Who Is Favored To Win The 2021 NBA Finals?

The 2021 NBA Finals are just around the corner, and the Golden State Warriors are once again the favorites to win it all. Can they repeat as champions?

Los Angeles Lakers

Team Roster

The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division.
The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minnesota, but failed to make a significant impact and relocated to Los Angeles before the start of the 1960–61 season. Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost each series to the Boston Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. In 1968, the Lakers acquired four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Wilt Chamberlain, who won two more championships with his new team before retiring in 1973.
After losing in the Finals in 1972 and 1973, they regained championship glory under head coach Bill Sharman with their first ever Finals MVP Magic Johnson leading a talented squad that included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as well as James Worthy en route to defeating their cross-state rivals, The Boston Celtics in six games during The Finals to win their sixth title. The 1980s Lakers saw mixed results. They missed the playoffs in 1983, but returned at full strength led by rookie Earvin “Magic” Johnson and seven-time All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win back-to-back titles against their crosstown rivals, The Los Angeles Clippers in 1982 and again versus the Celtics in 1985. In 1988 they traded away Jabbar to acquire center Vlade Divac just two months before draft day; Divac would go on to be named Rookie of The Year that season despite being selected 26th overall by Indiana Pacers where he then proceeded to have an illustrious career that included an All-Star selection as well as becoming one of only seven players ever to record over 13，000 career points and 9，000 career rebounds.
The following three seasons would see more success for Riley’s squad as they won two more titles in 1987 1989 behind All-Star small forward James Worthy , veteran shooting guard Byron Scott , playmaking point guard Magic Johnson，and hardnosed power forward A. C Green which cemented themselves as one of if not THE most successful sports franchises in North American history.

Team Statistics

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and theLos Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association. The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they would win five of the next six championships, led by star George Mikan. After struggling financially in
the late 1950s following Mikan’s retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before buying out financially struggling rival Orlando Magic in 1996.
In 2000, head coach Phil Jackson joined a talented young Shaquille O’Neal with Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher; Brady Paxton was replaced as GM by Mitch Kupchak later that year during a front office shakeup. The team set league records winning 33 consecutive games (the second-longest streak in NBA history) and posting a winning streak at home spanning 46 games (a league record which still stands). Jackson retired from coaching following their second straight championship after signing a two-year extension in 2009; assistant coach Kurt Rambis took over on an interim basis for most of what would be a disappointing 2009–10 season for the team missing out on making it to playoffs seedings for first time since 2005. They were promoted to Jim Buss and Kupchak was retained as GM; Buss later fired head coach Mike Brown after start of 2012–13 regular season and replaced him on an interim basis with Mike D’Antoni until Earl Watson was signed as full-time head coach midway through that season. In 2013–14 led by Bryant and mainstay Pau Gasol, they returned to playoffs seeds and won their fifteenth NBA title—tying with Boston Celtics—overcoming Miami Heat 4–2 during NBA Finals series contests although they failed to make it past 1st round during next three postseason trips while being beset by major injuries toGasol and Bryant during that time span which also included retirement announcement by latter player after 20 years of service with club in April 2016.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are the favorites to win the 2021 NBA Finals. They are the reigning champions and have the best record in the league. They have two of the best players in the world in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. They also have a deep bench and a great coach in Doc Rivers. The only thing that might stop them from winning is an injury to one of their star players.

Team Roster

The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Clippers play their home games at the Staples Center, an arena they share with fellow NBA team the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The franchise was founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, one of three expansion teams to join the NBA that year. The Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California in 1978 and became known as the San Diego Clippers. In 1984, businessman Donald Sterling bought the franchise for $12 million. In Sterling’s 33 years as owner from 1984 to 2014, the Clippers were characterized by poor decision-making and controversies off-court. Sterling attracted some notoriety for his comments regarding minorities; he once famously said that he preferred not to hire African Americans because they “smell,” and told his girlfriend not to bring black people to his games.

Sterling was banned from the NBA for life in 2014 after a recording of him making racist remarks was made public. He sold the franchise to Steve Ballmer later that year for $2 billion, becoming one of only two NBA teams to have sold for more than $1 billion at

Team Statistics

The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. They play their home games at Staples Center, an arena they share with fellow NBA team the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The franchise was founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, one of three expansion teams to join the NBA that year. The Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California in 1978 and became known as the San Diego Clippers. In 1984, The Clippers moved to Los Angeles.

Through much of their history, the Clippers were seen as an inferior team to the Lakers, winning no championships and posting losing records for most of their time in San Diego and much of their time in Los Angeles. This changed in 2013 when they won their first division title since 1976 and made the playoffs for just the second time since 1997.Since then, they have been consistently competitive, making it to six straight postseasons from 2015 to 2020. They have also won five division titles in that span.

In July 2019, longtime owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team after he was caught making racist remarks about African Americans; he was replaced by Steve Ballmer four months later.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are currently the favorite to win the 2021 NBA Finals. They have the best record in the NBA and are led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks also have a deep team with shooters, defenders, and playmakers. They will be a tough team to beat in the playoffs.

Team Roster

The Milwaukee Bucks are a basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As of the 2020-21 season, they are the favorites to win the NBA Finals.

The team is led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and last year’s Rookie of the Year, Malcolm Brogdon. They also have one of the best defenses in the league, led by big man Brook Lopez.

Other key players include Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, and George Hill. The Bucks have a deep bench as well, with players like Thon Maker, Sterling Brown, and Donte DiVincenzo.

Team Statistics

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and plays at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the long-time owner of the team, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry purchased a majority interest in the team from Kohl, a sale which was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on May 15; Kohl remained as a minority owner until his death in 2018.

