball Arena on March 8, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 8: Nikola Jokic #15 and Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets slap hands after a second half score against the Chicago Bulls at Ball Arena on March 8, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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After what’s felt like the longest offseason of all time, fans and analysts are desperate for basketball to return. With the 2023-24 NBA season just over a month away, it’s time to look forward and project how teams will perform this year.

Let’s dive in and look at the teams with the five best championship odds and whether or not they can actually reach the promised land and take home the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Taking a closer look at the five favorites to win the NBA Championships

1. Denver Nuggets | +475

The Denver Nuggets are the favorite to win the championship this upcoming season, which should come as no surprise. They are coming off their first title in franchise history, and they are bringing back most of their roster from last season.

The key for the Nuggets as they try to repeat as champions is the performance of their stars, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Jokic has cemented his spot as the best player in the league, and the Nuggets go wherever he goes. If he has another all-time great season, which seems likely based on his performance over the last three years, the Nuggets will certainly be one of the top teams in the league.

While Murray is not as good as Jokic, he is an extremely important part of the team’s success, and it’s possible the Nuggets wouldn’t have won the title last season without Murray stepping up and playing out of his mind during the postseason. He will have to step up once again if the Nuggets want to win two rings in a row. If he can continue performing the way he did in the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine any team beating the Nuggets in a seven-game series.

Although the Nuggets are bringing back most of their roster, they did lose two key contributors, Bruce Brown Jr. and Jeff Green. These losses will hurt, but they have a number of strong complementary players like Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Kentavious Caldwell Pope, who should allow them to have one of the best starting fives in the NBA.

There is a potential issue with the Nuggets, though. They will likely have to rely more on their young bench players like Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and Zeke Nnaji. Braun was great in the playoffs, so you can be confident that he can be successful in a bigger role. Watson and Nnaji are a completely different story, though, as they barely played during the postseason last year. Even if the Nuggets have to rely on inexperienced, young players coming off the bench, they should be fine because the top of their playoff rotation is so good on both ends of the floor.

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