Miami's blockbuster agreement to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo has elevated the Heat from afterthoughts to legitimate contenders in the eyes off oddsmakers.
The Heat opened the offseason as +3500 long shots at BetMGM to win the 2026-27 NBA title. And despite reportedly being one of the finalists to land Antetokounmpo, they were still being offered at +3000 Monday.
That all changed when reports surfaced Monday night that a deal was in place, with Milwaukee choosing Miami's package over one from Boston
that would have included Celtics star Jaylen Brown.
The Heat's title odds immediately shrank to +1800, with the book reporting that 23% of all title bets placed since news of the trade broke were backing Miami. The Heat's odds of winning the Eastern Conference were trimmed from +1200 to +650, with Miami drawing 39% of all bets since the trade.
The Celtics held onto Brown, and to the shortest title odds among Eastern Conference teams at +650. The reigning champion New York Knicks lengthened a bit from +700 to +750, with no other East team being offered at shorter than Detroit's +2500 title odds.
The shortest overall title odds belong to Western Conference rivals Oklahoma City and San Antonio each at +260. BetMGM reported that the Celtics have been backed by the most title bets at 14.3%, while the Thunder lead with 53.5% of the money wagered -- well ahead of Boston at 10.0%.
2026-27 NBA TITLE ODDS*
Team | Opening Odds | Last Week | Monday Morning | Current
Oklahoma City Thunder (+260), (+250), (+250), (+260)
San Antonio Spurs (+270), (+270), (+260), (+260)
Boston Celtics (+700), (+700), (+650), (+650)
New York Knicks (+700), (+700), (+700), (+750)
Miami Heat (+3500), (+3500), (+3000), (+1800)
Detroit Pistons (+3300), (+3300), (+2500), (+2500)
Denver Nuggets (+2000), (+2000), (+2500), (+2500)
Los Angeles Lakers (+2500), (+2500), (+2500), (+2500)
Minnesota Timberwolves (+2500), (+2500), (+3000), (+3000)
Cleveland Cavaliers (+3300), (+3300), (+4000), (+4000)
Indiana Pacers (+3000), (+3300), (+4000), (+4000)
Golden State Warriors (+6600), (+6600), (+6600), (+6000)
Houston Rockets (+6600), (+6600), (+6600), (+6000)
Philadelphia 76ers (+6000), (+6000), (+6000), (+6000)
Charlotte Hornets (+10000), (+10000), (+8000), (+8000)
Atlanta Hawks (+10000), (+10000), (+8000), (+8000)
Orlando Magic (+5000), (+5000), (+8000), (+8000)
Portland Trail Blazers (+8000), (+8000), (+10000), (+10000)
Los Angeles Clippers (+6600), (+6600), (+8000), (+10000)
Toronto Raptors (+15000), (+15000), (+12500), (+12500)
Dallas Mavericks (+8000), (+8000), (+12500), (+15000)
Phoenix Suns (+8000), (+8000), (+12500), (+15000)
Washington Wizards (+15000), (+15000), (+15000), (+20000)
Utah Jazz (+15000), (+20000), (+25000), (+25000)
Milwaukee Bucks (+25000), (+25000), (+50000), (+30000)
Brooklyn Nets (+100000), (+100000), (+75000), (+50000)
Memphis Grizzlies (+50000), (+75000), (+50000), (+50000)
Chicago Bulls (+75000), (+75000), (+75000), (+75000)
Sacramento Kings (+75000), (+75000), (+75000), (+75000)
The Bucks were widely expected to part ways with Antetokounmpo this offseason, but the trade actually saw their title odds "shorten" from +50000 to +30000 -- which still puts them among the league's longest shots.
Milwaukee's goal is clearly longer term with the package of players and picks they chose from Miami over potentially landing Brown to provide a star in his prime to build around.
The Heat reportedly sent the Bucks a package featuring guard Tyler Herro, center Kel'el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakucionis, first-round draft picks in 2026 (No. 13 overall), 2031 and 2033, a pick swap in 2030 and a 2033 second-round selection.
Milwaukee reportedly is sending forward Bobby Portis to Miami in the deal, too.
Antetokounmpo, 31, was the subject of trade rumors for more than a year. The two-time MVP is under contract for 2026-27 with a $58.5 million cap hit and has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, according to Spotrac.
The 10-time All-Star played a career-low 36 games in 2025-26 and Milwaukee missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee on March 15 and was shut down for the rest of the season, though he feuded with the team regarding his health.
--Field Level Media