The Bucks have won one NBA championship (1971), two conference titles (1971 and 1974), and 13 division titles (1971–74, 1976, 1980–86, 2001, 2019). They have featured such notable players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Junior Bridgeman, Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Michael Redd, Terry Cummings, Vin Baker, Bob Dandridge, Marques Johnson, and Brian Winters. Abdul-Jabbar and Robertson are one of only four players who have been on an NBA championship team while scoring more than 20 points per game in their careers; Johnson is also one of only three players to average at least 20 points per game while shooting over 50% from both the field and foul line during his career; and Robinson is one of only three players who have shot over 50% from both the field and three-point range during his career. prominant former coaches of the Bucks include Lenny Wilkens when he was head coach during Abdul-Jabbar’s MVP years; Don Nelson when he took them to their only NBA Finals appearance in 1974; Larry Krystkowiak who led them to their first playoff berth since 2000–2001 while posting their then-best regular season record since 1983–1984; George Karl who coached them to their then best regular season record since 1980–1981 winning 2 Coach Of The Year Awards along with providing commentary for ESPN prior to being relieved of his duties after falling out with management; or Scott Skiles for leading them to 4 straight playoff appearances for the first time since 1980–1981. On April 15th 2014 it was reported that Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry had purchased a majority stake in the franchise from former U.S. senator Herb Kohl with Edens & Lasry each owning approximately equal shares giving them equal voting power within ownership decisions.

Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets are the favorite to win the 2021 NBA Finals according to the oddsmakers. The Nets have the best record in the NBA and are led by two of the best players in the world in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The Nets also have a very deep team and are able to score in a variety of ways.

Team Roster

The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other is the New York Knicks. The club was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the NBA’s rival league, the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans during their first season, before relocating to Long Island, where they became known as the New York Nets. During this time, the Nets won two ABA championships (in 1968 and 1969). In 1976, after losing both ABA Eastern Division Finals, they were one of four ABA teams that were absorbed into the NBA as part of a merger deal between major rival leagues; their fellow former-ABA team Indiana Pacers also joined that same year.

The team then became a member of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from their eventual commenced 1977–78 season onwards. Since joining the NBA, they have been contention for playoff spots every year except for 2014–15 and 2016–17; they have reached playoff semifinals four times (1984, 2002, 2003 and 2004) and have attained conference finals once (2021). In 2021, led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving—who became one of Brooklyn’s new superstar free agent signings prior to that season—the Nets finally clinched their first Finals berth since arriving in 1976 by virtue of winning their first Eastern Conference championship in franchise history. Durant would go on to win his third Finals MVP award while Irving won his first championship with Brooklyn and second overall; with it came also head coach Steve Nash being awarded his first Coach of The Year accolade.

Team Statistics

The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other is the New York Knicks. The club was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the NBA’s rival league, the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans during their first season, before moving to Long Island, New York, and changing their name to the New York Nets. During this time, they won two ABA championships (in 1974 and 1976). The Nets were one of three ABA teams that joined the NBA as part of the ABA–NBA merger in 1976; along with the Indianapolis Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, they became part of the newly formed Eastern Conference.

Other Contenders

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA), but changed its name to Rockets before the first game. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets.

The team has had some success since joining the NBA, winning division titles in 1985 and 1988. But it was not until they drafted perennial All-Star Carmelo Anthony in 2003 that they truly began to contend for an NBA title. The Nuggets have reached the playoffs ten times since Anthony’s rookie year. They qualified for the NBA Playoffs for the first time in nine years in 2012, but were eliminated by playoff veteran San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are one of the NBA’s most storied franchises. With three NBA championships and five trips to the Finals since 2006, the Heat are always in contention. This year is no different, as they are currently the favorites to win the 2021 NBA Finals.

The Heat’s success is due in large part to their star player, Jimmy Butler. Butler is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection. He is averaged 21.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game this season. Butler is flanked by a talented supporting cast that includes Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, and Tyler Herro.

The Heat will have their work cut out for them in the playoffs, as they are likely to face tough competition from the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers. Nonetheless, with Butler leading the way, the Miami Heat are poised to make a deep run in the 2021 NBA playoffs.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history. With 21 conference titles and 17 NBA Championships, the Celtics have cemented their place as one of the greatest dynasties in all of basketball.

The Celtics have a rich history which includes some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Paul Pierce are just some of the legends that have donned the Celtics green and white.

Under head coach Brad Stevens, the Celtics have emerged as one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Led by stars such as Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are a young and dangerous team that is capable of making a deep run in the playoffs.

The Celtics will be looking to make a return to the NBA Finals this season and with their young core, they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are looking like one of the top teams in the NBA this season. They have superstar talent in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and they recently added All-Star forward Tobias Harris to their lineup. The 76ers also have one of the deepest rosters in the league, with quality players coming off the bench.

The 76ers are currently second in the Eastern Conference, behind only the Milwaukee Bucks. They have a record of 37-22, and they are just 2.5 games behind the Bucks for first place. The 76ers have a great chance to win the Eastern Conference this season, and they will be a tough team to beat in the playoffs.

The Sixers have all the pieces necessary to win an NBA title this season. They have superstar talent, depth, and experience. If they can stay healthy, the Sixers should be one of the favorites to win the 2021 NBA Finals.

Conclusion

It’s too early to tell who is favored to win the 2021 NBA Finals. The season has just begun and there are a lot of games left to be played. However, based on the teams’ performance so far, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks seem to be the strongest contenders.