NBA: 76ers futures odds ahead of 2022-23 NBA season tipoff

Football season may be in full swing, but the clock is ticking with less than a month before the Philadelphia 76ers open their season against the Boston Celtics on October 18.

The 76ers, led by MVP runner-up Joel Embiid, and former 2018 NBA MVP James Harden, have plenty to prove after being bounced out of the second round of the NBA Playoffs by the Miami Heat (4-2) with a number of additions to bolster their already strong roster.

Adding veterans P.J. Tucker, Montrezl Harrell and shooter Danuel House will help, along with the emergence of now-third year budding star Tyrese Maxey. All will be key pieces to propelling this Philly squad further into another hopeful playoff run, in an Eastern Conference that only continues to get tougher.

Before Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June, several sportsbook opened their 2023 NBA Championship odds, including BetMGM, which had the 76ers valued at +1400 to win it all, putting them in a six-way tie for the seventh-best odds.

Those odds saw some change when Kevin Durant announced that he wanted a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, briefly lowering the 76ers odds to +1300 at Caesars Sportsbook, while shooting the Brooklyn Nets odds as high as +5000. It was announced recently that Durant would remain on the roster.

Now that the dust has settled with that situation, along with Donovan Mitchell added via trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 76ers officially open training camp with the same odds to win the NBA title as they opened with at BetMGM: +1400, behind the Boston Celtics (+500), the reigning champion Golden State Warriors (+600), the Milwaukee Bucks (+650), Brooklyn Nets (+700), Los Angeles Clippers (+700) and the Phoenix Suns (+1000).

» READ MORE: Sixers back on short list of NBA commodities as schedule bets big on Joel Embiid, James Harden

To win the East, the 76ers have +750 odds, behind the aforementioned Celtics (+260), Bucks (+325) and Nets (+350). To win the Atlantic Division, Philadelphia has the third best odds (+300), behind the favored Boston (+125) and Brooklyn (+200).

As for team prop bets, BetMGM has set the 76ers win total at 50.5 games, right on track with their 51 wins a season ago, and their odds to make the playoffs are an overwhelming -1400 for ‘yes’ and +750 for ‘no.’

As for individual awards, Embiid sits with the second-best odds to win 2023 NBA MVP (+600) behind Luka Doncic, the favorite at +400. Newest additions De’Anthony Melton and Montrezl Harrell are longshots to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, with Melton valued at +4000 and Harrell at +5000.

Tyrese Maxey sits inside the top 10 odds to win Most Improved Player (+2500), while Embiid (+1800) and Matisse Thybulle (+4000) have value to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Finally, the betting line ahead of the opening night clash between the Boston and Philly favors the NBA Finals runner-up Celtics as 3.5-point favorites inside TD Garden, with the over/under set at 213.5. The two teams split the season series in the 2021-22 NBA season.

Expectations seem to be modest for the Sixers among oddsmakers, but expectations for this team are always high in Philly. If the 76ers want to make that jump this season, it’ll have to be through either the Bucks or the Celtics, as each have represented the East in the Finals the last two seasons.

NBA Championship odds: +1400

Winning East odds: +750

Winning Atlantic Division odds: +300

Win total O/U: 50.5

Odds to make playoffs: For ‘Yes:’ -1400; for ‘No:’ +750

Opening Night line: 76ers (+3.5, +165 ML) at Celtics (-3.5, -200 ML) O/U: 213.5; 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18

» READ MORE: A second look at the Sixers’ schedule and 10 games that will define their season

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