The Boston Celtics are still the team everyone is chasing on the NBA Finals odds leaderboard with the playoffs about to begin.

The latest: Boston has long been favoured and nothing has changed on that front after winning the Eastern Conference with ease. In the Western Conference, the defending champion Denver Nuggets have the shortest odds, while other legitimate contenders offer better value.

Check out the latest NBA Finals odds for the 2023-24 season.

NBA Finals odds

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Best NBA Finals odds

The favourites: Boston Celtics (+160)

Could this finally be the year for the Celtics?

Boston has been to the Eastern Conference Finals in five of the past seven years. If there was such a thing as a near-miss dynasty, this team would fit the description.

Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are steeped in playoff experience. And the road to a title will go through Boston as the team finished with the best record in the NBA.

The Celtics (64-18) were especially dominant at home this past year, going an outstanding 37-4 at TD Garden.

They finished 14 games ahead of the next closest team, the New York Knicks, which best exemplifies how they dominated the competition.

Other NBA Finals candidates

NBA Finals notes

• The Dallas Mavericks (+1,600) are a team to watch out for. They won 16 of their last 20 games and finished fifth in the west. Luka Doncic is a man on a mission, leading the league in points per game (33.9) to go along with an impressive 38.2% mark from 3-point land.

• Joel Embiid is back and makes the Philadelphia 76ers an intriguing play at +1,800. The Sixers are in the play-in tournament but they could become an interesting pick at this price with Embiid in the mix.

• It's hard to pound the table for the Milwaukee Bucks as a team worth backing at 12-to-1. They're an uninspiring 17-19 since Doc Rivers took over and have lost six of their last eight, dropping games to the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors.