Atlanta Hawks open with NBA’s longest odds for 2018-2019 championship

The 2017-2018 NBA season is officially over, with the Golden State Warriors winning a title that many always assumed they would claim. While the 2018 NBA Draft is rapidly approaching and most of the content in this space (and others) centers on that massive event, free agency looms on July 1 and, of course, everything exists with an eye toward the 2018-19 campaign and beyond.

To that end, a number of prominent outlets have released betting odds for the 2018-19 NBA Championship and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, perhaps the leading sports book in the universe, is offering the following numbers.

Yes, the Atlanta Hawks have the longest (read: worst) odds of any team in the league.

While not every bookmaker sees the Hawks at 1,000-to-1 (for instance, Bovada released 500-1 odds), it does speak to the state of current affairs that Atlanta is the biggest long shot in the league. It should be noted that betting lines like this often arrive as a result of bookmakers attempting to get action and, unfortunately, the Hawks don’t have the kind of overwhelming fan base (cough, Lakers, cough) that might drive the number down at this early juncture.

Still, the notion that the Hawks are in a tier by themselves is probably a bit silly, especially with the current operating statuses of the Nets, Kings, Magic and others. Atlanta isn’t going to compete for the 2019 title unless LeBron James changes course and elects to land with the franchise in a wild turn of events. Still, this kind of opening line will almost certainly bring some notions of “disrespect” to the table and the reaction will be interesting.

Stay tuned.